The Song (And the Ching) hit a resource trap. Heck, if we're looking at Yellow River valley in China, not only as the prerequisites for industrialization there, in some ways, they are better than Europe. For all the arch discussions of the "social" lack of China, Manchu China had better land...
What I always think of a surviving South is that yes, it's likely to be Paraguay. Probably for a lot of the same kind of enthusiasts who went to OTL Paraguay and Argentina from Middle Europe. Because remember, what's the big intellectual trend of the latter 19th Century and early 20th? Eugenics...
I think that the key determinate between the unlikly that happens (Bonaparte becoming Napoleon I, Ghengis Khan, the Rise of Rome) is that while they were quite wildly successful, there's nothing unusual about their acts in the time they were happening. Rome is a town on the Tiber... with...
I'm part of the response sometimes. I just insist that reasons for a British intervention be ones that existed in 1861-62, and not ones that require a preternatural knowledge of future events or an altruistic devotion to Southern Independence. Intervention is possible - but it's a steep hill to...
Less than a "Southern Victory" being ASB - it really isn't - it's more that "the type of Southern Victory acceptable to those with the most emotional stake in that victory" are ASB, or perhaps "the reasons for same" are ASB.
A victory of exhaustion, producing a CSA that contains most (but not...
I feel like Henry VII's paranoia is going to make a domestic match a little dicey. By the 1500s, Henry is in an angry, paranoid mood, and half of the people the future Henry VIII could marry are probably getting sick of the bonds and exactions. I could see Henry VII being afraid that marrying...
I'm aware of the difference in the processes, and the massive electrical needs of Birkeland. I'm more interested in the source of your numbers for my own digging.
Excellent, I had not known of the more... explosive... problems. I'm wondering the rough comparison of man hours and electricity: I know it's "more", I'm wondering "how much?" Are we talking arc method amounts?
Gentles, I'm looking for some more detailed information on German nitrate sources during the Great War. In particular, I'm looking for information concerning the relative efficiencies of Cyanomede vs. Haber-Bosch that are web accessible and not behind a paywall. In this case, I'm specifically...
Bingo. What people miss about American slavery is that it was not just an economic question surrounding cotton. Many things were cultivated with slave agriculture, and there was a good deal of industrialization involving salve workers. By the 1850s, it was a civilization and an ethos. It will...
On 2), I'd throw in that the English at the time beating up the French wasn't all that unknown - long bows, better command structures, and a willingness not to treat the charge as the be all and end all mean that the English winning a field battle isn't that unknown. The luck is 1) The French...
Distract? It's hard to distract Medieval people, they're usually trying not to starve to death. I'm more suggesting that the chevauchee was an excellent way to keep your heavily armed nobility in check. Which if you're the English Kings, looks like a really good idea because they get feisty when...
A few thoughts.
1) The Constituent Assembly is likely to be far bolder than James II's parliament to reorder things as they like. They've worked a good head of steam on that front, after all, and they're going to be making Louis the King of the French in a few months OTL.
2) Deciding that...