Solomaxwell6
Banned
Paladin, what sort of good north-south rivers are there going between Virginia/Kentucky and the midwest? You have the Ohio river to move goods west and raw materials east, but I don't know if there are decent rivers besides that. I think even canals would have to be a little long to make it economical, at least for decades. That's why I think NY would be able to get disproportionate power... We have much better and earlier access to the midwest. A Virginian B&O is likely, but it'd take time to jump start. You're probably not going to see good rail access from Virginia to the midwest until the 1860s or so. The historical B&O didn't good real access to Ohio until the 60s and 70s, and I don't think there'll be as big an economic need for it. Baltimore really fucking needed that boosted trade. Richmond will probably be wealthy enough anyway. And with Maryland and the midwest two entirely separate nations, there's less of a chance Baltimore will be making the railroad itself.
The extra coal would be a huge help, but I don't know how conducive Virginian culture would be to an early industrial revolution. It's an economic shift that I don't really see strong impetus for, even with early emancipation. Virginia's whole society, based on a wealthy land-owning elite, isn't the sort of merchant-oriented society you'd see in New York and New England. You very well might see an earlier industrial revolution in the northeast, but I think Virginia would miss out on it (or only develop industry later on, as a reaction).
The likeliest result I see is a Virginian industrial revolution at roughly the same time as OTL, but resulting in a bigger boom.
The extra coal would be a huge help, but I don't know how conducive Virginian culture would be to an early industrial revolution. It's an economic shift that I don't really see strong impetus for, even with early emancipation. Virginia's whole society, based on a wealthy land-owning elite, isn't the sort of merchant-oriented society you'd see in New York and New England. You very well might see an earlier industrial revolution in the northeast, but I think Virginia would miss out on it (or only develop industry later on, as a reaction).
The likeliest result I see is a Virginian industrial revolution at roughly the same time as OTL, but resulting in a bigger boom.