Zyobot
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
Definitely not @Skallagrim, but because @Lord Sovereign brought up a "fun" hypothetical:
Funnily enough, I once asked what a world in which the Netherlands went global might look like here, followed by a well-crafted reply here. Besides making the Dutch the premier maritime empire instead of the British, it also implied towards the end that New Nederland was ATL's stand-in for the United States.
In which case: I'd say the macro-historical ramifications of that vary, depending on how much "full-tilt" parallelism we want to indulge in.
On the one hand, if New Nederland overtakes the Netherlands Proper the same way the US succeeded Great Britain as fledgling hegemon, then ATL Modernity would still culminate in an American Empire with a far more "Dutch" than "English" cultural and historical background. Would still bet on it being quite mercantile and "liberty-centric" much like OTL America, of course, albeit with a slew of "on-the-ground" differences that make New Nederlands's Dutch roots stand out much more visibly.
On the other... I suppose we could contrive an ATL parallel to Skall's alt-19th century scenario here, by again casting the Dutch Empire as the global trade empire that converts its holdings into an economic bloc (whereas New Nederland remains an isolationist frontier-land engaged in peaceful commerce with all). Not sure who their main rivalry would be, but no matter who it is, I suppose this variation would call for said rival to stagnate and peter out, before being dismantled — leaving the Dutch Empire the world's unchallenged hegemon.
At any rate, quite a novel and interesting idea. Looking forward to Skall's answer just as much as you are!
So, Skallagrim. Humour me for a moment.
Could the world have ended up with a Dutch based universal empire? In all honesty, I think I'd prefer you lot in charge over the yanks.
Funnily enough, I once asked what a world in which the Netherlands went global might look like here, followed by a well-crafted reply here. Besides making the Dutch the premier maritime empire instead of the British, it also implied towards the end that New Nederland was ATL's stand-in for the United States.
In which case: I'd say the macro-historical ramifications of that vary, depending on how much "full-tilt" parallelism we want to indulge in.
On the one hand, if New Nederland overtakes the Netherlands Proper the same way the US succeeded Great Britain as fledgling hegemon, then ATL Modernity would still culminate in an American Empire with a far more "Dutch" than "English" cultural and historical background. Would still bet on it being quite mercantile and "liberty-centric" much like OTL America, of course, albeit with a slew of "on-the-ground" differences that make New Nederlands's Dutch roots stand out much more visibly.
On the other... I suppose we could contrive an ATL parallel to Skall's alt-19th century scenario here, by again casting the Dutch Empire as the global trade empire that converts its holdings into an economic bloc (whereas New Nederland remains an isolationist frontier-land engaged in peaceful commerce with all). Not sure who their main rivalry would be, but no matter who it is, I suppose this variation would call for said rival to stagnate and peter out, before being dismantled — leaving the Dutch Empire the world's unchallenged hegemon.
At any rate, quite a novel and interesting idea. Looking forward to Skall's answer just as much as you are!