More time for the New World

What would the History of North and South America be like if the Europeans (Or anyone else) didn't discover the new world for an extra 500 years?
 
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Well you'd need the Silk Road to remain open for the Europeans not to do so, Columbus et al got their backing as the Europeans wanted a direct connection with China and India to trade, something halted by the Ottomans- just turned out the Americas were in the way :rolleyes:

Also though I cant speculate all the butterflies from such a POD, I truly doubt Europe or the Chinese or somone wouldn't have discovered the Western Hemisphere by the year 2000!

At best, maybe delayed by a few decades or a century or two, apart from the luck of draw of whoever lands where, itd be quite like OTL just faster due to even more superior weaponry.

I think the more interesting area in TTL would be European development- No global Spanish Empire, no escape for religious dissidents etc. still I just can't even grasp the endless butterflies
 
Well you'd need the Silk Road to remain open for the Europeans not to do so, Columbus et al got their backing as the Europeans wanted a direct connection with China and India to trade, something halted by the Ottomans- just turned out the Americas were in the way :rolleyes:

Also though I cant speculate all the butterflies from such a POD, I truly doubt Europe or the Chinese or somone wouldn't have discovered the Western Hemisphere by the year 2000!

At best, maybe delayed by a few decades or a century or two, apart from the luck of draw of whoever lands where, itd be quite like OTL just faster due to even more superior weaponry.

I think the more interesting area in TTL would be European development- No global Spanish Empire, no escape for religious dissidents etc. still I just can't even grasp the endless butterflies

Is this better in the ASB thread?
 
Maybe the little ice age comes on faster and gets a bit worse? A lot of pack ice, more storms, unpredictable changes to currents, making long-range ocean travel more risky?
 
For 500 years?

Yeah, that's not plaussible. Even if technology was delayed, by the time when Columbus arrived the possibilities that someone else discovered America were pretty high.

Maybe you should give it around 100 years? Just enough time for the Aztec and Inca to solve their political problems. The Aztecs might have done well, but they might have been invaded by other city states that sorrounded them, Tlaxcala or others would have taken over. And the Incas may have been able to consolidate their conquests, and put order to the "reciprocal system" they were stablishing when the Spanish arrived. They were doing so to avoid the political divisions that existed between the Andean kingdoms which composed the Tawantinsuyu. Divisions were a mayor cause of their ruin when the Conquistadors invaded.

EDIT: And maybe being 100 years further from the Middle Ages avoids some situations... There could be a big difference between how Cortéz or Pizzaro thought and acted when they arrived at the New World, and how their descendants or someone else would have proceeded. Remember that Spain had just gone throught a "Reconquista" period, which incidentally finished in 1492. Or well, maybe some other nation discovers the continent.
 
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Yeah, that's not plaussible. Even if technology was delayed, by the time when Columbus arrived the possibilities that someone else discovered America were pretty high.

A lot of the reason people were poking around there was fishing. Colder weather pushing the fish south takes a lot of the impetus off, at least for the Bristol clans.

More unpredictable weather increases the chances that mid-atlantic crossings fail, either going out or returning.

A colder period can also have a knock-on effect on europe, making them less inclined to go poking around?
 
Is this better in the ASB thread?

Probably, because you would need either some SERIOUS butterflies (IE: Rome not founded, no Alexander the Great) to set civilization back far enough to get the needed results. More recent PODs would probably hinge around ASB events.
 
A hurricane wipes out the Columbus fleet. That delays things for a generation as the Bristol fleet slowly explores south from the Grand Banks.
 
Whilst North America may go as OTL even if delayed by 20-30 yrs , THe Incan empire is another matter. This was an organsied state , with an army of over 100000 men. if they hadnt bee in the midst of a civil war it is unlikely pizzaro would have conquored them so easily
 
And they had an exceptionally defensible terrain. Really, the fact that the europeans landed in the Caribbean and from there could easily find the gold-rich empires was another piece of bad luck for the natives.

A scenario where Colombus fails and the Americas is explored from Newfoundland down would run quite differently.

Anyway, what if we groinkick europe harder? Plague, climate, invasion etc? Just ruin it for a century or two?
 
Actually, the success of Columbus in 1492 was itself a risky proposition: It hinged on the successful return of the Nina, and it would be easy to rationalize its loss in a storm. But such a failure would only delay discovery for decades not centuries. Eventually, somebody would venture to sail west.
 
I think a more interesting question would be: What if Europe discovers the America's 200 year earlier. IMO this would massively increase the survival chances of the ''new world'' states and maybe some would even become a significant power in the 1500's.
 

mojojojo

Gone Fishin'
I think a more interesting question would be: What if Europe discovers the America's 200 year earlier. IMO this would massively increase the survival chances of the ''new world'' states and maybe some would even become a significant power in the 1500's.
Vert interesting why not split this off into a seperate thread. :D
 
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