With a POD of no earlier than 1800 and involving no apocalyptic events (asteroid strikes,nuclear wars,etc) how long can the Industrial Revolution and technology in general be held back? Would it be possible to have 50's level technology as late as the 2010's? How would this impact social and economic development in the 19th and 20th Centuries?
AHC:Postpone the Industrial Revolution
- Thread starter Gallinatus
- Start date
Avoid Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation, deny John Calvin a chance to push against the Vatican Monolith, keep England Catholic, and push scientific endeavours so far underground that only in desperate hours or dire circumstances are they pursued until a newer country or non-European power (Mysore, Texas, Japan, China, etc) decides to encourage their pursuit? 2020 might look more like 1850, complete with newer plagues and a much lower world population. The corresponding world map may also look *very* different.
Alright,then just whatever can keep technological progress slow as possible.
Getting rid of this is a start:
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Well I think the role of Protestantism is overstated, it helped that the Netherlands and England were relatively tolerant places in the late seventeenth century. I suspect that hardcore Calvinism in either place would have helped much, but they both had good compromises to settle their religious wars. You need the Scientific Revolution to get to the Industrial Revolution.
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Well I think the role of Protestantism is overstated, it helped that the Netherlands and England were relatively tolerant places in the late seventeenth century. I suspect that hardcore Calvinism in either place would have helped much, but they both had good compromises to settle their religious wars. You need the Scientific Revolution to get to the Industrial Revolution.
Oops. Misread 'earlier' as 'later'. In that case, have the Napoleonic Wars engender a great deal more fear of destructive power involving newer technologies like rocketry, steam-powered ships, and similar military technologies. Make the Luddites and similar groups more successful, combine them with Marxist elements in democratic countries and disincentivize industrial development outside of peripheral or non-European countries (Mysore, Japan, China, maybe a different Republic of Texas, etc). Embolden the Counter-Reformation and reinforce the Second Great Awakening or even make room for a Third Great Awakening with further effect. Make the Crimean War and 1848 rebellions even more deadly to reinforce the effect, especially if there is no gain to be had at the end of either.
Continue with a Franco-Prussian War and then a World War I with technology more akin to the 1870s or early 1880s. Make it such a killing field that by war's end, especially if the 1918 Flu pandemic hits, it is viewed by the religious as punishment for sin and the Luddites as punishment for irresponsible technological development. Have them win power in most of the Western democracies, have their ideologies infect the Soviet brand of Communism. Make technological innovation reviled publically if discovered and against the law with stiff punishments. If successful enough some 'recent' technologies are likely lost and by 2020 we may see a blend of OTL 19th century tech at various levels, probably railroads and semi-automatic weapons, but no computers, telephones, or perhaps even mass-produced steel.
Continue with a Franco-Prussian War and then a World War I with technology more akin to the 1870s or early 1880s. Make it such a killing field that by war's end, especially if the 1918 Flu pandemic hits, it is viewed by the religious as punishment for sin and the Luddites as punishment for irresponsible technological development. Have them win power in most of the Western democracies, have their ideologies infect the Soviet brand of Communism. Make technological innovation reviled publically if discovered and against the law with stiff punishments. If successful enough some 'recent' technologies are likely lost and by 2020 we may see a blend of OTL 19th century tech at various levels, probably railroads and semi-automatic weapons, but no computers, telephones, or perhaps even mass-produced steel.
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Make Napoleon more successful, which would weaken the British economy and slow investment in new technologies beyond what was already around by 1800. If you can arrange it so that Napoleon holds on to French Louisiana, you could also substantially slow down development in the United States, but I'm not sure if slowing it down by 60 years is plausible without something apocalyptic. At some point, if Britain and the US don't develop technology, somebody else will.
Viola
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Avoiding the Reformation and having a stronger Catholicism would do nothing.
Protestant work ethics and the devilish Church that forces the poor scientists undergrounds are fairy tales, by Protestants and Enlightenment philosophers with too much of an ax to grind. Why are we still believing them?
The Industrial Revolution was caused by specific economic and technological developments in England, combined with its naval and commercial power and its relative stability. You can screw over the Industrial Revolution in England by screwing over England, so that its society is too troubled by wars or instability, or too weak economically, to start its economic developments that eventually led to industrialization. Make the country unstable, in civil war, occupied or in chaos and you can achieve that.
Otherwise the British are going to trigger the Industrial Revolution whether they're Protestants, Catholics or Shintoists.
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