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Empires that expand beyond the 30 day travel limit tend to fizzle out and crumble. Today, of course, we travel the whole planet roughly 30 times in that time f

Empires that expand beyond the 30 day travel limit tend to fizzle out and crumble. Today, of course, we travel the whole planet roughly 30 times in that time frame. So it's not a limit on Earth anymore. But it was definitely a problem for all previous empires. The ones you listed prove the point. They all crumbled when they expanded too far. The reason is kinda obvious: If it takes 30 days to travel, it takes 60 days to travel there and back. Which means there is, at minimum, a 60 day delay between the start of a rebellion or war and your ability to respond to it. That's assuming you were ready for the news the moment you got it. Good luck with that. It's just one of many reasons why wars are won more by logistics than bullets. So I think it raises two really interesting questions: (1) Here on Earth, the elimination of this limit is pretty recent. Should we anticipate an empire that spans the globe truly taking over? (No need to sarcastically comment about America today.) (2) How does this impact space travel? Based on current and foreseeable technology, there's no planet we can regularly reach in that amount of time, because at any given time, the other planet could be on the other side of the solar system. Can we really colonize new areas if we can't reach them faster than 30 days? Maybe we can. Communication is nearly instant (relatively speaking), and there are no enemy combatants to deal with. But they'll still be stuck on their own if any unforeseen emergencies arise. Those never happen, right? Would we most likely see the formation of a new nation on each planet we colonize?

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mcguire 4y ago
Can I introduce you to the British Empire, pre-steamships: https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/sailingtimes.htm https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/sailingtimes.htm Or in 1914: https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/the-setting-of-global-transportation-systems/travel-time-between-london-world-1914/ https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/the-setting... (post-steamships) The Spanish Empire was probably worse at its height.
- nickelcitymario 4y ago
  All those areas beyond 1 month travel? No longer a part of the empire. They kicked off the American revolution and the Indian independence movement. So yes, it's possible to create an empire beyond a month travel. But I maintain that no one has held onto one, which is the point the author was making I believe.
  - mcguire 4y ago
    The North American colonies belonged to the British Empire from early 17th C. (1607-ish) to the late 18th C. (1783); nearly 200 years. India was ruled by the British East India Company from 1760-ish to 1858 and by the British Crown directly until 1947; again, nearly 200 years. And by the time the British Empire started to collapse, travel time had been significantly reduced for something like 75 years.

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mcguire 4y ago

Can I introduce you to the British Empire, pre-steamships: https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/sailingtimes.htm https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/sailingtimes.htm Or in 1914: https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/the-setting-of-global-transportation-systems/travel-time-between-london-world-1914/ https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/the-setting... (post-steamships) The Spanish Empire was probably worse at its height.

nickelcitymario 4y ago
All those areas beyond 1 month travel? No longer a part of the empire. They kicked off the American revolution and the Indian independence movement. So yes, it's possible to create an empire beyond a month travel. But I maintain that no one has held onto one, which is the point the author was making I believe.
- mcguire 4y ago
  The North American colonies belonged to the British Empire from early 17th C. (1607-ish) to the late 18th C. (1783); nearly 200 years. India was ruled by the British East India Company from 1760-ish to 1858 and by the British Crown directly until 1947; again, nearly 200 years. And by the time the British Empire started to collapse, travel time had been significantly reduced for something like 75 years.