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If you could change a single part of pre 18th century history what would you change? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm looking for specific and non obvious answers. Give me something visceral, rid the world of a figure or nation you hate. Preserve a culture you adore. It doesn't have to make sense either, you are basically god here.

What I mean is don't just say you'd get rid of imperialism or colonialism bc no shit

Personally I would make it so that the Americas are never discovered by the old world and every "would be" conquistador (especially cortez and pizarro) explodes.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If they don't die in a droves, supposedly due to transported disease from the Old World, they will make their bones as a majority-indigenous continent akin to the former, and at worst, end up more like the western-imperialized people of Asia and Africa that later fights back rather than the near-genocided state they are known as, today...

That's why I'd do it about 1000 years before, to give the American population time to bounce back.

If despite the previous disease exposure and skills given, they die in similar amounts during the European conquest, we can more certainly conclude it was European imperialists and settlers, such as by their scorched earth tactics, and forced labor plantations, whose policies more purposely seeked to eliminate them in the early 1500s-1600s

I figure if they have iron or steel weapons, along with cavalry and other various animals to serve as beasts of burden and food sources, they'd be able to defend themselves from the Europeans pretty adequately no matter what.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (3 children)

That's why I'd do it about 1000 years before, to give the American population time to bounce back.

If we're dreaming let's give all the Native Americans vaccines and more diverse immune system genes. Or maybe teach the Europeans germ theory and basic hygiene before 1492.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Or maybe teach the Europeans germ theory and basic hygiene before 1492.

The British were giving out smallpox blankets well before germ theory. I don't think a more precise understanding of the mechanism of contagious disease transmission would have helped.

“Out of our regard to them … we gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect.” —An eyewitness, quoted in Elizabeth A. Fenn, Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775–81, 2001

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Preventing genocide by teaching British people to bathe

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

You're right, that's unrealistic. It makes more sense to travel back in time 600 years and vaccinate 100 million people.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Unfortunately they would probably just use that knowledge to better exterminate people. Idk if we are ready for the consequences of knowledgeable biological warfare in the 1500s

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

That's why I'd do it about 1000 years before, to give the American population time to bounce back.

I don't argue against that, I kinda agree with yer point; with such exposure, they should be able to be like Asia, Africa, and Europe, in that their populations are majority native to the region and acclimated to global zoonotic and human-spread diseases.

I figure if they have iron or steel weapons, along with cavalry and other various animals to serve as beasts of burden and food sources, they'd be able to defend themselves from the Europeans pretty adequately no matter what.

Good!