Recent content by Escape Zeppelin

  1. My random ideas to create a more ideologically unstable world in the 19th century(and also give me yours)

    The Confederates winning would destabilize the entire Western hemisphere. The French would probably try to stay in Mexico under Napoleon III which would spell the end of the Monroe Doctrine and lead to additional European intervention in the Americas. Plus, it's almost guaranteed to lead to...
  2. WI: Hippos... in the CSA?

    Only about 25 of the now 130+ hippos have been sterilized and population estimates still puts their numbers at 400+ by the end of the decade and 1500+ by 2034. The expense and fact the locals are making good tourist money off the hippos is also a big barrier to controlling numbers.
  3. AHC : Western romance speaking europe united

    I agree with @mrmandias as well but a different Napoleonic war is also a possibility.
  4. Did Poppaea Sabina die before or after the Pisonian conspiracy?

    She was likely still alive at that time. The conspiracy was to be carried out April 19 and Suetonius says Poppaea died in summer. Tacitus says she died sometime after the Quinquennial Neronia festival and while I can't find a date for that I'm guessing you wouldn't host an arts festival in early...
  5. What if the Romans used a luni-solar calendar?

    Rome used a lunar-solar calendar early in their history. Legend says that the 10 month calendar was created with the founding of Rome but I personally suspect it was switched over much later. According to Wikipedia the various calendars of the Greek city states were lunisolar calendars until...
  6. Irish Argentina

    Yep! My great grandmother was born in Argentina because of this. The family ended up in a suburb of Buenos Aires and actually did ok in Argentina and spent about 6 years there before returning to Ireland.
  7. AHC: At least one military engagement in the Antarctic

    Argentina has claimed King George Island since the 1940's. If Britain still has a small outpost there during the Falkland's War I could see Argentina sending a ship there.
  8. Who else could have developed gunpowder?

    Anybody could have, that's what makes its discovery so interesting. Charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter have all been well known since at least early antiquity and there are even mentions of burning saltpeter as a weapon in ancient India. The Chinese discovery was probably a combination of pure luck...
  9. WI: Caesar and Cleopatra had a daughter

    She won't inherit anything from Caesar under Roman law but I wouldn't rule out her being killed for pure convenience to eliminate any potential future claimants to Egypt through Cleopatra's line since she could inherit in Egypt. After all, Augustus tricked and lured Caesarion all the way back...
  10. AH Cultural Descriptions

    The title of the 1973 romance film staring Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand. The two title characters are history students on an exchange program in Turkey to study the ruins of ancient Troy when they capture the attention of the famous playboy Pépé Abed who is building a resort nearby. They...
  11. Effects of the Expulsion of the Huguenots on the French Economy

    https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2020/10/16/what-consequences-did-religious-intolerance-against-the-huguenots-have-in-france/ This analysis suggests the expulsion doesn't appear to have made a negative impact on the economy of France and possibly may have had some short term benefits like...
  12. River transport on a medieval Mississippi?

    Assuming a civilization or series of civilizations along the Mississippi river with a late medieval/ early modern level of technology, what would the regular traffic along the river look like? I know early American settlers would raft down river, sell the raft for lumber, and then walk home but...
  13. WI: Confederate emigrants in Belgian Cuba

    Here's an interesting paper on Belgium's possible purchase of Cuba: https://read.dukeupress.edu/hahr/article/39/3/413/161742/Belgium-and-the-Prospective-Sale-of-Cuba-in-1837 The British position was if Belgium acquired Cuba they wouldn't be able to hold it against a Cuban insurrection without...
  14. WI: The Richard Reaches America in 1606

    Probably they succeed a little better than the second attempt. That was mostly abandoned due to their late summer arrival which meant no time for planting and food ran short. Since the Richard was captured in November near Florida I'd guess that they'd arrive at the colony site some time in...
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