Challenge: British Empire 800 years in advance

How could Great Britain become the center of a very powerful thalassocratic kingdom in the Middle Ages?

Perhaps if Vikings had united England and held it for at least a century (so not just Danelaw, but a united Norse England)?

How would shipbuilding technology evolve from there?
 
You mean a long lasting north sea empire?

You would need different inheritance laws. The reason otl's north sea empires broke apart was when say Cnut, to pick the most successful one, died one son got norway, one Denmark and one England rather than them all being held by the heir.

With that type of inheritance any expansive empire breaks apart at death.
 
Actually, you don't even need the Vikings/Danes; all you need is a lack of continental commitments in France and the like.

So, no Normans.
 
Isn't this going off the assumption that Anglo-Saxon's would somehow want to go conquer Wales and then Scotland and Ireland?
 
Canute.PNG


Orange = tributes (ie one of his earls has Kingdom of Strathclyde), yellow = allies, red = land

Cnut's sons die early leaving him with only one who he raises as his single heir?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cnut_the_Great_family_tree
 
Well, the OP wants a BRITISH empire, so we might not want TOO much in the way of Scandinavian possessions.
In particular, owning Denmark is likely to get this empire involved in continental European, especially Baltic, affairs. That COULD give you a thalassocratic empire, but it would be a pretty limited one.

On the other hand, it's possible that if England doesn't have any Scandinavian possessions, they'll be focussed on the British isles to the exclusion of maritime power.

So.... Enland+Norway. Lots of shipping, little continental involvement.
Once Vinland is discovered, England/Norway might use it as a colony, younger sons wanting land of their own, population pressure, etc.

As for shipping, knarrs were adequate to the task (barely), and could be developed further.

Once you have an empire consisting of England, Norway and a dozen (hmmm.... 13?) colonies in North America, that would serve as a good basis for future growth.
 
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