Why the British invested in Canada when they already had India? Why one excludes the other?
What POD to Have Early Industrialization in Roman Period?
- Thread starter mplustwerk
- Start date
Why the British invested in Canada when they already had India? Why one excludes the other?
Because you get even more wealth? The Roman empire significantly developed infrastructure and agriculture in the west even with a wealthy east IOTL.
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The Romans liked money as well as the next person. I think people are misunderstanding the criticism. "Let's give the Romans Hindu numerals! And to stimulate agriculture, perhaps earlier diffusion of crops to stimulate an agricultural revolution."
Guys, the obvious place to get more crops from is an earlier Arabic revolution. And that means, in turn, more prosperity for the Roman East and Iberia. Not potatoes for Gaul.
The problem isn't really "why would the romans do this" it is how they get the technology and conditions to use it. To get an early industrial revolution your best POD is probably preventing or significantly delaying the rise of the Roman empire. This will allow for Hellenistic "science" (I'm uncomfortable using that term for the era but its the most accurate term I can think of) to develop. You already had great advancements in mathematics and medicine, and some engineering and minor technological advancements. Obviously any industrial revolution will still take a few hundred years to develop at the earliest, assuming an unbroken period of advancement, but the Romans arrested that golden age and then everything stagnated from there.
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Dang I feel guilty for being late to the thread.
The Romans already had pretty cheap papyrus apparently. Paper would still be useful of course but they could probably get by without it. If nothing else an entrepreneur will use treated tree bark (from personal experience I can attest birch bark can be very paper like at times).
Southern Gaul was pretty well populated actually, being a good place for colonia and all. Though if you're referring to Atlantic Gaul and Britain then you're right there.
Funny I was actually thinking about doing a TL on something similar where a Provincial Governor gets Governorship of a Germania province (this is not the POD, Arminius dying or something would be.) and tries to improve on agriculture and many other things to get himself out of debt and make money. After a few failed attempts he improves the plow design pretty well, not enough to rival productivity with Southern areas but enough to make a net profit and get himself out of debt and make some money while at it.
The Romans already had pretty cheap papyrus apparently. Paper would still be useful of course but they could probably get by without it. If nothing else an entrepreneur will use treated tree bark (from personal experience I can attest birch bark can be very paper like at times).
Southern Gaul was pretty well populated actually, being a good place for colonia and all. Though if you're referring to Atlantic Gaul and Britain then you're right there.
Funny I was actually thinking about doing a TL on something similar where a Provincial Governor gets Governorship of a Germania province (this is not the POD, Arminius dying or something would be.) and tries to improve on agriculture and many other things to get himself out of debt and make money. After a few failed attempts he improves the plow design pretty well, not enough to rival productivity with Southern areas but enough to make a net profit and get himself out of debt and make some money while at it.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
So this is a somewhat related thought I've been having for the past few hours; the gist:
The main prerequisite for an industrial revolution is a capitalist revolution; the main prerequisite for a capitalist revolution is the emergence of maritime globalization (what OTL saw as the Age of Discovery, the Columbian Exchange, etc); and the main prerequisite for the emergence of maritime globalization is both the maximalization (OTL's Mongolian Empire) and subsequent breadown (Crisis of 14th Century, etc) of continental globalization.
The main prerequisite for an industrial revolution is a capitalist revolution; the main prerequisite for a capitalist revolution is the emergence of maritime globalization (what OTL saw as the Age of Discovery, the Columbian Exchange, etc); and the main prerequisite for the emergence of maritime globalization is both the maximalization (OTL's Mongolian Empire) and subsequent breadown (Crisis of 14th Century, etc) of continental globalization.
Hm.
Maximalization and breakdown of continental globalization could be said to have occurred during Roman times, and maritime globalization was under way, too.
Yet, capitalism did not develop.
Also, i think one ought not forget the technological Basis provided by high-quality crafts which existed in OTL's Middle Ages, from clockworks over wire-drawing to textile manufacturing.