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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Feb 12, 2021 17:24:08 GMT -5
How would our world be different if the north pole looked as it does in this map? Given the mountain chains that are around the outer edge of those central four islands, it would surely look more like Antarctica and even now in the present day be glacier covered. But what about the past when there was no ice anywhere on the planet aside from the highest mountains, what would the world have been like if the north pole looked like this and we have 16th century level sailing, but no gunpowder?  |
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Post by youngbuck on Feb 21, 2021 18:09:52 GMT -5
If the north pole looked like that we would have an ice cap the equal of Antarctica sitting there right now and there would be no talk of an open Northwest Passage. With that outer ring of mountains to hold the ice cap in place, Antarctica would be mostly ice free before the north pole. However once both were ice free the new land exposed would help of offset the "Drowned Lands." Another thing is that with the ice gone (present day) the various countries might decide sharing Antarctica (and the north pole) is not such a good idea after all. It was easy to make that treaty when a mile or two of ice covered everything, but once you can get at the resources all bets are off.
But if it were the 16th century with no gunpowder, colonization would still be going on, it would just be a lot tougher. And there would be a lot more places to colonize. Now the north pole is close to Europe and it would have been right there along with North America. While Antarctica due to its remoteness would have been the last and I would bet without the ice and a temperate climate, it might even be one of the richest.
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Post by hengest on Aug 10, 2021 0:28:22 GMT -5
Bumping this by posting, can't believe I missed this one.
I am going to have to think about this more, but my first thought is that it depends on when this setup was discovered. Was it reasonably or semi-known centuries before or is it a recent discovery?
If it has been known for some time, then I assume it has been colonized at least a bit by the northern powers...but perhaps not to the degree of having colonies that are worth much monetarily. But if then something is discovered at the Pole that means having a foothold is advantageous, there could be stresses...
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Post by Traveroark on Sept 8, 2021 21:28:50 GMT -5
If the north pole looked like that we would have an ice cap the equal of Antarctica sitting there right now and there would be no talk of an open Northwest Passage. With that outer ring of mountains to hold the ice cap in place, Antarctica would be mostly ice free before the north pole. However once both were ice free the new land exposed would help of offset the "Drowned Lands." Another thing is that with the ice gone (present day) the various countries might decide sharing Antarctica (and the north pole) is not such a good idea after all. It was easy to make that treaty when a mile or two of ice covered everything, but once you can get at the resources all bets are off. But if it were the 16th century with no gunpowder, colonization would still be going on, it would just be a lot tougher. And there would be a lot more places to colonize. Now the north pole is close to Europe and it would have been right there along with North America. While Antarctica due to its remoteness would have been the last and I would bet without the ice and a temperate climate, it might even be one of the richest. I think you are right, if the poles both had land and the ice went away, the idea of sharing would be gone. And of course gold would be discovered both places. |
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Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Sept 9, 2021 11:16:45 GMT -5
If the north pole looked like that we would have an ice cap the equal of Antarctica sitting there right now and there would be no talk of an open Northwest Passage. With that outer ring of mountains to hold the ice cap in place, Antarctica would be mostly ice free before the north pole. However once both were ice free the new land exposed would help of offset the "Drowned Lands." Another thing is that with the ice gone (present day) the various countries might decide sharing Antarctica (and the north pole) is not such a good idea after all. It was easy to make that treaty when a mile or two of ice covered everything, but once you can get at the resources all bets are off. But if it were the 16th century with no gunpowder, colonization would still be going on, it would just be a lot tougher. And there would be a lot more places to colonize. Now the north pole is close to Europe and it would have been right there along with North America. While Antarctica due to its remoteness would have been the last and I would bet without the ice and a temperate climate, it might even be one of the richest. I think you are right, if the poles both had land and the ice went away, the idea of sharing would be gone. And of course gold would be discovered both places. Gold will always be discovered, that is one way that history always seems to repeat itself. |
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