Germany and France, mostly. Austria didn't have that much access to the sea except some tiny outlets to the Adriatic and the Russians were busy fighting land wars.
Re: Britain without coal
Germany and France, mostly. Austria didn't have that much access to the sea except some tiny outlets to the Adriatic and the Russians were busy fighting land wars.
good lord| if you're telling the truth you're setting new records for scumminess as a townie -Renata on IM, 16/09/2011
Feles deliberatissimae subiugare humanitiati sunt, et res solae quae eas desinunt canes sunt.
I see I've been sigged yet again -Askthepizzaguy, 02/08/2012
Hindsight is 20/20 Askthepizzaguy, 10/07/2013
Re: Britain without coal
Yep. Germany and France, with France becoming the dominant colonial power and Germany focusing heavily on industrialization and rail development.
The art of war, then, is governed by five constant
factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations,
when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth;
(4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.
Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"
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Re: Britain without coal
Well, we might as well go on a complete alternate history timeline… would France have used the extra manpower from its African and American colonies to counter the increasing might of the Prussian armies?
good lord| if you're telling the truth you're setting new records for scumminess as a townie -Renata on IM, 16/09/2011
Feles deliberatissimae subiugare humanitiati sunt, et res solae quae eas desinunt canes sunt.
I see I've been sigged yet again -Askthepizzaguy, 02/08/2012
Hindsight is 20/20 Askthepizzaguy, 10/07/2013
Re: Britain without coal
Given that Belgium was the second power to industrialize, do you think they would have been able to get a serious head start on Germany or France? Or maybe even try to prevent Germany from forming?Originally Posted by Myth
Re: Britain without coal
Not very likely, and I say this as a Belgian.
Our first two Kings were quite belligerent, but the government was never ready to follow their ideas. Leopold II then went on a spree in the Congo, without any real backing from Belgium.
So we would've industrialized and perhaps become the most industrialized nation of Europe for a while, but we'd be no threat to any other nations. Appeasement was a large part of our international politics. (Our Kings were attached to both the English, German and French monarchies).
In any case, militarily we'd never be a match for France or Germany or even Prussia for that matter.
Re: Britain without coal
Well, geography isn't exactly your friend when it comes to European confrontations. As I understand it, Belgium is right between two large powers , with no English channel or even serious terrain obstacles to keep out enemies.
In those simple times there was a great wonder and mystery in life. Man walked in fear and solemnity, with Heaven very close above his head, and Hell below his very feet. God's visible hand was everywhere, in the rainbow and the comet, in the thunder and the wind. The Devil too raged openly upon the earth; he skulked behind the hedge-rows in the gloaming; he laughed loudly in the night-time; he clawed the dying sinner, pounced on the unbaptized babe, and twisted the limbs of the epileptic. A foul fiend slunk ever by a man's side and whispered villainies in his ear, while above him there hovered an angel of grace . . .
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Re: Britain without coal
And unlike the Nederlanders to the north, they don't have weather awful enough to make their country uninteresting.
Last edited by El Barto; 11-22-2013 at 04:44.
good lord| if you're telling the truth you're setting new records for scumminess as a townie -Renata on IM, 16/09/2011
Feles deliberatissimae subiugare humanitiati sunt, et res solae quae eas desinunt canes sunt.
I see I've been sigged yet again -Askthepizzaguy, 02/08/2012
Hindsight is 20/20 Askthepizzaguy, 10/07/2013
Re: Britain without coal
Obviously you haven't been to Belgium :D
The weather makes our country uninteresting, but it's no impediment for an invasion unfortunately :D
With regards to European confrontations: whoever wins, Belgium loses (and it was like that for the better part of a 1,000 years in Western European warfare.
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