Max Population on Pacifc Coast in 1900

[Domoviye]

I need a bit of help for a book I'm writing about an independent country that was created in the mid 1600's on the Pacific populated mostly by Chinese, some Spanish and Indians.
Now here's the question.
Only using technology they had in the late 19th century just how many people could conceivably survive on the Pacific Coast from Lower British Columbia to the tip of Baja California without suffering sever malnutrition?
They can import food but the majority of the food supply must come from the coast and American Southwest.

I'm thinking that 24-28 million is about right, considering how much experience the Chinese have with irrigation.

 

[carlton_bach]

I think it's a lot more than that. You're talking about a very fertile area comparable in size to France and Germany combined. With late nineteenth century technology, comparable population would be supportable - say 60 million at European standards of living. Chinese intensive farming methods probably raise that level a fair bit again.

Then again, the problem is that your population will depend on history as much as carrying capacity. The west Coast was settled late and spottily, and most of North America is still well below capacity in population terms for cultural reasons. I can't see a population this dense without a massively different settlement history, including long traditions of urbanism and a much more densely settled neighbourhood. Otherwise, people would just move elsewhere.

 

[Domoviye]

Thanks Carleton thats very useful. I've never been to California, so I don't know how fertile it is without all the modern technology.
And you're totally correct about the history. In the novel the country after the initial influx of Chinese settlers in the 1600's it will only start getting a number of immigrants in the mid to late 1700's and really take off in the 1800's.
So I think I'll bump the population up to the low thirties, which is just right for my book.
Thanks again.

 

[carlton_bach]

Thanks Carleton thats very useful. I've never been to California, so I don't know how fertile it is without all the modern technology.
And you're totally correct about the history. In the novel the country after the initial influx of Chinese settlers in the 1600's it will only start getting a number of immigrants in the mid to late 1700's and really take off in the 1800's.
So I think I'll bump the population up to the low thirties, which is just right for my book.
Thanks again.

It's not so much California. You can do a lot with northern and central California with traditional agriculture, but large chunks of the spouth and inland require pretty sophiosticated techniques to grow anything much. The Chinese are a lot better at dry farming than the Europeans, and they can build canals (with late 19th century technology they'll build very impressive ones). But you mustn't forget Oregon and Washington - these areas have ample rainfall, very fertile soil, and can support an agricultural population even without any government initiatives in irrigation or terracing. California today rather overshadows them because of the gold and the way the railway went, but if you're a farmer, Walla Walla is better than Orange County.

 

[Domoviye]

Thanks again, and I had already considered that. The original settlement is set up to get gold and then mercury so its around California. When merchants and their families flee from the various wars and rebellions of the 1600's (the Manchu take-over is much more bloody TTL) they go to the place they know. Its only later in the 1700's and 1800's that the big group of farmers come in, and again at first they stay with the main communities in the South.
Also the Haida and other warlike tribes of the Northwest stole iron technology and decide that raiding is fun and profitable. The majority of the Chinese immigrants and refugee's preferred to avoid viking style raids, especially while the army is busy fighting or preparing to fight the more dangerous Spanish. Its not until the mid-1800's that the Haida are subdued by the British with help from the Chinese.
So there is a big and growing population there, but its still in the early stages.

And the Chinese-American (named Jinshan, aka Gold Mountain) irrigation systems are going to be extremely impressive. TTL version of the USA and Mexico (yes they're there but butterflies have their way with them) will copy most of the advances, improving their drier territories a lot more than OTL.