Romans cross the Atlantic - A Sketch
Some time around 100 AD +/- 100 years.
A cohort is returning to the Continent from Britain, and travels on a small fleet of commercial craft (Veneti type ships, I imagine). The ships are primarily carrying product and tribute from Britain, so are loaded with grain and livestock, with the legionaries basically along as supercargo.
On board the 'flag ship' is a senior Roman official, returning home (possibly the senior tribune, possibly a civilian). He has his prize stallion and a couple of riding mares, a large library and a Greek slave as clerk who's fluent in multiple languages.
As the small fleet sets out, they are hit by a storm which blows them west. Several ships are lost (including the flagship - that was a red herring), but 2 keep within sight of each other and land near the Chesapeake Bay.
The Romans land, hauling their damaged ships ashore, and immediately erect a palisaded encampment, as was Roman army practice.
While they want to return home, a) the ships are rather damaged, and b) they really have little idea WHERE home is.
On board the ships were - several tonnes of grain (wheat and barley, say), some bags of peas, 10-15 head of cattle (all cows), and a flock of sheep (including a ram), a load of tin, and some iron.
That spring, they are attacked by the warriors of the tribe whose land they have taken. Since the Romans are soldiers, with armour and steel weapons, the warriors are defeated, mostly killed, some taken as slaves. Then the Romans go raid the native encampment and seize all the women and children there.
By hunting, gathering seafood, fishing and eking out the grain, the Romans survive the spring and summer. The legionaries who used to be British and Gaullish farmers complain that they joined the Legion to escape farming. But at least, they're now overseers of slaves and their un-skilled fellow soldiers.
Note that this early in history, the Eastern Woodlands culture of natives that they've encountered don't have maize yet, and are largely seasonal hunter gardeners, rather than settled agriculturalists. So the Romans with their fortified camp, full-fledged agriculture, and metallurgy are very impressive. Thus Roman culture and language have prestige.
Later in the spring, the vanquished tribe's local enemies (let's call these the Powhattan) try to make a raid - but find the usual encampment deserted. They make contact with the Romans, and establish good relations. Once they discover the usefulness of iron tools, they are overjoyed to trade all the food they can possibly harvest (initially deer and seafood) for iron tools. An ax head gets the chief's daughter as a wife for the Centurion, a knife buys a few female slaves the Powhattan capture from other tribes.
By the next winter, Nova Roma is thriving. Latin is the language of the town, but it has some of the edges worn off, as the original Romans were a motley lot of Britons, Gauls, and Italians with a couple of Greeks, Syrians and Illyrians. The slaves speak another language among themselves, and the Powhattan speak a third. So the language of intercommunication is a Latin that is quickly becoming more like OTL's Italian - or Romanian (except with Algonkian and Iroquoian loan words, not Slavic and Hungarian).
The sailors, being sailors and not shipwrights, are not able to rebuild the ocean going ships, much to everyone's disappointment. But they can build small fishing vessels, much better than the canoes the locals had used, and small coastal sailing vessels to go up and down the coast, trading and exploring. The Romans need access to iron ore, copper, preferably silver and lead. Gold would be nice, but they never find any (until long enough passes they don't know it's the mythical 'aurum' of their ancestors.)
That second spring, two of the cows end up pregnant, by a wandering young bison bull. One of the resulting calves is a bull calf, who in the coming years is bred to all the remaining cows. Obviously, there are minor fertility issues, and large attitude issues - it takes decades for the Romans to breed out the aggressive qualities introduced by the bison admixture. The sheep flock also expands rapidly, but the few horses and pigs don't have males to breed with, and so die out.
The Powhattan, with their new Roman iron tools, grow and spread into their neighbours' lands, increasing by natural growth, by better agricultural, and by adopting captured slaves. This despite the fact that many of their young people end up settling down by the Romans and adopting Roman ways.
Roman population size doubles every generation for the next centuries. While they have lost much of their tech, they still have draft animals and agriculture, palisades, iron tools, and organized military, and armour. This means that as they slowly expand, they are able to take the land they 'need' for their growing population.
As with Old Rome, New Rome doesn't start out expanding on purpose. But as they and their allies are attacked, they attack back, usually win, and take that land. Also, over the next decade, they establish colonia up and down the coast, often in spots of strategic interest, e.g. mine sites, or good trading posts.
By the time two hundred years have passed, the entire coast is using 'Latin' as a lingua franca, and Latin language and culture are the prestige. Local chiefs feel they have to have at least some Latin, and often send their sons to Nova Roma for education (OK, and as hostages).
Every once in a while, an adventurous expedition sets off in the most seaworthy vessels available at the time to head back east to the fabled Old Rome. But nothing is heard back, most being lost at sea.
While the locals eventually catch up to the Romans in terms of technology, the Romans still have an edge in organization and army structure. So New Rome ends up being the major power on the eastern seaboard, but not the only one.
Eventually, of course, contact is renewed between the old world and the new, although by this time, the Western Empire has collapsed (or at least is collapsing) and nothing much comes of it for a few hundred years. Except that the Pope sends missionaries across to convert these New Romans. And the New Romans are able to introduce maize, squash and beans to Europe, while receiving in exchange those domestic animals and crop plants that didn't make the crossing.
Note that the 'Latin' spoken after a couple of hundred years will be strange beast. Most of the seafaring terms are likely to be Gaullish, most of the words for New World animals and certainly plants will likely local in origin, and the language as a whole will be creolized, with declensions breaking down, and genders still being still CALLED masculine feminine and neuter, but masculine and feminine will be really distinguished only for pronouns and some animals, and neuter will become the native 'inanimate' gender. But the basic vocabulary and grammar will remain directly and visibly descended from Vulgar Latin (which was already creolizing a little).
Some time around 100 AD +/- 100 years.
A cohort is returning to the Continent from Britain, and travels on a small fleet of commercial craft (Veneti type ships, I imagine). The ships are primarily carrying product and tribute from Britain, so are loaded with grain and livestock, with the legionaries basically along as supercargo.
On board the 'flag ship' is a senior Roman official, returning home (possibly the senior tribune, possibly a civilian). He has his prize stallion and a couple of riding mares, a large library and a Greek slave as clerk who's fluent in multiple languages.
As the small fleet sets out, they are hit by a storm which blows them west. Several ships are lost (including the flagship - that was a red herring), but 2 keep within sight of each other and land near the Chesapeake Bay.
The Romans land, hauling their damaged ships ashore, and immediately erect a palisaded encampment, as was Roman army practice.
While they want to return home, a) the ships are rather damaged, and b) they really have little idea WHERE home is.
On board the ships were - several tonnes of grain (wheat and barley, say), some bags of peas, 10-15 head of cattle (all cows), and a flock of sheep (including a ram), a load of tin, and some iron.
That spring, they are attacked by the warriors of the tribe whose land they have taken. Since the Romans are soldiers, with armour and steel weapons, the warriors are defeated, mostly killed, some taken as slaves. Then the Romans go raid the native encampment and seize all the women and children there.
By hunting, gathering seafood, fishing and eking out the grain, the Romans survive the spring and summer. The legionaries who used to be British and Gaullish farmers complain that they joined the Legion to escape farming. But at least, they're now overseers of slaves and their un-skilled fellow soldiers.
Note that this early in history, the Eastern Woodlands culture of natives that they've encountered don't have maize yet, and are largely seasonal hunter gardeners, rather than settled agriculturalists. So the Romans with their fortified camp, full-fledged agriculture, and metallurgy are very impressive. Thus Roman culture and language have prestige.
Later in the spring, the vanquished tribe's local enemies (let's call these the Powhattan) try to make a raid - but find the usual encampment deserted. They make contact with the Romans, and establish good relations. Once they discover the usefulness of iron tools, they are overjoyed to trade all the food they can possibly harvest (initially deer and seafood) for iron tools. An ax head gets the chief's daughter as a wife for the Centurion, a knife buys a few female slaves the Powhattan capture from other tribes.
By the next winter, Nova Roma is thriving. Latin is the language of the town, but it has some of the edges worn off, as the original Romans were a motley lot of Britons, Gauls, and Italians with a couple of Greeks, Syrians and Illyrians. The slaves speak another language among themselves, and the Powhattan speak a third. So the language of intercommunication is a Latin that is quickly becoming more like OTL's Italian - or Romanian (except with Algonkian and Iroquoian loan words, not Slavic and Hungarian).
The sailors, being sailors and not shipwrights, are not able to rebuild the ocean going ships, much to everyone's disappointment. But they can build small fishing vessels, much better than the canoes the locals had used, and small coastal sailing vessels to go up and down the coast, trading and exploring. The Romans need access to iron ore, copper, preferably silver and lead. Gold would be nice, but they never find any (until long enough passes they don't know it's the mythical 'aurum' of their ancestors.)
That second spring, two of the cows end up pregnant, by a wandering young bison bull. One of the resulting calves is a bull calf, who in the coming years is bred to all the remaining cows. Obviously, there are minor fertility issues, and large attitude issues - it takes decades for the Romans to breed out the aggressive qualities introduced by the bison admixture. The sheep flock also expands rapidly, but the few horses and pigs don't have males to breed with, and so die out.
The Powhattan, with their new Roman iron tools, grow and spread into their neighbours' lands, increasing by natural growth, by better agricultural, and by adopting captured slaves. This despite the fact that many of their young people end up settling down by the Romans and adopting Roman ways.
Roman population size doubles every generation for the next centuries. While they have lost much of their tech, they still have draft animals and agriculture, palisades, iron tools, and organized military, and armour. This means that as they slowly expand, they are able to take the land they 'need' for their growing population.
As with Old Rome, New Rome doesn't start out expanding on purpose. But as they and their allies are attacked, they attack back, usually win, and take that land. Also, over the next decade, they establish colonia up and down the coast, often in spots of strategic interest, e.g. mine sites, or good trading posts.
By the time two hundred years have passed, the entire coast is using 'Latin' as a lingua franca, and Latin language and culture are the prestige. Local chiefs feel they have to have at least some Latin, and often send their sons to Nova Roma for education (OK, and as hostages).
Every once in a while, an adventurous expedition sets off in the most seaworthy vessels available at the time to head back east to the fabled Old Rome. But nothing is heard back, most being lost at sea.
While the locals eventually catch up to the Romans in terms of technology, the Romans still have an edge in organization and army structure. So New Rome ends up being the major power on the eastern seaboard, but not the only one.
Eventually, of course, contact is renewed between the old world and the new, although by this time, the Western Empire has collapsed (or at least is collapsing) and nothing much comes of it for a few hundred years. Except that the Pope sends missionaries across to convert these New Romans. And the New Romans are able to introduce maize, squash and beans to Europe, while receiving in exchange those domestic animals and crop plants that didn't make the crossing.
Note that the 'Latin' spoken after a couple of hundred years will be strange beast. Most of the seafaring terms are likely to be Gaullish, most of the words for New World animals and certainly plants will likely local in origin, and the language as a whole will be creolized, with declensions breaking down, and genders still being still CALLED masculine feminine and neuter, but masculine and feminine will be really distinguished only for pronouns and some animals, and neuter will become the native 'inanimate' gender. But the basic vocabulary and grammar will remain directly and visibly descended from Vulgar Latin (which was already creolizing a little).
