alternatehistory.com

Hello everyone, im a long time reader but this is my first time posting anything. I'm a history major in college, but i get the feeling the regular posters here know their stuff inside out. I'm writing a book, which is fictional but i prefer everything to be rooted in fact. I have a laundry list of stuff to read before i can start, but i thought i would pose a question to you all, since this is the most informed place i have to bounce things off of.

Pretend for a second, that:
On a continent roughly the size of australia, a group of several hundred thousand people flee to one of its coasts. They are arriving in a steady stream over the course of a century, and are unable to return. This is a virginal continent, no fauna and very little flora. Every animal is brought along, as is all technology knowledge. Now pretend that the world they have left has gone to crap.

my question is, how long would it take for their culture to incubate and become roughly "modern". Assuming almost all scientific understanding is lost, but there is a common language/religion/culture, so there likely isn't chronic war.

To nip any questions in the bud, here are the circumstances: No outside contact from any other cultures. When culture eventually does emerge, it draws its food from the ocean and agriculture. Resources abound. The only concept of creation is that the current population came from Somewhere Else. So, how long until this new population (unified or not) is able to make an extensive sea voyage to investigate the rest of the world?

thanks for the feedback, anyone and everyone.
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