What would a Medieval America be Like?

Summary

This imaginative video script explores an alternate history scenario where modern America operates with medieval technology. It delves into the cultural, political, and economic implications of such a world, hypothesizing how geography, demographics, and historical events would shape this version of America. From the potential dominance of the Rust Belt to the rise of Pacific Northwest city-states, the script paints a rich tapestry of a diverse and complex medieval America.

Takeaways

• 🗺️ The video explores a hypothetical scenario of a modern America with medieval technology, focusing on cultural, political, and economic aspects.
• 🏰 It clarifies that this alternate America would not resemble medieval Europe due to its climatic diversity and the impracticality of feudalism and castles in the region.
• 📍 The geography and demographics would remain the same, but the technological level would be that of the year 1300, affecting the existence and size of cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
• 🌍 The video suggests that without modern communication, a unified America would be implausible, and regions would likely develop independently.
• 🌡️ Climate and disease would significantly impact population distribution, with areas like Florida and the southern coast being less populated due to swamps and diseases.
• 🛶 River systems and water transport would be crucial for city development, affecting the importance of cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, and leading to the rise of cities like St. Louis.
• 🐎 Nomadic tribes would play a significant role in the Great Plains, influencing the development of the region and posing challenges to centralized states.
• 🏙️ The Pacific Northwest would develop into a separate civilization due to its advantageous position, with city-states like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver emerging.
• 🛶 In the west, goat herding and a cowboy-Mongol style culture would develop, influenced by the terrain and the lack of suitable farming conditions.
• 🏰 Irrigation societies in the southwest would likely have authoritarian theocratic political structures due to centralized water control.
• 🛡️ The Appalachian region would be inhabited by forest tribes similar to those in medieval Europe, maintaining a warrior culture and engaging in raiding and trading.

Q & A

What was the purpose of the poll mentioned in the script?

The poll was conducted to determine what sort of content the audience wanted, with the video script discussing a hypothetical scenario of a modern America with medieval technology.

What does the author clarify about the hypothetical scenario presented in the video?

The author clarifies that the scenario is set in an impossible alternate dimension where America has the same geography and demographics as today but with the technology of the year 1300.

What is the potential outcome if the video about medieval America is successful?

If the video is successful, it could turn into a series focusing on each independent region in greater detail.

Why does the author suggest that feudalism and castles would not work in America with medieval technology?

The author suggests that feudalism and castles would not work because medieval communications were poor, making a transcontinental empire impossible, and such structures actively promoted disunity.

How does the author describe the impact of climate and geography on the potential cultural diversity of medieval America?

The author describes that due to America's greater climactic diversity compared to Europe, medieval America would be far more culturally diverse.

What role does water supply play in determining the survival of cities in medieval America according to the script?

In the script, water supply plays a crucial role as cities that do not have a strong water supply, like those in the American Southwest, would not survive or would be significantly reduced in size, such as Los Angeles and San Diego becoming fishing villages.

How does the author connect the historical use of DDT to the potential population of Florida in medieval America?

The author connects the use of DDT, which helped control mosquitoes and allowed for effective swamp drainage, to the potential population of Florida. Without such measures, Florida would remain uninhabited swampland, much like it was until the 1940s.

What advantage does the author suggest black Americans would have in the southern regions of medieval America?

The author suggests that black Americans would have an advantage in the southern regions due to a genetic mutation that helps them deal with malaria, which was a significant factor in their initial importation as slaves.

How does the author describe the impact of nomadic tribes on the development of cities in the grassland areas of medieval America?

The author describes that nomadic tribes, being highly mobile and having military advantages, would prevent the development of large centralized states in the grasslands, keeping cities like St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Chicago smaller than they could be.

What is the significance of the Mississippi River in the development of cities in medieval America according to the script?

According to the script, the Mississippi River is significant as it straddles the divide between the grassland and forest, affecting the development of cities in its vicinity. Cities would be kept smaller due to the threat of nomadic tribes.

What role does the author believe the Pacific Northwest would play in the development of a separate civilization in medieval America?

The author believes that the Pacific Northwest, due to its advantageous position with a wet region, great ocean transport, and being cut off from the rest of the continent by a massive mountain range, would develop into a wealthy and separate civilization with large city-states.

How does the author envision the development of trade in a medieval America?

The author envisions three main trade axes in a medieval America: one along the Atlantic coast, another in the Great Lakes, and a final one on the Ohio River. Junction points between these axes, such as Detroit, Cairo, Buffalo, Chicago, and Pittsburgh, would become important cities.

What challenges does the author identify for the formation of stable nations in medieval America?

The author identifies challenges such as the difficulty of maintaining nations with medieval technology, the need for geographically definable borders for unity, and the influence of local cultures and heritage on the potential for unity or disunity.

How does the author describe the potential cultural and societal development in the regions west of the Mississippi River in medieval America?

The author describes the potential development in the west as distinct from traditional Western European society norms, with cultures becoming their own thing due to the harsh western geography demanding changes to social order for survival.

What is the author's perspective on the role of religion in the development of medieval America?

The author suggests that in areas without a strong established church, such as the Pacific Northwest, secularity might be the norm, and a new philosophic non-religion could develop, possibly evolving into a sect of Christianity that prioritizes living in nature and meditation.

What factors contribute to the author's vision of New England as a distinct region in medieval America?

The author's vision of New England as a distinct region is influenced by its cultural and geographical differences, its history as mariners, and the rocky soil, which would drive the population towards the sea and a lifestyle similar to Scandinavians or Vikings, engaging in raiding and trading.

Outlines

00:00

🏰 Imagining a Medieval America: Introduction and Concept Overview

The script begins by referencing a previous poll about content preferences, leading to the introduction of a long-anticipated video concept: envisioning a modern-day America with medieval technology. The author clarifies that this hypothetical scenario takes place in an alternate dimension, maintaining the same geography and demographics as contemporary America but with the technological level of the year 1300. The video promises a broad review of how the cultural, political, and economic landscape of America and southern Canada would be transformed under these conditions. It suggests potential future series detailing each independent region more closely, should this video be well-received. The author also discusses the importance of leisure activities like reading, promoting an audible subscription service for a richer listening experience, and highlighting the book 'Darkness at Noon' by Arthur Koestler.

05:02

🌍 Geographical and Demographic Shifts in a Medieval America

This paragraph delves into the implications of applying medieval technology to the geography and demographics of America. It posits that the diverse climate of America would lead to a more culturally varied landscape compared to Europe. The author argues that with medieval communication limitations, a unified America as we know it would be implausible. The discussion then shifts to the impact of water supply on city survival, using examples like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which would be significantly smaller or non-existent due to water scarcity. Disease and swamplands, particularly in Florida, would also drastically reduce population density, affecting the habitability of regions and the distribution of cities.

10:03

🛤️ River Patterns and Nomadic Influences on Medieval American Cities

The script explores how reliance on rivers and coastal areas for transportation and trade would shape the importance of cities in medieval America. It suggests that cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, though politically significant, would not be as prominent due to disease challenges. The paragraph then discusses the influence of nomadic tribes on the control of grasslands, which were difficult for centralized medieval states to manage. The mobility and military advantages of nomadic tribes, as illustrated by historical examples like the Mongols, would affect the size and stability of cities near the grassland-forest divide, such as St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Chicago.

15:04

🏙️ Cultural and Political Landscapes of a Medieval America

This section of the script outlines the cultural and political structures that might emerge in different regions of medieval America. It describes how the rust belt region would become a central area due to its temperate climate, fertile soil, and water transport. The west of the Mississippi would have sparser populations, with cultures developing independently due to the harsh geography. The author discusses the potential for a nomadic cowboy-Mongol culture in the Great Plains, and how the lack of certain animals like camels would affect the southwest. Irrigation societies in the dry west would develop authoritarian theocratic structures, leading to potential weaknesses in social cohesion and military strength.

20:04

🗺️ Mapping the Political and Cultural Divergencies in Medieval America

The script continues to describe the political and cultural divergences across medieval America, with the west coast potentially developing into either a collection of city-states or a unified empire, influenced by factors like geography and the presence of the Mormons. It also speculates on the development of the Pacific Northwest as a separate civilization, with city-states like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver thriving due to their advantageous position, ocean transport, and natural barriers. The author also considers the impact of secularity and the potential for unique philosophic developments in regions without a strong established church.

🏰 The Feudal Structure and Cultural Heritage in Eastern Medieval America

The final paragraph discusses the feudal structure that would likely emerge in the eastern part of medieval America, with regions like Michigan, Ontario, and Wisconsin becoming unified due to their geographical features. It also considers the potential for Ohio to become a powerful state, similar to France, if it could unify with other regions. The author speculates on the cultural heritage of different regions, such as the Appalachian Mountains becoming a region of forest tribes similar to those in medieval Europe, and the Ozarks developing a similar culture due to poor soil conditions. The paragraph concludes with a reflection on the potential military prowess of the southern regions and the strategic importance of New Orleans as a major city.

Keywords

💡Medieval Technology

Medieval technology refers to the tools, methods, and machinery available during the Middle Ages, roughly between the 5th and 15th centuries. In the context of the video, it is used to imagine what modern America would look like if it had to rely on such outdated technology. The script discusses how this would drastically alter the geography, demographics, and infrastructure of the country, making certain cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas unsustainable due to water supply issues.

💡Climactic Diversity

Climactic diversity refers to the range of climates found within a region. The video script uses this term to explain how America's varied climate zones would affect cultural development if the country were to revert to medieval technology. The script suggests that unlike Europe, which has a more uniform climate, America's climactic diversity would lead to a more varied cultural landscape, affecting everything from city planning to agricultural practices.

💡Feudalism

Feudalism is a social, political, and economic system prevalent in medieval Europe, characterized by the exchange of land for service and protection. The script mentions feudalism as a potential societal structure that would not be practical in a medieval America due to the continent's vastness and poor medieval communication systems, which would make maintaining a transcontinental empire impossible.

💡Nomadic Tribes

Nomadic tribes are groups of people who do not settle in one place for long periods but instead move from one location to another, typically following the availability of pasture for their livestock. The video script discusses how in a medieval America, the Great Plains and other grassland areas would be dominated by nomadic tribes, similar to the Mongols, who would have significant military advantages due to their mobility and control over the grasslands.

💡Irrigation Societies

Irrigation societies are communities that rely on artificial watering systems to cultivate crops in arid regions. The script describes how in the southwest of a medieval America, irrigation societies would develop around rivers like the Rio Grande and the Columbia, with authoritarian theocratic political structures due to the centralized control of water resources. These societies would face challenges such as disease and a lack of social reciprocity.

💡Geographical Definability

Geographical definability refers to the extent to which a region's borders are clearly defined by natural features. In the video script, this concept is used to explain why certain regions in a medieval America would be more likely to form stable nations. Areas with easily definable borders, like peninsulas or regions surrounded by natural barriers, would be more likely to maintain unity and resist external threats.

💡Piedmont

The Piedmont is a geographical term for a plateau between mountains and lowlands. In the script, the Piedmont region of the southern United States is highlighted as a disease-wise healthier area, which would be significant in a medieval context where disease could greatly affect population density and the viability of settlements.

💡Atlantic Coast Trade Axis

The Atlantic Coast Trade Axis refers to a hypothetical trade route along the eastern seaboard of a medieval America. The script suggests that trade along this axis would be crucial for the economic development of cities and regions in this area, with key junction points like Detroit, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh becoming important cities due to their strategic locations.

💡Rust Belt

The Rust Belt is a term typically used to describe regions in the United States that were once thriving industrial areas but have since experienced economic decline, usually due to the loss of heavy industries. In the video script, the Rust Belt is reimagined as the new center of a medieval America, with its temperate climate, fertile soil, and water-based transport making it a hub for population and economic activity.

💡Mormon States

Mormon States in the script refer to a hypothetical group of theocratic irrigation states in the west of a medieval America, potentially established by the followers of Mormonism. The script suggests that due to their religious cohesion and the geographical advantages of their settlements, these states could become significant political entities, possibly engaging in crusades and trade activities.

💡Pacific Northwest Civilization

The Pacific Northwest Civilization in the script refers to a distinct culture and society that would develop in the northwestern part of America, including areas like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver. This civilization would be characterized by its advantageous position in a wet region with great ocean transport and would be largely cut off from the rest of the continent by a massive mountain range, leading to the development of wealthy city-states and potentially a separate culture.

Highlights

Poll about content preferences led to a video on a modern America with medieval technology.

The video explores an alternate dimension where America has the same geography and demographics as today but with the technology of the year 1300.

The video will cover cultural, political, and economic aspects of America and Southern Canada with medieval technology.

Audible sponsorship is highlighted, with a personal recommendation of the book 'Darkness at Noon' by Arthur Koestler.

The impracticality of a European medieval feudal model in America due to climactic diversity.

America's inability to be a unified country with medieval communication technology.

The impact of water supply on the survival of cities like Los Angeles and San Diego in a medieval America.

The absence of Las Vegas and the transformation of cities in the Southwest due to water scarcity.

Disease and swamps as factors reducing city populations, particularly in Florida and along the southern coastline.

The genetic advantage of Black Americans in dealing with malaria and their potential influence in the South.

The significance of river patterns for city development and the challenges faced by cities like Atlanta and Charlotte.

The influence of nomadic tribes on the control of grasslands and the impact on cities like St. Louis and Minneapolis.

A hypothetical map of the 40 largest cities in medieval America compared to the modern world.

The development of distinct cultures and societies across different geographical regions of medieval America.

The potential for a Mormon theocratic irrigation state in the western regions.

The emergence of a separate civilization in the Pacific Northwest with city-states like Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.

The challenges and opportunities of the temperate forest climates east of the Mississippi for replicating Western European medieval forms.

The likelihood of Ohio developing like France, with a gradual unification into a centralized monarchy.

The potential for New England to become a group of city-states or a unified kingdom with a maritime focus.

The cultural and military implications of the American South in a medieval context, including the potential for Africanization.

The strategic importance of New Orleans as a major city due to its position at the mouth of the Mississippi.

The announcement of the speaker's participation in an upcoming digital conference and partnership with a quiz company.

Transcripts

so some of you might remember a bit more

than a month ago i put out a poll

about what sort of content you guys want

well

here's more stuff that's neither

altering history nor geopolitics

although in all actuality this has been

a video people have been asking for for

a long time

this is a scenario about what a modern

angle america would look like with

medieval technology

i want to make clear this is an

impossible alternate dimension what

matters is that america has the same

geography and demographics as today

with still being a predominantly western

country just the technology of the year

1300

this video will be a review i'll try to

cover the basics of what america and

southern canada would look like on a

cultural political and economic basis

if this video successful turned into a

series focusing on each independent

region in greater detail

so mount your steeds race the lion

banner of indiana

prepare to ride to battle on the banks

of the ohio

it's practically part of this channel's

brand that i read a lot this channel

needs me to read and it's my favorite

leisure activity

however you can't read all the time it

starts to hurt your eyes after a certain

point

and you have other stuff to do like

groceries exercising work etc

this is where our sponsor audible comes

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click the link in the description or

search audible.com slash what if altist

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what will surprise a lot of people is

that a european medieval feudal model

just doesn't work in much of america

america's far more climactic diversity

than europe does and

would thus be far more culturally

diverse as well america

as a country now wouldn't even work with

the technology of 100 years ago

firstly and most obviously america

wouldn't even be close to being a

unified country

medieval communications were terrible

and so a transcontinental empire like

america just could never exist

also things like feudalism and castles

were actively pushing towards disunity

which is why medieval europe looked like

this

just as a starting point in how

different in america with medieval

technology would be

this is a list of the 40 largest cities

in modern america

let's see how many this would survive

with medieval technology the first

category that's easy to remove is those

that don't have a strong water supply

even in the modern world large amounts

of the american southwest just don't

make sense of how many people they have

versus how much water they do

american culture as an extension of the

british culture that came from a bunch

of water clogged islands had no concept

of conserving water and so

we've seen completely insane water usage

often tapping into limited underground

aquifers and pulling from water sources

hundreds of miles away

in a medieval america los angeles and

san diego were fishing villages for this

very reason

las vegas which only exists by being

close to california and so californians

could party there just doesn't exist at

all

in general the southwest just has far

less people in this world the few people

who are there

are based around rivers like the rio

grande or colombia

with goat herders in between the second

main way to cut down on cities would be

through disease and swamps

until the 1940s when ddt cut down on

mosquitoes and we could effectively

drain the swamp

florida was an uninhabited swampland for

all intents and purposes

we often forget this but in pre-modern

eras majorities of white people who

immigrated to the tropics died of

disease in the first two years

after a couple generations they're able

to gain immunity but still

places like florida weren't places most

people wanted to live

much of the southern coastline would be

like this with medieval technology

it even extends pretty far north

washington dc would have far less people

due to being a malarial swampland

the cities north of the philadelphia

cincinnati saint louis line would have a

large advantage in this regard just as

they did a hundred years ago

interestingly enough black americans

have a genetic mutation that lets

them deal with malaria which was a big

reason they were brought over as slaves

in the first place

in a south that wasn't jim crow black

people would actually have the advantage

in much of the low and south becoming

the majority population in places like

florida

and becoming powerful and influential

elsewhere if racism wasn't holding them

back

black people would dominate places like

louisiana and south carolina with

medieval technology

similarly the opposite was also true in

cold climates like new england and

canada where black people died at

horrifying rates of illnesses like

typhoid and pneumonia

this would cause a whitening of states

in the northern united states and canada

i honestly have no idea what racism

rates of medieval america would be

however and so that's a big factor that

we don't know

the third big factor is river patterns

every major medieval city was built

around river system or a coast

this was since water transport was so

much more cheaper than lands transport

this would also make places like atlanta

or charlotte far less important although

both of them would probably be somewhat

important due to being political

capitals and

the piedmont disease-wise being the

healthiest area of the south

if we're looking wise places like st

louis should be the biggest cities in

the country

however we run into another complication

here nomadic tribes

medieval centralized states could never

control the grasslands since the nomadic

tribes had such insane advantages

nomadic tribes were so mobile having

their entire armies on horseback that

they could ride circles around their

opponents

this is how people like the mongols were

able to continually wipe out armies five

times their size

it reminds me of how in a lot of fantasy

stuff you'll see this massive human army

of like a thousand

pikemen go up against like a hundred

ogres and the ogre just ripped them

apart

that's how it must have felt for the

chinese when their armies of half a

million are wiped out by genghis khan's

100 000 horsemen

we see in places like russia and china

where the frontier stopped at the forest

grassland line and beyond it lies

nomadic horse tribes that routinely

murder and enslave the farmer

turning the cities into piles of skulls

every few centuries

sometimes under very strong leadership

the farmers could press into the

grassland like under the tongue dynasty

in the kievan rus but

strong central governments couldn't last

forever and whenever they did it

nomadic tried to just rule the farmers

back to the woodlands

cities like st louis minneapolis and

chicago are in great positions riverwise

in geography and of amazing farmland but

since the mississippi straddles the

divide between the grassland and forest

all of these cities would be kept

smaller than otherwise possible

by genociding nomadic tribes so when we

add these four variables together this

is a map of the 40 largest cities in

medieval

america versus what they are in the

modern world as a general pattern you

see the area that's now the rust belt

has become the center of the continent

this area's got a temperate climate

fairly healthy disease-wise situation

some of the most fertile soil on earth

and lots of water-based transport

meanwhile west of the mississippi things

become a bit more sparse with

collections along the rivers and in the

pacific northwest

west of the mississippi the traditional

norms of western european society don't

work

we see that much of the cultures of the

american east are projections of the

original colonial societies created by

the british but

once you get west of the 100th parallel

we see the west cultures become their

own thing

the harsh western geography demanded

changes to social order in order to

survive

one culture we've already analyzed a

little bit is the horse tribes of the

great plains

we've already discussed how nomadic

horse tribes already have a massive

military advantage on the grassland

however another thing to consider is the

soil was so thick in the great plains

that it was impossible to farm it before

1880 when a new plow was developed

beforehand it was literally so fertile

that it broke the plows

we would see a nomadic cowboy mongol

style culture develop

a culture who i want to exist honestly

just to listen to their music

they lead their herds across the region

and fight over grazing rights

we'd see a gradient between a fairly wet

shores of the mississippi

and the drier regions out by denver and

montana with

cattle gradually giving way to sheep

this is sort of similar to the wet to

dry gradient seen in eurasia between

ukraine and mongolia

this gradient resulted in tribes

attacking westward across the step

towards wetter pastures

we'd see a similar situation develop

here with tribes continually pushing

eastward until they slam into chicago or

memphis

they would economically have a couple

different pillars one of which would be

that they'd be a pivotal part of the

transcontinental trade in the

mississippi and california

similarly they'd take slaves from the

midwest and trade them down the

mississippi to new orleans for the

caribbean market

finally they would trade hyde's meat and

animal products in exchange for grain

being dependent like every other nomadic

group on neighboring agricultural

peoples

the further west you get the more you

get into goat-hurting country and the

regions of the west too drive for the

horse tribes you'd see people shelter

around a waste season

lead herds into dry patches a major

failing would be america's lack of the

camel which

would be an eminently useful animal in

the southwest you would see bedo and

light cowboys here living similar lives

to the native navajo sheepherders who

would supplement their herds with

little patches of potatoes beans and

corn although there's immense climactic

differences between canada and mexico

the terrain's barren enough that a

similar lifestyle will develop across it

like the bedouins babylonians jews and

berbers they deal to launch some

successful attacks against the

neighboring settled peoples from time to

time but they wouldn't be the same

menace the civilized world that the

horse tribes would be just because of

their smaller populations

in the river valleys of the dry west

like the great salt lake the rio grande

and colombia's

you'd see irrigation societies develop

these would be like those in egypt iraq

or pakistan

irrigation societies share certain

variables that we can see here

one of which is they tend to have

authoritarian theocratic political

structures

this is since a single government

controls the water and so can crush any

dissenters and that removes competition

this would especially be the case in the

largely landlocked southwest which would

stifle creativity

similarly spending one's entire life in

humid irrigation trenches creates lots

of diseases that physically weaken

irrigation populations

for example in the 1950s somewhere

around 90 percent of egypt's population

had some form of intestinal worm

the central government being so powerful

means they don't have to create a system

of social reciprocity since they can

just take what they want

this results in an unpatriotic

disaffected population doesn't fight

very well

places like syria and egypt were never

under the control of a native regime

from 500 bc to 1950

a.d pakistan's record's only slightly

better in this world the irrigation

societies of the southwest would largely

be under the control of herder dynasties

given how small most of these western

rivers are these would not be impressive

civilizations when you compare the tiny

rio grande in new mexico with

a massive watered state like ohio the

comparison really comes up short

mormonism is a very interesting factor

in the west the mormons are able to

maintain a theocratic irrigation state

in our world

i could see mormonism spreading across

the american western irrigation

societies partially since it's well

suited for it

and since the degree of separation and

animosity between the mormons and the

rest of the world

would protect mormon social cohesion we

could see a league of mormon states

develop in the west creating crusades

against their opponents

being surrendered by mountains would

also allow utah to maintain stability

fight off nomadic invaders and remain

wealthy this would be opposed by the

majority hispanic catholic states on the

rio grande in new mexico and southern

texas meanwhile that would be facing

attacks from the horse tribes of central

texas

once we get to the west coast we see an

entirely different civilization develop

that of the pacific northwest this

society is in a really advantageous

position

and it is located in a wet region with

great ocean transport cut off from the

rest of the continent by a massive

mountain range which weakens barbarian

attacks

the pacific northwest would be very

wealthy in this world with massive city

states like portland seattle san

francisco and vancouver developing

i could see puget sound developing

either into a cockpit of competition

between seattle

victoria and vancouver or being unified

by one of them into a larger empire

capable of controlling the whole region

warfare and empires here would be

heavily naval based similarly

i could see san francisco with its

central position amazing harbor and more

fertile hinterland than anywhere in the

west coast

forming an empire across the whole

region it could conquer the central

valley of california which it opens up

onto

and also has the normal weaknesses of

irrigation societies that makes it

relatively easy to conquer

the san francisco merchants would

control the trade with mexico and thus

would establish a series of bases on the

desert coast along the way

one of which would be the fishing

villages of los angeles and san diego

in general there's no way i don't see

the pacific northwest developing into a

separate civilization here

it's so far removed from the other

centers of the country that it couldn't

share a culture with the east

however at the same time i don't know

what that culture would be by the time

the pacific northwest was settled in our

timeline we were already in a globalized

era of transport and so

the coast in areas like portland oregon

named after portland maine was settled

by new englanders

creating a somewhat similar culture the

pacific northwest is one of the few

areas that was settled without having a

strong established church and secularity

was the norm which

wouldn't work for the middle ages maybe

some philosophic non-religion would

develop here

much of new age philosophy isn't that

dissimilar to platonism and

it might evolve into a hippie cataract

sect of christianity that prioritizes

living in nature and meditation

the temperate forest climates east of

the mississippi are the areas that would

be the easiest to copy western european

medieval forms

michigan's climate's close enough to

germany's you could have knights castles

surfs and market towns

you run into a sort of issue where a lot

of medieval europe gets difficult to

replicate without those specific

conditions which

involves stuff like the collapse of the

frankish empire or the norman conquest

of england but i don't want this to get

too rabbit holy

i want to make this america demonstrably

part of western civilization and similar

to modern america

similarly i was wondering if the

mississippi plane would develop into

some large bureaucratic civilization

like china's but

came to the conclusion that if america

was built in castles and had a feudal

system of development a big empire like

that would be impossible here

in the neo europe that would develop

there'd be three main trade axes

one of which would be in the atlantic

coast another in the great lakes and a

final on the ohio river

in this medieval water-based trade

system the junction points

between these would all be important

cities places like detroit cairo

buffalo chicago pittsburgh and the like

would all do well

out of this system the great lakes in

general being a central hub

probably the beating heart of the

continent an interesting thing to keep

in mind would be that since nations were

so difficult to maintain with medieval

technology they tended to only survive

in regions with easily geographically

definable borders to keep them unified

we see that the only real stable

countries in the middle ages were on

either extremity of eurasia

or on peninsulas in this north america

we would see the west coast develop

either into a group of squabbling

city-states or a mega san franciscan

empire

and the mormons in a practical

bowl-shaped valley would become a nation

in deseret but

most of the stable nations in the

continent would be centered in the

northeast and around the great lakes

michigan ontario and wisconsin are easy

calls unifying due to fighting off

either each other or invaders in the

nomadic step

in the northeast pennsylvania and new

york caged in by the atlantic and the

appalachians would also become

centralized states

ohio is a bit more of a gamble but has

the ohio river and lake erie as

discernible boundaries

if pushed a little bit further east it

could seize pittsburgh and get the

appalachians as an eastern boundary as

well

ohio if it could unify with the most

powerful state in the continent between

a large

fertile piece of land healthy climate

and with lots of waterways

i could see ohio develop like france

gradually unifying into a centralized

monarchy

if ohio unified with ontario i think

upstate new york would probably unify as

well to prevent conquest

if not it would remain a group of

disparate duchies since there isn't a

unifying river system

the rest of the land east of the

mississippi would largely be central and

eastern europe

in the middle ages either weak but

geographically large monarchies that

collapse after a couple generations of

nobles running everything

or small city-states duchies and other

noble states

on the east coast eastern pennsylvania

would be the most powerful state

it is the most fertile soil in the

largest hinterland in the northeast

new york was only able to surpass

philadelphia in our world due to the

erie canal which would not exist in this

timeline

splitting these two branches of

feudalism would be the appalachian

mountains which i will tell you from

personal experience are somewhat

difficult to cross

this land is so poor and the native

population have historically been such

good warriors that

they'd be able to keep independence in

this timeline this region would be

inhabited by forest tribes like the

scots lithuanians

irish or croats of our middle ages most

of this area was settled by people of

scottish ancestry and they'd basically

revert back to that lifestyle of raiding

herding subsistence crops and clan

chiefdoms they would raid the

neighboring kingdoms when weak and would

serve as mercenaries and local armies

there'd be pests across appalachia for

trade with merchants either hiring

bodyguards or negotiating deals with

local chieftains

there'd be a similar situation in the

ozarks in the forests of east texas

the people in this area are descendants

of the appalachians and the culture is

quite similar the soil is so crappy in

these pine forests that you couldn't

maintain a bureaucratic society in them

these people would probably be

tributaries of the militarily and more

powerful horse tribes to their west they

would routinely invade the lower

mississippi valley becoming the ruling

classes of a lot of the area

on a side note i was sort of confused as

to how much to include local cultures

from our timeline in this medieval

america i decided to do so half-assedly

i have the feudal regime going into

regions of the south where western

european forms could be well maintained

i could make some claims like virginia

and kentucky would be more predisposed

towards disunity and amazing cavalry due

to their cavalier heritage well

pennsylvania and ohio might be more

predisposed towards trade and less on

the military due to their german and

quaker heritage

however new england is distinct enough

both culturally and geographically that

i still have it

new england would either be a bunch of

squabbling city-states or a unified

kingdom

or two in the both in one scenario

pressure exerted by new york forces the

new englanders to unify

in another the new englanders voyaging

from ports like providence portsmouth or

boston

traded the rest of the continent

becoming city-states while the interior

is a bunch of poor farmers

new englanders would be driven towards

the sea both by their history as

mariners and by their crappy rocky soil

with their high degree of social

cohesion new englanders have become the

scandinavians or vikings of america

raiding along the coast and trading

along the whole eastern seaboard

the canadian maritimes be wrapped up

into this new england's naval system

much of northern new england makes

absolutely no sense with medieval

civilization

large parts of maine new hampshire and

vermont in this world would be inhabited

by small farming tribes

intermediaries between quebec and new

england

the line between the feudal region in

the deep south is difficult to draw

the south as a cultural entity would

probably still exist a big thing

considers the south would not be created

by cash crops in this world

there would be no european market to

have created something like plantation

slavery that existed in our world in the

american south

don't get me wrong the middle ages did

have slavery and plantations and the new

englanders would almost certainly be

enslaving people from the caribbean to

sell them in the deep south but

the middle ages capitalist economies

weren't organized enough to have entire

regions dependent on growing a single

crop

you would see parts of the south growing

sugar and tobacco but in general you'd

see a broad division

across eastern north america between a

cattle and wheat north and a hogs and

corn south

this brings us to an awkward politically

incorrect question would the southerners

be bad fighters since people in their

latitudes normally are

peoples like the indians egyptians south

chinese etc consistently have lost the

vast majority of military encounters

with opponents to the north of them

during the middle ages

however modern american southerners have

proven themselves some of the best

warriors in the world

this is a weird question for the

american south given it's a culture

being predominantly british that's

implanted in the climate completely

unsuited to it

over a couple centuries you'd think the

geography went out over the culture

right however this isn't the correct way

of viewing this those peoples mentioned

before were conquered since irrigation

lifestyles bring a lot of military

weaknesses like lack of social cohesion

and all sorts of nasty diseases

however with the main crops of the

american south being corn

that that wouldn't be the case the

native population of the american south

in our timeline were skilled warriors as

was the azdek empire

however the rice and sugar farming

regions of the american south like low

country south carolina and louisiana

would be continually conquered

we might see some of the deep south's

warlike society survive in this timeline

involving crusades into mexico and the

caribbean you'd see an interesting

gradient develop in the south the

coastal regions as mentioned before

would benefit black americans and thus

gradually africanize with

blacks becoming majorities in the

nobility and prosperous farmers

black culture would become the court

culture that whites would try to imitate

meanwhile the piedmont regions remain

majority white with the white ruling

class tied to further north

places like low country louisiana and

south carolina where the irrigation

would weaken the native population will

likely largely have uplander probably

appalachian ruling dynasties however

areas like florida and the great dismal

swamp of north carolina with conditions

that replicate swamp west africa in many

ways including disease would become

majority black tribal groups

you could see the floridians become

great warriors like the native seminal

tribes were in our timeline due to the

harsh climate

damn medieval america is a violent place

meanwhile there'd be naval bases and

sandy disease-free coastal islands like

the florida keys in the north carolina

outer banks for trading purposes

the last resting stop of north america

for a voyage to the south would be

new orleans the crown jewel of the

continent in its largest city

although disease would be a major issue

in new orleans its strategic position at

the mouth of the mississippi

as well as being the nexus for trade

with the caribbean would make it the

biggest city in the continent

a veritable constantinople in the

swampland louisiana would either be able

to use its position to dominate the gulf

coast in lower mississippi or

be horrifically exploited by tribesmen

from arkansas who would rob it blind

i can't tell you well that was a summary

of the world in medieval america i hope

you folks enjoyed it a strange and rich

world of everything between the pirates

of boston to the goat herders of phoenix

arizona

tell me if you want more videos in this

topic before we go i must say i owe a

huge debt to matthew white's blog which

i read 10 years ago when he's a big

reason i got into alternate history in

the first place

however as you've seen since then it's

taken on a life of its own

before we end i have a final

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