So for the last blog assignement I get to talk about absolutely anything, as such I will start rambling a bit about one of my interests, namely history!
One of the most fun ways to think about and discuss history lies in the question "what if". For example, what if the Germans beat the Soviets in World War 2? Or what if Columbus never managed to get to the "new world"?
Those two examples, with some variations, might be some of the most famous "what ifs" discussed in recent times, which in part probably has to do with the US dominance in world politics (i.e both these "what if" scenarios would likely have had a great effect on the US).
However, there are plenty "what ifs" that most people don't really know about that would very likely have had an absolutely enormous impact on the entire world. For example, what if the Chinese empire administration during the 15th century had been able and willing to keep funding science and research, such as the famous sea voyages of Admiral Zheng He. Would they have been able to find and colonize the Americas? Would they have had superior weapons and technology to dominate the world much in the same way that Europe did later? There's no answer to these questions but there are factors and reasons explained by these things that didn't happen that can help us understand why the world is as it is today.
There are plenty more of these "what if" scenarios that could have made the world turn in a completely different direction; what if the Ottoman turks failed in their conquest of the Balkans? Would we have had a World War without the powderkeg that was the Balkans back then? What event would have taken it's place?
What if there were horses, pigs and cows in the Americas before the Europeans got there? Would the old Incan and Aztec empires have been more resistant to the "old world" plagues that brought them down?
For anyone wondering why horses, pigs and cows (domesticated animals) would've made such a difference, they've essentially allowed humans to live in large cities and communities wherein diseases have spread between animals and humans, think of the modern day bird or pig flu and you'll get the idea. For a better and more comprehensive explanation of why this would be of major importance I'd recommend you to watch this youtube clip.
There are thousands of these "what if" scenarios and they are a large part of what makes history enjoyable to study and read about for me!
