Like what areas could serve as equivalents to the Ruhr River in Europe and the great lakes and North East region in the US where manufacturing is or was heavily prominent thanks to various resources around the region. I don't mean for where an industrial revolution could take place, but in general if there were to be large manufacturing centers where large scale industrialization was to occur, where in Africa and Latin America would that be. I imagine for Africa , such a place would be the Nile River, where factories could gain lots of energy from the water, but that's the only place I can think of. Could anyone else tell me what other places would be natural centers of industry? There's no particular POD or scenario, so I guess any level of technology as long as its not ASB. I just want to know what areas of Africa/ Latin America are the best for setting factories and other things that are tied to industrialization and manufacturing.
What areas of Africa and Latin America are best suited for industry/ manufacturing?
- Thread starter NiGHTS
- Start date
South Africa have coal and steel, if the Dutch had settle more people there and earlier, it would have potential.
Ethiopia have a lot of potential for watermills, it also have have lignite, if it could modernise, it do have the potential to be the African Japan. There was one Ethiopian emperor converting to Catholicism in the 17th century, but his heirs ended the experiment. But let's say that it turn out to be a success, and we see a Ethiopia beginning to integrate with Europe, through a mix of the Catholic Church setting up in the country, but also Europeans artisans and miners settling (in limited numbers) in Ethiopia, it's one of the few places in Africa where Europeans wouldn't dies like flies. The Catholic Church and the alliance with European states results in the Ethiopians expanding against their non-Christian neighbours, which push reforms of the army, but also the creation of the necessary infrastructure, institutions and logistic to recruit and field the armies necessary for these war, fundamental creating a centralised state with a modern bureaucracy and the taxation infrastructure.
Ethiopia have a lot of potential for watermills, it also have have lignite, if it could modernise, it do have the potential to be the African Japan. There was one Ethiopian emperor converting to Catholicism in the 17th century, but his heirs ended the experiment. But let's say that it turn out to be a success, and we see a Ethiopia beginning to integrate with Europe, through a mix of the Catholic Church setting up in the country, but also Europeans artisans and miners settling (in limited numbers) in Ethiopia, it's one of the few places in Africa where Europeans wouldn't dies like flies. The Catholic Church and the alliance with European states results in the Ethiopians expanding against their non-Christian neighbours, which push reforms of the army, but also the creation of the necessary infrastructure, institutions and logistic to recruit and field the armies necessary for these war, fundamental creating a centralised state with a modern bureaucracy and the taxation infrastructure.
So in Africa, Ethiopia and South Africa are good for industrialization. Good to find out, I always hear that Ethiopia would have had issues becoming an "African Japan" for one reason or another. So, what other places in Africa could work, or what about Latin America?
I don't think that any other places in Africa truly have the potential. But some places have the potential for modernisation. Morocco could become north Africa's Spain, while Egypt could have become the Russia of Africa.
As for Latin America; Mexico, Chile, Argentina and southern Brazil. Honestly to large extent I think most of South America are pretty much as well functioning as we can expect with their history, if the Spanish adopted a settlement policy maybe they could do better, but they pretty much lacked the population to do better than they did in OTL. Mexico are the one country I could see develop better, but that would demand some luck and a USA which wasn't a threat.
Skallagrim
Banned
West Africa also has potential. The Nok people (of what is now Nigeria) worked and smelted iron. Their general environs also have coal. Further west, there's even more iron deposits. There's also gold to be mined along the coast of West Africa, so that can provide wealth. And if an industrialised society does get going there, they're right on top of a whole lot of oil later on. (That's for the very long term, of course, but it will eventually matter.)
EDIT: ninja'd!
EDIT: ninja'd!
Not really if raw material was the only thing you needed for a industrialisation Greenland would be a major industrial power.
Okay, let's presume that any region in Africa or Latin America has the best political situation possible, but what specific regions, like what rivers or specific locations in Mexico for example, would be best for industrialization in the same way that the Ruhr area of Germany is or was it's main industrial center. Also let's not try to change the boarders of Latin America, instead let's keep it to OTL boarders.
In Latin America, we only have two serious candidates:
Mexico, if it can halt US expansion and manage to be politically stable, can easily become a developped and industrialized nation; Also, Brazil can evolve to be an early industrialized nation if it can overcome slavery and attract immigrats earlier, it surely has enough (bad quality) coal to start a small scale industrial revolution and rapidly expand it later with hydropower. The other areas with considerable coal reserves have serious natural disadvantages (aka the Andes) to develop the necessary infrastructe; Argentina OTOH have reserves way too far from the main population centers and is too sparsely populated to become an industrialized society during the 19th century.
In Africa, the obvious choice is South Africa. The century-long tension between the British and the Afrikaners clearly avoided further immigration to South Africa, one scenario that I'm particularly fond of is the development of a Cape Republic instead of the British Cape Colony after Dutch rule. Later in the 19th century the Cape Republic would eventually absorb the Boer republics and adopt an immigration friendly policy as most New World nations.
Thanks for the map! That should be incredibly useful for the board. Although I am not restricting this to coal as any source of energy should be considered, no matter the POD. Like I imagine that northern Mexico can be good for solar power, and thus become a center of manufacturing or industry in the sense of solar powered factories spread across the North.
In Latin America, we only have two serious candidates:
Mexico, if it can halt US expansion and manage to be politically stable, can easily become a developped and industrialized nation; Also, Brazil can evolve to be an early industrialized nation if it can overcome slavery and attract immigrats earlier, it surely has enough (bad quality) coal to start a small scale industrial revolution and rapidly expand it later with hydropower. The other areas with considerable coal reserves have serious natural disadvantages (aka the Andes) to develop the necessary infrastructe; Argentina OTOH have reserves way too far from the main population centers and is too sparsely populated to become an industrialized society during the 19th century.
In Africa, the obvious choice is South Africa. The century-long tension between the British and the Afrikaners clearly avoided further immigration to South Africa, one scenario that I'm particularly fond of is the development of a Cape Republic instead of the British Cape Colony after Dutch rule. Later in the 19th century the Cape Republic would eventually absorb the Boer republics and adopt an immigration friendly policy as most New World nations.
Coal was the main fuel of the 1st industrial revolution. If you want to change it, you'll have strong repercussions worldwide.
I am not saying restricting the POD to anything I am just asking in general what locations in Latin America and Africa have the potential to be centers of industry or manufacturing based on their resources and climate.
I understand. That's why I ruled out the Andean nations (i.e. no railroads) and Argentina. By the way, IIRC Colombia is the most important coal producer in Latin America.