What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans?

[polyharmonic]

With the exception of the Western Hemisphere, imagine that everything pretty much proceeds as in our history. However, in the Western Hemisphere, it was populated by a species of equal intelligence to humans but were non-humans. And let's say Alaska didn't exist and so the whole hemisphere was totally isolated and no humans could reach it prior to the Age of Discovery. And meanwhile just as happened in Africa, a non-human but equally intelligent species evolved there and these non-humans also developed an equivalently high level of civilization, technology and culture as the humans did in Eurasia.

Based on our own understanding of human behavior and beliefs at that time and now, what would have happened in this alternate world when the Age of Discovery begins and Columbus and some other explorers make contact with the non-human civilizations from that point on? Would there have been profound shock or perhaps people then actually expected that non-humans might inhabit distant lands (so really wouldn't be that big of a deal back then)?

Ultimately how would such a two species world turn out from this point on? Would we be better off and become tolerant and ultimately accepted sharing the Earth with another species (like we do now with various "races")? Or would there be endless wars and total destruction as the humans and non-humans tried to genocide each other?
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[Hermiod]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Think Centauri Prime.

Do you know what the last Xon said just before he died? AAAAGGGHHHH!

 

[Lookingglassman]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

We would hunt them down and kill them.

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

There would have been a new food source.

 

[Plecostomus]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

The dolphins have been trying to get through to us for... like... forever!

 

[FordSVT]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

We would hunt them down and kill them.

Or vice versa.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

There would inevitably be conflict, of course, which would gradually diminish over time, with occasional flare ups.

 

[john titor]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

The dolphins have been trying to get through to us for... like... forever!

Dolphins have brains which are equal in size and relative mass to body weight to humans, sadly most of it is taken up with echo location.

Secondly, it depends on the type of non humans species we're talking about. Are they pacifist, aggressive, a mixture of the two? Do they excel in certain areas compared to humans? What is their morphology? Can they fly, breath fire, breath under water, jump really high, shape shift?

 

[polyharmonic]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

There would inevitably be conflict, of course, which would gradually diminish over time, with occasional flare ups.

I think that this is a strong possibility. Back in the day, people believed in all sorts of creatures actually existing such as dog-head people, minotaurs, etc. That a non-human but sentient and intelligent species actually existed would actually not have shocked people that much. They actually expected to meet such creatures.

Such a world might actually even be more peaceful and enlightened than our own because learning to deal with such differences so early on might have been for the better.

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

I think that this is a strong possibility. Back in the day, people believed in all sorts of creatures actually existing such as dog-head people, minotaurs, etc. That a non-human but sentient and intelligent species actually existed would actually not have shocked people that much. They actually expected to meet such creatures.

Exactly. That doesn't mean that they would've seen them as actually sentient; people back then weren't quite intelligent.

 

[Geckothan]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Dey'd teyk arr jerbs.

 

[polyharmonic]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

The dolphins have been trying to get through to us for... like... forever!

Dolphins have brains which are equal in size and relative mass to body weight to humans, sadly most of it is taken up with echo location.

Secondly, it depends on the type of non humans species we're talking about. Are they pacifist, aggressive, a mixture of the two? Do they excel in certain areas compared to humans? What is their morphology? Can they fly, breath fire, breath under water, jump really high, shape shift?

If this non-human species had superhuman abilities then of course their powers would give them an advantage in conflict and they'd be able to kill off all the humans easily and that would be that. So to make the discussion more interesting, we would assume that they are non-human but otherwise have no physical advantages or disadvantages to humans overall.

 

[john titor]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

The dolphins have been trying to get through to us for... like... forever!

Dolphins have brains which are equal in size and relative mass to body weight to humans, sadly most of it is taken up with echo location.

Secondly, it depends on the type of non humans species we're talking about. Are they pacifist, aggressive, a mixture of the two? Do they excel in certain areas compared to humans? What is their morphology? Can they fly, breath fire, breath under water, jump really high, shape shift?

If this non-human species had superhuman abilities then of course their powers would give them an advantage in conflict and they'd be able to kill off all the humans easily and that would be that. So to make the discussion more interesting, we would assume that they are non-human but otherwise have no physical advantages or disadvantages to humans overall.

exactly. They could have certain advantages like fire breathing, gills or flying abilities which incur disadvantages like not being able to communicate, being easily spotted etc. But for this discussion I agree, to unnecessarily complicate matters will make things tedious so best just to use the abstract value that they are equal overall rather than getting into specifics.

 

[TedShatner10]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Make them similar to Neanderthals.

 

[Kommander]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

^ Yeah, this already happened 40,000 years ago. We killed them and took their land.

Although, whether or not the Neanderthals were a different species or not has been debated for a long time. Although, they're probably considered human either way whether they're homo neanderthalensis or homo sapiens neanderthalensis.

So, does the OP mean non-human, or non-homo sapiens sapiens?

Either way, we probably would have killed them and taken their land. It's what we do.

 

[nevermore]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Um, judging by what happened with the intelligent actual-humans we found, I'm going to go ahead and say genocide?

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Then who would be having this conversation?

 

[Mallory]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Um, judging by what happened with the intelligent actual-humans we found, I'm going to go ahead and say genocide?

I agree. Especially given the time period proposed in the OP.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Make them similar to Neanderthals.

Harry Turtledove already did that. Great stories, with the possible exception of the final one.

Um, judging by what happened with the intelligent actual-humans we found, I'm going to go ahead and say genocide?

I agree. Especially given the time period proposed in the OP.

Part of polyharmonic 's hypothetical situation was that they are equal in technology and culture. Not only did Europeans discover the Americas during a Dark Age in that region, but they would have had the technological advantage even if they had not; so this would be a completely different situation.

 

[Shatmandu]

Re: What if the New World had been populated by intelligent non-humans

Would we be better off and become tolerant and ultimately accepted sharing the Earth with another species (like we do now with various "races")?​

Nope.

We couldn't get along with the humans we found. What makes you think we'd be any nicer to a "sub-human" species, especially one that couldn't have known anything about horseshit like Christianity?​

Joe, realist