Re: Brithenig/Aelyan North America (was: Re: Languages in the Brithenig universe)

Matt Pearson wrote:

> Aidan wrote:Speaking as an interested outside observer, I think this whole issue
> of how the
> colonisation of the Americas could have remained limited should be given
> serious thought.  What was it, specifically, which gave the indigenous peoples a
> fighting chance against encroaching Europeans in *that* universe, whereas they
> had
> almost no chance in *this* universe?  I find it extremely implausible that the
> European colonists were simply more well-meaning and respectful of native
> peoples *there* than they were *here*.
>
    That's why I mentioned that the missionary influence had to be nil or
negligible - missionaries were responsible for a lot more of the devastation of the
native people than the military or government was. Well, expansion of settlers too,
but if there were no missionaries to pave the way, it would've been extremely
dangerous for settlers without Native acceptance (which wasn't all that hard to get
at the beginning - hence many of our "puchases" from them). I don't see the
Homelands as being exclusive either - just native dominant. There are whites,
hispanics and so on, in those areas.

> One major difference between the Europe of *there* and the Europe of *here*,
> from what I've been able to gather by lurking on this thread, is that there
> were more (and smaller) nation-states there.  So perhaps colonisation happened
> on a smaller scale, and in a more chaotic fashion, *there* than *here*?
>
    A possibility!

> But even if that were the case, that doesn't explain everything.  How, for
> example, did the Europeans prevent the introduction of new diseases from
> exterminating large numbers of indigenous people?  Or, if there was indeed
> such extermination *there*, how did the indigenous peoples recover from
> it sufficiently to establish autonomous states?
    They can't have avoided some of the illness, but if the new colonists were less
"grabby" and more assisting, a lot of the sickness could be avoided. Passing out
blankets infested with smallpox later in the game, for example, would've helped a
lot. If my idea about missionary influence flies, and this history of North America
*there* is accepted, the simple fact of danger would've kept disease much much
lower. Then, with the development of the NAL, if fairly late, could've involved
mass innoculations too.

    Aelyan present in the Brithenig universe is still kind of up for debate - we'll
see where it goes...