The Lost Celts

The Lost Kelts!

Something that came up on one my lists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneti_%28Gaul%29

They were the best ship builders.

So we have a Veneti decide to sail off to the white island, or the
Island. ( Britan and Ireland respectively) instead of facing Caesar.
Now it could just be possible, for them to a rag tag fleet, and get
there anyway. (However as its ASB's we will say Abracadabra, and
they end up an hour away from NYC or Batimore

there is no reason now, why they could not end up on the
Miss, or outside Miami , However I thought some continuity in climate would work better

However we will stick with the Northern Atlantic.

So they kelts come ashore, and form a beachhead. The iron swords, horses
and the odd plague worst the natives

Well now what?

I see a confederation establishing. ( Group of Hillforts-duns. Or
perhaps Oppida. Thats debatable, but thats the highest form of
urbanisation I can see happening) Basically getting rich of the
Inland, Atlantic trade. From the interior. Hides, Metals, slaves,
Cattle. Dried fish, metal working, grain being sent back.

The has you go inland. There are less horses less cows, less iron
tools. Less Sails Less Ironage...

Now it depends, on what level of Civilisation the Kelts retain. They
should have stopped using Chariots. They were becoming rarer. On the
other hand. The locals don't have any, and wood is cheap and horses
expensive. Coinage is another problem. The Kelts have started to use
it. But there is less need for it, as a metal coin. Is more then the
locals have. Ditto writing. The Kelts are just on the verge.

So you could leave it at that. I prefer, to have them keep all 3.
Let them get literate, after 500 years, and coinage, to rememerge
again.

So we have a North America, Being settled with Iron tools. With
Horses and Cattle. The forests cut down. Grain is planted. A few
plagues hit. Mines dug. The druid, prays to buffalo woman and Lugh

Kesair, is why we never sail east more then 5 days

Kesair, as we all know, stole Lughs fathers land. However he met
Buffalo woman after wandering the seas. His strong son, will one day
return

Anyway. Rome falls on schedule

There is a possibily now. Of them getting contact with Irish monks.
They got as far as Iceland. They did go out on boats. Into the
middle of the Atlantic. Looking for hermitage. We say one or two get
to Greenland, where they meet Indo-Ven fishermen, who point them
south. Every now and then you see signs of the ban Christi. A big
cross on the track to the shrine of buffalo woman and Kernunnos

Amusingly, they might do better further north, more indian areas.
Where there will be less contempt. Rather then resistance. That
makes the proto christians some what of a darker hue.

So the Norse sail west

Now they start finding signs of ``civilsation'' shipwrecks. fishing
camps. They get to Greenland, establish the colony and as in OTL
someone sails west.

Ahh:)

NA is now settled. There is a seaboard to trade and raid. Its
possible. That the locals simply kill the Norse. Then Norse never
bother to go back. However if they don't and the Norse hit upon a
small village. Some sheep, huts a blacksmith. There is something
worth having. couple of sheep, couple of swords, axes, pottery.
Cloth. Slaves. Something you can seize and build on.

I would have the Norse settle, we get a few more Norse ships sailing
west. ( basically they simply don't grok how big it is. The trip is
difficult anyway) So if in 1300 you ask if there is anyone there.
The Norse captain says. Sirri my brother went there. Have a few
Irish monks, go as missionaries. They connect at iceland. 50 in
about 150 years. (The Norse seemed to have less enthuasim for
missionary work)

So you get some Norse flavouring to the mix. They are allowed to
settle. (Amusingly they may spook the Ven-indios. By telling them
about the great father who lives in Rome) But more christianty, by
now writing and coinage.

We will have the cold, and plague, shut down contact.

Okay we get to say 1400.

The Grand banks, start to be fished. Columbus sails west. Sooner or
later. The fact is inescapable There are other ships.

Cabot lands, and is greeted, by a horseman. With a sword, and an
mail shirt. Not a medieval knight. Good iron age horse warrior. He
is taken, to the Ri a Amorica. The white christ, we know they are
peaceful. (Here it is a religion of woman and slaves, and fir lag.
Men of the spear. Indios) No one of good blood, takes it seriously.
Then they ask him, about the keys on the tapestry he has on his
banner.

Oh the Holy See

The Bishop, and then that word. Of Rome

Oops

Now the Euros come. They are facing people with decent Iron age
tech. Who know how to use it. As well a lot of them. Gunpowder, will
get you bridge heads. But they have a lot to trade for rifles. In
time they can make it themselves. (Irish and Scottish highlanders
did)

This is Ireland on a Galatic scale.

You can take the coasts, You can settle it. You cannot hold the
interior. Now the locals, can get help. The French Spanish, etc will
all be settling. BTW the French can get people who get close to
speaking the langague. They have decent ships too.

Its a different type of Americas. The locals, can and will grok gunpowder, and there will be a lot of them, and all down to some ships, and some livestock