The Perfect Society - Native American cultural advancement

This is the first part of the timeline. I’ve named it the Perfect Society. There will never be a perfect society but I liked the name. This is my first serious attempt at this. I have not used any native amerian names for places or names for better understanding of the story.

Feedback is appreciated be honest but gentle....

The Perfect Society

780 The first Norse land on Greenland and establish a colony. (100 years before OTL)

c787 Norse lands on what is current Long Island and attempt to establish third colony. The second is in current Nova Scotia.

c788 - 815 Long Island colonists meet Native Americans, One day a Norse hunting party helps several Shinnecock Tribesmen during a fight against a rival tribe. The Norse and Shinnecock become trading partners for several years and the Shinnecock learn various trade and skills. The natives learn farming, better house building and animal husbandry. For the first time the tribe is not dependant solely on hunting as it raises sheep and use the milk for butter and cheese. They learn to plant grain and corn.

c822 - 838 Due to the new skills and better living conditions the Shinnecocks become the strongest tribe on the Island. They eventually overrun the other tribes and form a loose confederation. The Norse colony slowly becomes part of the Shinnecock confederation. The appearance of light skinned or red headed children show the intermarriage between the two groups. An amalgamation of the two languages, Mahican and Old Norse becomes the norm as well as a written language that no other tribe had.

The Shinnecocks learn better boat building and build the first native built craft to ply the coastal waters.

c841 - 843 The Shinnecocks meet the Unami (Delaware Lenni Lenape) of Northern New Jersey and the Munsee and Quiripic tribes of Connecticut and develop trade agreements. The Shinnecock learn to send an old man and women to first meet tribes. This lessens the chance of a violent encounter.

c868 The Shinnecock Confederation now includes all of what would be Long Island, West to what is now Easton Pa (The Delaware River) north to the Catskills Mountains and south to current day Trenton and Northeast to Connecticut River with a population of 425,000. Each Tribal “state” has a representative in council which meets once a month. Only a Shinnecock is elected Chieftain of the Confederation.

The first school is founded with tribal approval and it is required of all children to attend between the ages of 8 to 12 during the winter months. After writing has been handed down in a hap-hazard manner over the generations, an elderly women starts teaching the children how to write and do math. .

c895 - 907 The Shinnecock Confederation meets its first encounter with what would be rival tribes of the Susquehannock and Iroquois in present day Pennsylvania and the Seneca in New York. The 5 year war starts after the deaths of a diplomatic envoy and rages with heavy loss to the Iroquois and Seneca. The Shinnecock had the better arms and ability to supply their armies while the Susquehannock, Iroquois and Seneca had to rely on traditional hunting. The eventual loss of the war meant second class citizenship in the confederation for the three tribes that would last for almost 50 years. No will be sent to Council for over 25 years to represent any of the 3 tribes.

c911 School is expanded to those 16 years and females for the first time. They must be Shinnecock or one the original Long Island tribes or their tribe is a member of the confederation for 10 years. Women are taught everything except weapon and home building.

c912 The art of salting fish reduces the interior tribe’s dependence on hunting as well as increases the influence of the Shinnecock proper to provide the product.

c919 The Shinnecock Confederation reaches the Ohio River to the west and Rappahannock River to the South.

The first city on North American is realized when the capital of the Shinnecock Confederation reaches a population of 25,000

c931 – 936 a plague ravishes the Shinnecock Confederation. Almost 25% of the population dies. More would have died except for the discovery of a mold that when chewed with other herbs can heal the sick.

c950 – 979 The Shinnecock rebuild after the loss of so many people. The Confederation is still strong but is still plagued with aggressive tribes to the south, Powhaten and Erie to the west that try to take advantage of the plague.

The first college is founded that teaches medicine, math, astronomy, war and several building crafts.

c980-1000 The second war for the Confederation develops between the Erie. Even with less developed weapons the Erie fight a strong battle and almost defeat the Confederation because of a rebellion of several Seneca tribes until they were able to finally take the attack to the Erie by boat from the Great Lakes. This is the first naval assault in North American and changes the way wars are fought.

Because of the Seneca rebellion they are displaced and sent westward on what will become known as the Trail of Tears. They will eventually settle in what is Wisconsin. The Erie become the first truly enslaved race. The children are taken to Confederation schools and the women are dispersed among the confederation. Some leave with the Seneca. Many men become labors in the salt mines of central New York. To be called Seneca is to be called a traitor.

c1000 – 1100 The first Golden Era for the Confederation. There was exploration along the coast to the Florida Peninsula and the Great Lakes to Superior. Mining in Canada produces metals for weapons and tools. Homes of the upper class start becoming a stone mix with limestone, sand and water to produce the first primitive concrete. The capital is moved from Long Island to Central New York. Government is decentralized with the tribal council still meeting in the old capital. Medicine as advanced leading to less child birth and longer life expectancy of 65 years compared to 50 in Europe. The road system is expanded to include the whole confederation. This reduces travel from one end of the confederation to another from 3 weeks to a week. The beginning of the great canal is started will take another 50 years to be completed.
 
Original ideas in this TL. I like it.

What happened to the Norse colonists in current Nova Scotia? After the founding of the Norse colonies was there contact between them and Greenland, and if so for how long?
 
I realized that I really didn't touch on the Nova Scotia Norse as it didn't fit in what I was trying to do, plus I'm not that good....yet. It is a bothersome hole.
 
1000 – 1100 The first Golden Era for the Confederation. There was exploration by sea along the coast to the Florida Peninsula and the Great Lakes to Superior. Mining in Canada produces metals for weapons and tools. Fishing off the coast and in the on the great lakes as well as abundant farming lets many in the confederation live very well.

Homes of the upper class start becoming a stone mix with limestone, sand and water to produce the first primitive concrete.

The capital has grown to over 40,000 and several cities have populations of 15,000 or more.

Medicine as advanced leading to less child birth deaths and longer life expectancy of 65 years compared to 50 in Europe. A better understanding of the human body is discovered leading to the first operation, closing a wound with animal gut.

The road system is expanded to include the whole confederation. This reduces travel from one end of the confederation to another from 3 weeks to a week. The beginning of the great canal is started will take another 50 years to be completed.

1113 The Confederation had grown to include all of what is current day New England, Southeastern Canada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and parts of Virginia. The population was over 2,000,000. Infant mortality was only 15 for every 1000 compared to 180 on the rest of the continent.

The tribal council now included over 100 representatives. The first non Shinnecock had been elected Tribal Chieftain. Expeditions had reached another great sea (this will be found to be the Pacific). In their travels they found what was left of the Seneca. Shinnecock colonies were started in the St. Augustine area of Florida and now with a population of 10,000. Over the next several years this colony would be harassed by neighboring Seminole tribes. Peaceful overtures were made and rebuffed several times. Only the Colonies superior numbers and weapons keep the Seminole from outright attacking the town.

1115 After many years of peace the Confederation finds itself with another hostile enemy with an alliance between the Creek, Cherokee and Catawba in North Georgia. Lead by the Creek they were able to raise an army of 15,000 warriors. The Shinnecock has a standing army of 10,000 with the ability to raise another 50,000. This swells to an additional 15,000 during non farming months. After sending several emissaries war was declared.

1116 the war started with an Alliance push into Virginia along the James River and eastern peninsula into Maryland and Delaware. Since this was relatively new Confederation territory the infrastructure was not built up as in other areas leaving it vulnerable to attack. The Alliance pushed into Southeastern Pennsylvania from present day Gettysburg to Philadelphia. The small Shinnecock militia was in full retreat.

The Shinnecock countered by sending a large fleet with 2,000 soldiers on 200 boats and canoes down the Susquehanna River landing at Columbia Pa along with 3,000 by from the west and engaged the Alliance at York Pa. This was the first major battle of the war. 5,000 Confederation meet 2,000 Alliance in one of the bloodiest battles ever on North American soil. A Confederation scouting party met the first Alliance at Red Lion. The Alliance thinking they where still encountering militia pressed the attack.

The Confederation had split the army sending 3,000 to the north to encircle the Alliance army. The plan was for the smaller force (2000) to be pushed back to the river then split north and south and the larger force pinning them against the bank. The plan worked to perfection and the Alliance Army was destroyed with over 50% retreating back south.

1117 The second Alliance army of 5,000 encountered strong resistance just north of present day Philadelphia. A force of 3000 well trained Militia turned back the Alliance army due to superior weapons.

The Confederation also used bows and arrows but the arrows were metal tips and the shields had metal coatings. Besides these weapons they also used lancers on buffalo drawn armored chariots. While not fast they were able to maneuver faster then foot soldiers. They were also to have buffalo drawn wagons that allowed large groups to be moved quickly.

Part of the first Confederation army continued down the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay to Hampton roads. 1000 had been left at the confluence of the Big Elk River (Elkton Md.) and the remaining 2,000 went south. The Alliance army was essentially trapped by larger and better equipped forces. For the next 3 months the Alliance army was chased all over the Delmarva Peninsula ending in their surrender.

1119 The Confederation landed its largest ever assembled force. A total of 20,000 warriors landed at Savannah Georgia and marched into the heart of the Alliance territory. Marching up the Savannah River they met little opposition. Since the majority of the Alliance force was in the north they were ill prepared for the attack from the south. The Shinnecock wanted to set an example for any others that wanted to oppose them. The scorched earth march caused fear and panic to the population. A wide swath of land was left with not only burnt out villages but almost no population. Many people fled from the oncoming army.

The first major battle of the southern campaign was at Augusta. The heavily out-manned Alliance army fought bravely but were soon routed.

The confederation used a new weapon for the first time. The catapults that shoots burning rocks over 200 yards.

The Confederation Army split with half going north, the other going east toward Columbia and the Northern army coming south through Hampton Roads. The plan was to meet at the Alliance capital. Eventually the Confederation Armies converged on the largest city of the Alliance. The leaders sued for peace. It was granted with serious conditions that would hinder future develop for decades.

1173 A fire devastates a large swatch of the capital city killing thousands and destroying hundreds of homes. A second fire years later causes people to rethink the crowding in cities. Over time many cities spread out over several miles and not as congested as European cities.

1180-1492 The Confederation lived with an uneasy peace with the Alliance. The Confederation has grown to include the eastern half of Canada, what would have been the USA from the Eastern Ohio south to Virginia with colonies in Florida and the West Indies.

Exploration had reached as far south as the Cape Horn. Trade was established with several the Toltec, Aztec and Inca.

Farming has developed to include many native plants including wheat and soy beans. From these may products were developed, bread, cereals and soy oil and paste.

Ranches grew for Buffalo and sheep being the largest animal products and deer were becoming more available as a food source do to controlled herding.

The Alliance has grown to include the southeast from North Carolina to Georgia west to Missouri.

The Confederation has met strange men with yellowish skin and funny eyes. They have all of the Pacific coast and east to the Rockies.

The Midwest is controlled by several tribes including the Illini, Sioux.

Several tribes send their brightest to Confederation colleges and schools.


October 1492 While on out fishing Tyndalo spotted a sail on the horizon. He wondered who it could be because it was coming from the wrong direction to be a Confederation merchant. His sons soon seen 2 more sail’s and they knew by the shape that they were not Confederation ships. They pulled their nets and set sail to let the towns people know. The town only had small fishing boats.

The Tribal leader and several prominent members of the town went out to meet the landing boats. History tells that the White men met with the tribal leaders. They spoke an unknown language but attempted to trade some trinkets for food and water. Eventually they were given the food and water but not allowed inland. One of the ships, the Nina, sailed south leaving two remaining.

The leaders sent word to the nearest city of these strange white men.

November 1492 Its unknown what actually happened but a young lady on a walk on the beach was confronted and raped by several white sailors. The tribe was outraged and they attacked the White camp. Only 5 sailors were able to get away. Among the dead was the ships captain, Christopher Columbus.

The 2 ships sailed south away from the town. Having no ships they could only send a message to the nearest port that was north of town.

December 1492. The Nina found the other ships gone. Not knowing what happened to the Santa Maria and Pinta, they find themselves surrounded by Confederation boats. Having little supplies and will to fight they surrender. The ship, Captain Pinzon and eight of the 24 sailors are taken north to the capital. The remaining were kept as slaves.

1493-1496 The Santa Maria is the only ship to return, the Pinta having sunk in a storm mid Atlantic. Of the three ships and 85 men only one ship and 22 men return.

Meeting with Ferdinand II, Captain Martin Pinzon tells of meeting copper-skinned savages and lush green lands. They also mention gold so as not to appear as if the voyage was a waste. Not having much contact with the Confederation or any other natives they give the impression that the Natives are indeed savages because of their dress and language. The rumors of gold and riches in the new land spread quickly. Another expedition is planned to sail by 1497.

The Confederation learned much from the captured sailors and ship. Many new discoveries were made. Gun powder and cannons as well as the Captain’s handgun we reversed engineered. These were taken to different colleges around the confederation. The Confederation develops many weapons and learn many new trades from the captured sailors.

The confederation Navy that only includes a few ships with most ships used for trading was enlarged to meet the anticipated return of the White men. Cannon are added to ships and larger battleships are made. Patrols are sent out along the Confederation coast.
 
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