First change: an avanced and seafaring civilization should develop in the OTL US Eastern seaboard or Quebec / Ontario....other regions are unfavorable to the contact with Europe (Caribbean islands too small to support a civilization with ocean-crossing skills, Eastern South America too far and Pacific Coast)
You don't necessarily need Iroquois, they weren't the only tribal confederacy. The New Englanders, the Wabanaki Confederacy, formed as a reaction to them. Perhaps they could be the ones to reach Europe. Or better yet, the Dorset People, the Tuniit, better resist Inuit depredations and adopt bows, become a bit more advanced, and as more Inuit come they migrate further east, expanding into Greenland and reaching Iceland in their sea-voyages.Maybe the Iroquois tribes coalesce several hundred years earlier, come to dominate the Eastern seaboard, and adapt their war canoes to coastal travel. Then, due to butterflies, seal skins become a prized commodity for the Iroquois elite. Iroquois merchants begin to range as far north as Greenland and come into contact with Norse ships. An intrepid Iroquois explorer, based on the legends of his Inuit guide, sail to the 'Eastern Land of the Rising Sun' and discover Iceland?
What about going westward, to Siberia or Australia/New Zealand?
There was low-level contact between North America and Siberia in OTL, but maybe these could be intensified somehow...
Aren't the Tlingit actually closer to Asia? You know, being in Alaska and all?Well, the Haida hunted wales, which suggests the beginings of an active sea-going culture. Maybe they are left alone long enough to make the leap to ocean-going ships? Imagine the impact of a Haida fleet dropping anchor in Tokyo Bay.![]()
Well, the Haida hunted wales, which suggests the beginings of an active sea-going culture. Maybe they are left alone long enough to make the leap to ocean-going ships? Imagine the impact of a Haida fleet dropping anchor in Tokyo Bay.![]()
IMHO the impact would be much greater if the Iroquois arrived in Lisbon....the Japanese had the Ainu people and they could think that the Haida were somewhat similar to the Ainu or other farflung Siberian people......instead, Europe never saw something like the Iroquois or other Native American tribe.
How you define "like"? Europe has seen Arabs, Sami, even a few Africans.
Yeah, that kinda makes the Pacific Northwest people much less likely to go far. And that's also why I posited the idea of Tuniit being the ones to do it.didn't most seafaring cultures develop because of lack of land resources? why would the continental Indian cultures need or want to go to sea?
didn't most seafaring cultures develop because of lack of land resources? why would the continental Indian cultures need or want to go to sea?
Continental America has a lot of advantages that could be gained from a seafaring culture and even more of an advantage for this on the islands. As a few examples the modern US coast has a huge amount of fish, it has many natural harbors that are perfectly suited for trade, in fact its a bit surprising that the natives didnt develop a seafaring culture.