Silverwall wrote:
absolutely we did historically which is why I suggest the initial tech level is about 1650 level. This is post the Spanish armarda and well into the age of classical european musket warfare and suggests that simple cannon should (And are) common. Ship building however is significanly behind that pre merlin but there is a world of difference between what is doable with 1650s level tech even with pockets of more advanced knowledge such as suprisingly good bathtub chemistry and the kind of universal technology levels needed for advanced mass production machine manufacture suitable for building pre-dreadnaughts and magazine bolt action rifles.
There you go again. How many times does RFC have to say that the artificial Safehold initial technology level does not map simply onto any RL period, being relatively advanced in some things and relatively behind in others? He is the only one who knows precisely what the initial level is and the fact that he hasn't published his 'technical bible' or shown it to you doesn't mean he doesn't have one or that it isn't reasonably consistent.
'Reasonable ' given that the object is to write interesting novels not educate readers in RL industrial history, that is.