How did the British colonize India?
Britain came in the 1600s (with Sir Thomas Roe) when India was under the rule of Jehangir. India was a stronger nation back then. So, the British were contended to be traders. However, Nadir Shah's (of Iran) invasion of India in 1738, changed the picture (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nad...). The Mughal rulers were badly defeated and that signalled to the world that India was very weak. The East India Company immediately latched on and made use of the weakness. The timing was key. India had plenty of infighting. For instance, Tipu Sultan, who offered ferocious resistance against the Brits was undermined by our own rulers (Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas) who surrounded the Mysore kingdom when British attacked him. The Marathas duly paid the price for the friendship with the devil with the Anglo-Maratha war in which they were badly defeated. British troops were well organized and used superior tactical & strategic skills on the warfield. French revolution and later the defeat of Napolean in 1815, distract the French from expanding their control in India. The British used this opportunity to kick out the other colonial powers from India.By the 18th century, India was under a crisis. The Aurangzeb's rule was quite bitter for non-Muslims and the Hindus were tired of Islamic rule. This gave rise to many Hindu kings (such as the Marathas). The East India Company rightly used this period to increase the divisions with their divide and rule policy. India had a very weak navy. Unlike islands like Britain or Japan, we didn't have enough incentives to build a strong navy. Naval superiority helped the British to gain and build the critical ports of India (Bombay, Madras, Calcutta) and build the empire from there. Britian was entering the age of industrial revolution at around the same time (1750) when Indian empires were weakened. The economic strength from industrial revolution gave the Brits an upper hand.
Why are UK citizens so relaxed about Brexit?
Short answer - they aren’t.Long answer - the narrative suggested by the pro brexit right wing media is that everything is going to plan so it’s easy to misread the situation. Many people who voted for brexit live inside that bubble. Those of us who live in the real world are terrified about brexit, not so much because of the consequences of brexit altogether but because of the consequences of a brexit negotiated by a government who has routinely thrown the poor under the bus in favour of their own private interests. The same government who has insisted on austerity for a decade whilst exponentially widening the gap between the rich and poor, sold off the National Health Service to privateers who’ve been responsible for the death of tens of thousands of disabled people deemed fit to work, who’ve overseen the rise of food banks instead and cut benefits but seen their own private interests grow and grow.If brexit was being negotiated by a government who didn’t have a ridiculous overinflated sense of self importance and a racist agenda, all a hangover from the British empire, then maybe we might have a chance at a decent deal outside of brexit but unfortunately it’s not.The overwhelming argument from most brexiteers is that if Canada, New Zealand and Norway can have a good deal outside brexit then so can the UK. This argument is absolutely null and void because the UK doesn’t have anywhere near the same wealth per capita as these countries. It doesn’t have vast reserves of natural resources twinned with very small population densities.Its most definitely in the best interests of the British people to stay inside the EU but for now we just have to push for a second referendum before the conservatives push the bus over the cliff and watch the rest of us crash and burn.
What is a good idea for an open-world RPG? What open-world RPG would you like to play?
What about a setting around the idea of a traveling salesman in a low tech environment time period such as renaissance, middle ages, ancient world, etc.. Open world setting, you collect your materials, you build your products and then sell them traveling city to city, perhaps collecting resources and then transporting them. The goal of the game could be variable, but it would be entirely based on the idea of amassing wealth in some fashion to either become the most wealthy tradesman (people move your wealth for you and you manage the decision making) to eventually buying a lordship, using mercenaries and paid assassins to eliminate rivals, etc. Think privateer idea, except in the past. But, I would take the traditional RPG elements and dump them. This would not be a combat fest where walking from town A to town B involves killing a hundred goblins. Yes, you would have to watch for bandits, possibly be able to defend yourself with a walking stick or shoot a crossbow, but facing a pack of bandits single handed and surviving? Not likely! Plan to have escorts once your wealth equals wagon trains instead of a backpack, but the only basic combat would be focused on self-defense only. You're a merchant, not an adventurer. Your goal in life is profit, not muscles. Spending time stabbing people means less profit!There are some games that have these elements, but nothing quite like this...