1100-1199 (Abrittus)

Under construction.

The 12th century is an era of widening horizons. The chaos, the devastations and the religious radicalisation brought about by the Black Death in the previous century, but also the victory of organised societies and governments over the pandemia with the help of effective administrations, modern biochemistry and medicine, have shattered traditions worldwide. The reconstruction towards the end of the 11th century was a communal effort uniting the societies in question and transcending divisions of tribality, ethnicity, language, religion, caste or class.

Upon the completion of reconstructing towards the beginning of the 12th century, a new generation, freed from traditional frames, developed fairly similar new ideas of man across the developing continents (Europe, Asia, Africa and the Easternmost fringe of Atlantis). They saw themselves as individual subjects in a transformable force field with "the others in the crowd", "the institutions of the state" and "non-human nature" as the other factors in relation to which everyone was free (but also condemned) to establish and negotiate their own conditions. Nothing is fixed, and there are so many possibilities in the world for everyone who knows how to seize them. Looking for an analogy with OTL, one might describe the 12th century as the era of humanism.

Among the sciences, chemistry, geography and medicine underwent the most spectacular developments in this century, fuelled by generous funding and well-endowed prizes by several governments and private foundations who hoped for providence against another catastrophe like the Black Death.

These were all overshadowed, though, by the bold and adventurous missions of explorer teams who mapped almost the entire world, with the exception of some islands in the Taipyingyang (OTL Pacific Ocean) and the Antarctic continent.

In contrast to OTL, none of these explorer missions were aimed at the establishment of new colonies, though. The most spectacular Celtic and Roman explorations of Atlantis and Caribia or Persian explorations of Siberia were funded by wealthy industrial dynasties (textile factory owners, fertiliser producers, steel magnates) who wanted to decorate the names of their families with the glory of discoveries - and who also looked for new resources and outlet markets. From Sri Vijaya and Indian empires, which were busy enough with consolidating and defending their spheres of influence, Buddhist monks, who did not quite agree with the slow de-spiritualisation of their home countries, travelled to Asambadha Anuttara (OTL Australia) and its surrounding islands to bring the wisdom and lore of Siddharta Gautama to the natives. Only Chinese explorers in the Taipyingyang were funded and sent by the emperor. But the late Tang dynasty had no intention of acquiring new colonies, either. It was wary of overstretching its powers, and its yeomen/conscript army and navy would not have been able to defend a vast thalassocracy. Rather, Chinese emperors were interested in finding new resources, new cultures with new ideas, and new trading opportunities for their once-again-thriving businesses.

Even without colonial aspirations, the explorers brought enough bale as it was, spreading smallpox, measles and influenza among hitherto isolated native populations, where these diseases killed millions of people.

Religion

 * Atheists become a quickly growing minority in Europe and the Middle East, and even in East Asia, the cultural dominance of Buddhism was weakened in East India, Sri Vijaya, Türkestan, China, Balhae and Silla.

Nations of Caribia

 * Taino-Ostrogoth sea merchants establish contacts with the Chimú, trading ironware, glassware and rum for silver, artefacts and chili peppers. Taino-Ostrogothic enterprises begin to employ larger and larger numbers of Chimú as wage labourers on high sea fishing boats.
 * Taino-Ostrogoths later also established contacts with the Mapuche, trading horses for silverware.

Nations of the Taipyingyang
Salvador79 (talk) 13:53, June 5, 2014 (UTC)

Abrittus