Two new posts that I didn't notice, and on my birthday besides.
Glad you two liked it. Any suggestions for improvement and/or filling in the blanks?
Glad you two liked it. Any suggestions for improvement and/or filling in the blanks?
You said the population demographics of the Republic of Africa are 30% white, 15% Indian and 55% black. Well, what's the total population?
Here's the 17th Century. Things are getting a bit more holey here:
17th Century
Afrikaner Population Reaches 30,000 (1600 AD)-Although a large proportion of the population consists of kids (larger families), the Afrikaners are powerful enough to hold the Cape and maintain decent-enough control over the interior.
Gold Discovered in the Witwatersrand (1605)-Afrikaner ranchers watering their herds in the Jukskei River discover placer gold deposits (the region is the De Kaap valley). When word reaches Cape Town and other Afrikaner settlements, many make their way into the region to mine for it. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough Afrikaners to extract it efficiently.
The Witwatersrand Expedition (1606 AD)-Afrikaner militia forces attack African villages in the Witwatersrand to secure their control of the gold-mining regions and secure a source of slave labor, since they don’t want a lot of non-Calvinist immigrants to come looking for gold. The survivors of the raids band together and stage a counterattack.
Afrikaner follow-up campaign devastates the region with fire and swordBattle of the Ridgeline (1606 AD)-The Afrikaners and their victims meet in battle. It’s an Afrikaner victory—they lose 55 soldiers and the tribal forces lose perhaps 1,000, devastating black manpower south of the Limpopo. The—soon the only surviving Africans are slaves.
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They must have used the cable car to get them up there. For sure- no one is going to lug guns up that slope. If the 'heavy' guns were demi-cannon or culverin they would weigh 2500Kg and with a range of 500M tops, their shot would fall short of the old town (OTL) or the harbour by four kilometres.Cape Town Liberated (1584 AD)-The Afrikaner militia returns to the city in force. The citizens rebel and eject the Spanish troops. Brief artillery duel between the Spanish and the Afrikaners (who set up large guns on Table Mountain)
The Bushman War (1586-8 AD)-Afrikaners devastate the San and Khoi, establishing their control over the southern interior regions of present-day South Africa. Although the Bushmen will remain a minor problem for years to come, the Afrikaners are the masters of the dry lands, where a semi-nomadic pastoral economy begins to develop (think the Open Range). Perhaps 60% of the Bushmen are killed in the war, while 25% or so are enslaved. Owing to the minute number of blacks in the colony, the Bushmen remain a distinct population within the underclass for years to come.
Ahem. This is the 17th C. The population of London in 1600 is 150,000 and Amsterdam 60,000.South African Gold Rush (1619-35 AD)-. Despite the Afrikaners’ high standards, 90,000 white settlers arrive during this time period.
Um. Where is the wood for a 17th C Navy to come from? Imported from Sweden perhaps?University of Cape Town Opens (1667 AD)-This is the firstfruit of Van Keuren’s plans to build a world-class navy and educational system in the Cape Free State.
What is a Xhosa chief (Prince) doing North of the Witwatersrand? In 1739 the people here would be Tsonga or Shangaan or most likely the original Shona (Karanga)-all non-Nguni people.The Great Invasion (1739 AD)-Taking advantage of the budding civil war, the African chief Nkosana Rharhabe who has unified many of the native tribes using an army equipped with Afrikaner weapons (he traded slaves for guns, and had a couple of Afrikaner renegades teach his people to make their own). The Afrikaners call him King Thomas and call the conflict King Thomas’s War (it’s similar to America’s King Phillip’s War).
Battle of (What?) (1739 AD)-This battle is a defeat for hastily-called-up Afrikaner reserves and is their first major loss to a non-white power. Rharhabe’s tribal levies move southward to threaten the Witwatersrand.
Ouch. Looks like I might need to revise some things.
If Table Mountain is too far away to bombard the Spanish from using the type of cannon they might have available, are there any sites in/around Cape Town that would work?
Just a whiff of plague or smallpoxRe: enslaving the Bushmen, okay. I guess I'll just have them all die.
Lets be realistic. A 30 Metre Caravelle-- crew and passengers--160-200? At a ratio of 1 to 3. A three month voyage and a 90% survival rate for those on board ( and a 75% survival rate for the ships themselves--it ain't called the Cape of Storms for nothing)- what, 1800 ship voyages? You cannot sail all-year round and a ship could at best make a voyage a year.Re: 90,000, at this point, we're talking about Calvinists from all over Europe. A lot of them probably wouldn't be Dutch.
Are you ready for this---the King of the Rozwi around 1670 was Tombolaikonachimwango (whew!)---the 'T' is pronounced as a plosive so it's often written T'ch--- sometimes called Changamire Dombo by the Portugese. So you are not far if with Thomas. Why not call him King Tom?Re: King Thomas' African name, I'm not familiar with the tribes you're discussing. What might a better name be?