Early Ages:
As seen in the graph at the bottom of the page, Witselonean populations grew slowly for many years as they were nomads who's survival depended on the availability of prey. Then, around 5000, they started to settle in places and grow their own foods. Not being nomads anymore allowed them to have more free time to specialise and invent new ways of living, leading to them creating civilised societies. It also allowed population numbers to increase to 1,000,000,000 as they were able to an extent grow their own foods and began to create early forms of medicine. However, infant mortality was still high and people didn't live long lives.
As seen in the graph at the bottom of the page, Witselonean populations grew slowly for many years as they were nomads who's survival depended on the availability of prey. Then, around 5000, they started to settle in places and grow their own foods. Not being nomads anymore allowed them to have more free time to specialise and invent new ways of living, leading to them creating civilised societies. It also allowed population numbers to increase to 1,000,000,000 as they were able to an extent grow their own foods and began to create early forms of medicine. However, infant mortality was still high and people didn't live long lives.
Industrialism, Growth, Carrying Capacity:
Then, around the year 7000, there was an industrial revolution when Witseloneans discovered a method of creating energy by burning coal and it led to them developing factories, being able to have mass agriculture as they created more advanced technology, and it caused lots of exploitation corruption, and capitalism that began a process of destroying the environment. The population grew exponentially, but when it reached the carrying capacity of 19,000,000,000, there wasn't enough food and fresh water for everyone, causing the growth to come to a halt with billions of Witseloneans dying. After several hundred years, the population was a able to remain steady on the carrying capacity due to new laws restricting child birth when populations were on the rise again. When coal and fossil fuels ran out, Witseloneans developed new technologies that allowed them to create energy from the sun and wind, which were extremely successful snd allowed them to stop using fossil fuels. During this era, or at least after the first difficult hundred years from first hitting the carrying capacity, people lived longer and infant mortality rate was low as there was advanced healthcare and people lived relatively comfortably.
Then, around the year 7000, there was an industrial revolution when Witseloneans discovered a method of creating energy by burning coal and it led to them developing factories, being able to have mass agriculture as they created more advanced technology, and it caused lots of exploitation corruption, and capitalism that began a process of destroying the environment. The population grew exponentially, but when it reached the carrying capacity of 19,000,000,000, there wasn't enough food and fresh water for everyone, causing the growth to come to a halt with billions of Witseloneans dying. After several hundred years, the population was a able to remain steady on the carrying capacity due to new laws restricting child birth when populations were on the rise again. When coal and fossil fuels ran out, Witseloneans developed new technologies that allowed them to create energy from the sun and wind, which were extremely successful snd allowed them to stop using fossil fuels. During this era, or at least after the first difficult hundred years from first hitting the carrying capacity, people lived longer and infant mortality rate was low as there was advanced healthcare and people lived relatively comfortably.
Disaster:
In 16500, an infectious disease hit the supercontinent on Mertens and wiped out 98.5% of the population, with only immune people and people who had fled to ships on the sea managing to survive. The outbreak was at first an epidemic, but in a small space of time became a pandemic that had spread everywhere. The virus was transmitted through direct transmission, droplet transmission, and water/food transmission. The survivors then realised that they would die if they remained on the planet as the virus kept reproducing and due to mutations also evolving, causing the immune people to realise they might not be immune for long as new, evolved, strains if the virus were appearing. This caused them to plan an escape from Mertens, the planet that had always been their home, to Witsel, the neighbouring planet with relatively similar conditions. In less than 10 years all had been planned and the Witseloneans left to their new planet, Witsel, in the year 18050.
In 16500, an infectious disease hit the supercontinent on Mertens and wiped out 98.5% of the population, with only immune people and people who had fled to ships on the sea managing to survive. The outbreak was at first an epidemic, but in a small space of time became a pandemic that had spread everywhere. The virus was transmitted through direct transmission, droplet transmission, and water/food transmission. The survivors then realised that they would die if they remained on the planet as the virus kept reproducing and due to mutations also evolving, causing the immune people to realise they might not be immune for long as new, evolved, strains if the virus were appearing. This caused them to plan an escape from Mertens, the planet that had always been their home, to Witsel, the neighbouring planet with relatively similar conditions. In less than 10 years all had been planned and the Witseloneans left to their new planet, Witsel, in the year 18050.