Medieval America Mark III

Currently, I'm looking into how high an agricultural population Laska can support
I'm thinking that unless they can preserve greenhouse agriculture they'd be fed more by fishing than by agriculture. Especially whaling. A single blue whale can feed 120,000 people. I don't see why the Laskan raiders can't serve as fishermen when not raiding. Especially with the fish population being given about a thousand years to recover from human overfishing.
 
I'm thinking that unless they can preserve greenhouse agriculture they'd be fed more by fishing than by agriculture. Especially whaling. A single blue whale can feed 120,000 people. I don't see why the Laskan raiders can't serve as fishermen when not raiding. Especially with the fish population being given about a thousand years to recover from human overfishing.
Looking into it, using proper techniques, Laska has arable land roughly equivalent in area to Norway. That said, yes, living off of the fat of the sea will certainly be the major part of the Laskan economy.
 
Looking into it, using proper techniques, Laska has arable land roughly equivalent in area to Norway. That said, yes, living off of the fat of the sea will certainly be the major part of the Laskan economy.
What would their religion be like? Because I'm thinking a form of Christianity reshaped to resemble Norse paganism by the similar warrior culture of the region. With a little pinch of Japanese Shintoism* to taste. So you'd have various archangels and saints serving as gods under the supreme deity Jevah.



*That's more likely come from a tiny bit of Japanese-American refugees from Scientology's conquest of California than from Japan proper.
 
What would their religion be like? Because I'm thinking a form of Christianity reshaped to resemble Norse paganism by the similar warrior culture of the region. With a little pinch of Japanese Shintoism* to taste. So you'd have various archangels and saints serving as gods under the supreme deity Jevah.



*That's more likely come from a tiny bit of Japanese-American refugees from Scientology's conquest of California than from Japan proper.

Hmm. We would have to consider the ethnic makeup of the Alaskans though? Considering the good chunk of Natives especially ones living along the coastline that would absorb the remaining Caucasians. May get a lot of Brother Raven traveling to the South and finding enlightenment with Christ and the Buddha and bringing it back to the Laskans
 
Hmm. We would have to consider the ethnic makeup of the Alaskans though? Considering the good chunk of Natives especially ones living along the coastline that would absorb the remaining Caucasians. May get a lot of Brother Raven traveling to the South and finding enlightenment with Christ and the Buddha and bringing it back to the Laskans
There could be worship of various patron saints as "household gods" depending on the profession of said household. One saint I can see being very popular is Saint Nicholas. Because not only is he associated with Christmas and Santa, but he's the patron saint of sailors. And a nautical nation like Laska would be interested in that.
 
What would their religion be like? Because I'm thinking a form of Christianity reshaped to resemble Norse paganism by the similar warrior culture of the region. With a little pinch of Japanese Shintoism* to taste. So you'd have various archangels and saints serving as gods under the supreme deity Jevah.



*That's more likely come from a tiny bit of Japanese-American refugees from Scientology's conquest of California than from Japan proper.
Christianity mixed with ancestor worship that is devolving into paganism.

I'm writing on it.
 
The Easter Bunny could be a patron of good harvest, fertility, and other stuff related to spring.
People living in a climate so poorly suited to agriculture would naturally worship a deity regarding the harvest. Similarly, I could see them having a monster similar to the Wendigo to discourage cannibalism. Or they could just have the Wendigo since that creature is one of the most well-known of the traditional Native American monsters in modern times.
 

tehskyman

Banned
People living in a climate so poorly suited to agriculture would naturally worship a deity regarding the harvest. Similarly, I could see them having a monster similar to the Wendigo to discourage cannibalism. Or they could just have the Wendigo since that creature is one of the most well-known of the traditional Native American monsters in modern times.

They should also have a few sea deities too. They could have a god of the sea and fishing, the Orca as well as minor sea deities being octopi, sea lions/seals etc.

I also think that the Laskan paganism have elements of Eco-Buddhism from various druids and holy orders proselytizing in the area.
 
I once read about a cult in California that believed Jesus was a vampire. Maybe they would learn about the Wendigo from Alaskan refugees worship it as the embodiment of the wilderness or strength. I wonder how the nations of California would view such a religion. It would be funny to see Eco-Buddhists praising them for finding a new way to control population.
 
I once read about a cult in California that believed Jesus was a vampire. Maybe they would learn about the Wendigo from Alaskan refugees worship it as the embodiment of the wilderness or strength. I wonder how the nations of California would view such a religion. It would be funny to see Eco-Buddhists praising them for finding a new way to control population.
Wendigo has been reserved as a Quebecoise myth.

Which doesn't make a lot of sense, since it exists all across the north, but White has limited monster myths to specific regions, thus the Greys in New Mexico and the Bigfoot in Jefsin.
 
The Lands of Laska
The Lands of Laska

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"Laska" is a vague term, geographically speaking. To the Californians and Desereti, it is a mystical land where the sun never sets, where giants roam and build their cities upon the backs of whales. Most do know it is from here that they receive many of the luxury goods they take for granted- ivory, whalebone, balleen, exotic pelts. On one occasion, centuries ago, San Francisco was even sacked by a contingent of Laskan raiders. To the Pacific Northwesterners, however, it is a very real, and very strictly defined region: Namely, everything that sits north of Cold Harbour, a port at the tip of Victoria Island. For the coastal peoples of what was once British Columbia, though they would certainly consider themselves Laskans (the consequence of years of trading, intermarrying and raiding), they do not consider themselves inhabitants of the true Lands of Laska. For the ethnic Laskans, Laska is everything south of the Alaskan Range (including the peninsula), and everything along the coast till you hit the southern tip of Graham Island.

Laska is a land that knows hardship like no other. For half the year,there is practically no sun, and the snow comes down hard. For the other half of the year, however, the sun shines, shines, shines. This constant sunshine allows Laska to be surprisingly agriculturally productive. Nonetheless, agriculture is incredibly difficult and marginal. The Laskans have developed a number of techniques to maximize output, including mound-building, to create localized microclimates, and constant fertilization of the soil with wood-ash and lime among others. Thanks to these intensive efforts, the amount of cultivated land has gone from a mere 1,280 square miles to a whopping 3,000 square miles, comparable to Norway.

Laska is divided into two regions: the pan and the handle.

The Handle stretches far south, terminating at the farthest outlying island, Graham Island. Hundreds of tiny islands lay in what is now know as the Alzandar Arcipelago. These are Laska's most potentially fertile regions, at its southern extreme even holding host to temperate rainforest comparable to that of Cascadia.

Ostensibly, the largest population center in this region is Joono, home to some 10,000 people, a major port. The only other major city in archipelago is the port town of Kechikan. Sitting at the southernmost end of the archipelago, it is the first stop off for Cascadian ships, and where many hand off their goods to Laskan merchants. Otherwise, most of the population is scattered among the various islands in fishing, farming and hunting communities.

The Pan is roughly centered around the port-city of Ankrage and the outlying regions, which tend to be the most agriculturally productive region of the state, consequently making Ankrage the population and cultural center of Laska. Ankrage is commonly regarded by the people of the West Coast as the "End of the World".

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Beyond the Laskan Range is Eskimoland. Contrary to Californian and Cascadian myth, it is not host to the lost city of Hoth. In fact, there are almost no cities at all or, for that matter, no Laskans- here, natives make up the majority of the population, both Athabaskan and Inuit, though they are all termed "Eskimo" by the Laskans (despite the fact that they have significant Tlingit, Athabaskan and Inuit admixture themselves). Here, the peoples eke out a pastoral existence, herding domesticated caribou (a practice that is starting to compete with cattle in Laska). Along the coasts, whalers and fishers dominate as they always have. Agriculture is practiced only in the Yukon Delta region.
 
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They should also have a few sea deities too. They could have a god of the sea and fishing, the Orca as well as minor sea deities being octopi, sea lions/seals etc.

I also think that the Laskan paganism have elements of Eco-Buddhism from various druids and holy orders proselytizing in the area.

I've been saying that since St Nick is the patron saint of sailors he'd be quite popular among the Laskans. It makes sense that they'd have other sea-related deities.

Not to mention any Eco-Buddhists they'd kidnap on raids.

Wendigo has been reserved as a Quebecoise myth.

Which doesn't make a lot of sense, since it exists all across the north, but White has limited monster myths to specific regions, thus the Greys in New Mexico and the Bigfoot in Jefsin.

That doesn't mean that the Laskans couldn't have another monster that discourages cannibalism.
 

tehskyman

Banned
Wendigo has been reserved as a Quebecoise myth.

Which doesn't make a lot of sense, since it exists all across the north, but White has limited monster myths to specific regions, thus the Greys in New Mexico and the Bigfoot in Jefsin.

It doesn't make sense at all. It was a persistent cultural belief across the boreal forest region. I think in this case we should override White because we have good reason. Cannibalism would happen across the boreal and tundra zone because of the harsh winters.

Even if there isn't a wendigo myth in the PNW, it wouldn't be restricted to the Quebecoise, it would probably extend to Ontario and maybe minnesota and northern Michigan. These are all regions with cold winters, bordering on a Boreal forest.
 
@Flashman

How much more material do we need to cover in the Northwest before we can move on to the Great Plains?
Once we finish off Laska, we can move on to the plains.

It doesn't make sense at all. It was a persistent cultural belief across the boreal forest region. I think in this case we should override White because we have good reason. Cannibalism would happen across the boreal and tundra zone because of the harsh winters.

Even if there isn't a wendigo myth in the PNW, it wouldn't be restricted to the Quebecoise, it would probably extend to Ontario and maybe minnesota and northern Michigan. These are all regions with cold winters, bordering on a Boreal forest.
Alright, fine.

It's a fairly wide=spread myth, but it is most focused and developed in Quebec.

But I'm still going to say it can't be in Laska, since it won't be written about till we get to Quebec.
 
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