History Main / GivingRadioToTheRomans

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior The Time Warrior]]", Linx the Sontaran plans to give a medieval warlord firearms.

** It inadvertently happens between ''Film/TheTerminator'' and ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay '', the terminator killed at the end of the first movie provided the technological base to make [=SkyNet=], creating an almost StableTimeLoop.

* Creator/PoulAnderson [[{{Deconstruction}} showed the problems]] with this in his short story ''The Man Who Came Early'', in which an American soldier stationed in Iceland is sent back to the Viking Era after being hit by lightning. Luckily for him the Icelandic language has not changed much since then. But all his attempts to change history fall flat on their face, predominately because while he has some ideas to implement, he lacks any sort of practical skills to do so and, far more importantly, lacks common sense of what are his realistic capabilities. When he tries to show the Vikings how to make compasses, he has no idea where to find or mine magnetic ores. When he tries to show them how to build more modern sailing vessels, the Vikings point out that such vessels are too cumbersome to dock anywhere where there is not a ready built harbor, an obvious rarity in that time period, and so on. The story's main point is that introducing future inventions, while possible, is immensely difficult, because most advances are useless without an equally advanced society or infrastructure (and often both) to support them or outright impossible to make without them.

There are two types of time travelers who try this stunt - the unwilling ones, TrappedInThePast with [[StrandedWithEdison just the right skills needed to jump start the industrial revolution]], and the reckless ones who don't care about paradoxes, they just want to rewrite history for the better.

* Basically the background of the Zaibach Empire in ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'': Emperor Dornkirk (who was [[spoiler: in this reality UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton]]) brought the gift of science, culture and technology to the weak, incompetent farmer-nomads of the Zaibach area in Planet Gaea, developing themselves into a force able to defend themselves, eventually build their own industrial civilization, and eventually turn into a warmongering empire.

* In ''Literature/{{Maoyu}}'', the Demon Queen, a peace-seeking sort despite her name, consorts ([[ArrangedMarriage literally]]) with the opposing Hero to bring modernizations to farming, industry and navigation that help humanity avoid the need for war. Pitfalls are expected by the leader as not everyone on either side of the war is willing to cede control over those who once lacked control of their destinies or did things that others expected because of their heritages. And then because somebody else is ''also'' able to provide advanced technology and uses it to arm her enemies with muskets, the Demon Queen is forced to introduce rifles to surpass this.
* In ''Literature/TheMasterOfRagnarokAndBlesserOfEinherjar'' this is a major part of the plot, Yuuto has his smart phone (which can be charged via [[ThePowerOfTheSun solar energy]], fortunately) and is able to communicate back to Earth. A big part of the wolf clan's rise in power is him rapidly introducing new technologies and military tactics.

* The ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' adventure "Colditz" has The Doctor and Ace's capture at Colditz Castle turn out to be much more complicated when a Nazi scientist shows up from an alternate timeline where her side was victorious. [[spoiler: While the Doctor thinks it's because the Nazis got their hands on the TARDIS, it's actually because they got their hands on Ace's CD player - and the laser technology inside.]]

* The ''ComicBook/Marvel1602'' mini-series has a time-displaced ComicBook/CaptainAmerica sent back to Elizabethan times. When asked to return to the future, he insists on staying to try and build a better America from the beginning -- which he does in small ways, such as helping a group of colonists survive a winter that should have wiped them out, or warning the natives against selling their land to unscrupulous capitalists. The final touch comes when, because of his actions, the American colonies declare independence from Britain 174 years early. It also has consequences beyond his control -- his presence causes the Franchise/MarvelUniverse to impose itself on the past, and period versions of the ComicBook/XMen, [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]] and other superheroes start appearing.
* This is the premise of Jonathan Hickman's ''ComicBook/PaxRomana''. The ailing Catholic Church sends a paramilitary group back to 312 AD to use both advanced technology and knowledge of future events to help the Roman Empire set up a stronger foundation for the Church. Things don't go as planned, but even so, technology and culture advance ''much'' quicker than in the unaltered timeline, eventually giving rise to an utopian society with numerous off-world colonies by 15th century.
* The Argentine comic ''ComicBook/ElEternauta'' (second part): the protagonist decides to give to a tribal AfterTheEnd civilization of the future, enslaved by an alien race, knowledge of modern weaponry and machinery. Since the available tools and labour skills are quite crude, they can't go beyond mid-XIX century tech: simple pistols, muskets and cannons and basic steam engines (making it a SteamPunk comic in 1976).
* One ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' story (in v1 #33) featured Tony (ComicBook/IronMan) Stark becoming trapped in the time of Myth/KingArthur. He starts advancing the technology level single-handedly until he can recreate his Iron Man armor.
* In a ''Tim Traveller'' story, Tim is annoyed that his dad doesn't get modern technology, so decides to remedy it and goes back in time to show his laptop to some cavemen. They don't understand it and just try bashing it, which leads them to invent fire.
* In the ComicBookAdaptation of ''Series/ItsAboutTime'' the astronauts build a giant mousetrap to trap a giant rodent. How they managed to smelt the metal used in the thing isn't brought up.

* {{Defied}} in the ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics, as the government from the future doesn't like to have their history altered and ''will'' stomp on any attempt to do so through the TimePolice. Especially notable in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', where the Time Police' intervenes fully knowing that [[spoiler:stopping the Raider from helping some scientists developing nuclear fusion will result in ''Duckburg's destruction'']].

* ''Fanfic/LulusBizarreRebellion'': In a rather more short term version of this, the Chinese Federation uses an as-yet-unknown method to bring season 2 knightmares during their season 1 invasion of area eleven, culminating in them deploying the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N, piloted by the zombified [[spoiler: Naoto Kozuki, Kallen's brother.]]
* ''Fanfic/SarumanOfManyDevices'': The basic premise is this -- the title character aided by an AI that, if not inherently benevolent, is still opposed to Sauron on the grounds that he introduces stasis, while the AI's directive is to bootstrap human civilisation. Consequently, it introduces initially renaissance-era technology, including fairly advanced steelworking and of course guns to Middle Earth, before moving on to closer to the Napoleonic era, then later Victorian era (the Martini-Henry rifle, mainstay of the late 19th century British army, is given as one example), in an attempt to bring forth an industrial era. Specifically, to the Uruk-hai working for him already, then the rest of Middle Earth.
* In ''Fanfic/TheNecromancer'', after Sauron escapes death by arriving in Storeybrooke to retrieve the One Ring, [[spoiler:he returns to his original era with a large collection of modern guns, which the residents of Storeybrooke know are too dangerous to be left with his forces]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Cycle}}'' has an accidental version of this when [[spoiler:Marc and Echo]] get their hands on a bag of Robin's possessions, including a modern [=MP3=] player. When Robin finds out, she is astonished and impressed that two medieval-era pre-teens were able to figure out how to work her "magic music box" through pure trial and error without any concept of advanced technology or even the capacity to read the words on the screen.
* ''FanFic/PurpleDays'': By the time of the [[GroundhogDayLoop Final Loop]], Joff gathers a group of Maesters, merchants and thinkers and begins doling out examples of the technology he's witnessed across his many lives and opening the Crown's purse for investment, hoping to accelerate Westeros' level of technology and innovation as much as he can before the Long Night arrives for the last time.

* ''Fanfic/ASongOfIceAndFiresThatWerentAllMyFault'' has Harry Dresden and [[spoiler: his daughter]] displaced to Braavos about a decade or so before the events of ''A Game of Thrones'', just after Robert's rebellion. After a couple of years of keeping his head down for [[spoiler: his daughter's]] sake, he decides to engage in a basic effort to advance technology, with the vague aim of, somewhere in his centuries long lifetime, reaching the point where he's able to hex it again. His being a big fan of MugglePower (despite being a [[PersonOfMassDestruction powerful wizard]]), and having a pronounced dislike for feudal lordship, are also factors. One of the main initial successes is starting up a printing press.\\\

** The {{Backstory}} for the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'' mod ''[[VideoGame/RedAlert3Corona Corona]]'' shows that in an attempt to MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight in favor of the [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Empire of the Rising Sun]], Crown Prince Tatsu traveled back to TheHighMiddleAges ([[ForWantOfANail by reverse-engineering the Soviet time machine rather than destroying it, as was in the original game]]) and provided the Mongols with modern Imperial technology, giving the Mongols a disproportionate advantage that allowed them to conquer Europe in a CurbStompBattle. But in an [[HereWeGoAgain ironic repeat of the Soviets' actions]], Tatsu's meddling with the space-time continuum had inadvertently caused the rise of the [[ImperialChina Celestial Empire]] and adding a new warring faction to the already-chaotic MeleeATrois between the Allies, the Soviets, and the Empire of the Rising Sun.

FridgeLogic would dictate that this would result in an infinite technological loop: Suppose the radio was invented back in 50 B.C. by a time traveler. Since this means that time travel is possible, eventually somebody from the future of the timeline created by the original time traveler would travel back to an even earlier time (for example, 800 B.C.) and give radio to the Akkadians or something. Then a time traveler from ''that'' timeline would introduce radio even father back, repeating until the very first generation of humans ever to evolve is given advanced technology and civilization.

** In ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', Scotty introduces the formula for transparent aluminum in 1986 which is presumably early in their timeline. Though Dr. [=McCoy=] kind of lampshades this, Scotty counters with the notion that the guy he's showing it to was possibly the original inventor.
*** Dr. [=McCoy=] also gives an elderly 1986 hospital patient 23rd century medicine that rapidly remedies her dialysis.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12672455/1/ Dedicated Hearts made Fullmetal]]'' has the [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Elric brothers]] sent to the ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' world by the Truth. Once there, they quickly spark a revolution with their knowledge in Alchemy, automail and general science for Paradis Island, to the point that by the time the Return to Shiganshina arc rolls around, the military has developed artillery cannons powerful enough to blast the Titans to bits without risking themselves, and several soldiers who lost their limbs in battle are getting automail prostheses. Moreover, they're also starting the development on electric generators powered by gas or waterwheels. When it comes down to a fight against the nation of Marley; [[CripplingOverspecialization whose military superiority has been dependent entirely on their control over Titan Shifters]], the Eldians of Paradis are now on a more evened playing field both technologically and scientifically.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12672455/1/ Dedicated Hearts made Fullmetal]]'' has the [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Elric brothers]] sent to the ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' world by the Truth. Once there, they quickly spark a revolution with their knowledge in Alchemy, automail and general science for Paradis Island, to the point that, by the time the Return to Shiganshina arc rolls around, the military has developed artillery cannons powerful enough to blast the Titans to bits without risking themselves, and several soldiers who lost their limbs in the war are getting automail prostheses. Moreover, they're also starting the development on electric generators powered by gas or waterwheels.

* The plot for ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft's'' fifth expansion, ''Warlords of Draenor'', is kicked off by Garrosh Hellscream going back in time 35 years to Draenor (the Orc Homeworld) and introducing to the tribal hunter-gatherer Orcish Clans the vaguely steampunk technology built by the Goblins in order to create The Iron Horde; with the already military-oriented Blackrock Clan making good use of the Goblin tech to create battleships, siege engines, and even a vast railway network to deliver reinforcements and war material to multiple fronts.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies_Whose_Bright_Eyes Ladies Whose Bright Eyes]]'', written in 1911 had a mining engineer do the same, but finds he can change little.

* Inverted in ''The Centurion's Empire'' by Creator/SeanMcMullen, the premise of which is that AncientRome developed a medicine that [[HumanPopsicle allowed the human body to survive being frozen]], and promptly started storing its best and brightest. After the empire collapsed the one survivor set up shop in an English village, being unfrozen when they needed his military expertise.

* ''Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen'' by Creator/HBeamPiper. Pennsylvania cop Calvin Morrison runs afoul of the Paratime Police and is accidentally transported to a medieval alternate Earth where a corrupt theocracy controls the secret of gunpowder. Pretty realistically handled -- he knows the basic formula, but also knows that there were steps in making it consistent that he needs to rediscover, and he has to convince wary leaders to build up the entire infrastructure for gun manufacturing from scratch.

* ''The Other Time'' (started by Creator/MackReynolds, completed by Dean Ing after Reynolds' death) features a modern day (1980's) anthropologist doing field work in Mexico who gets thrown back in history to just the right time to run into Cortez and the conquistadors. The language issue is avoided as the hero (being an anthropologist) naturally speaks Nahuatl and Spanish.

* John Barnes's Timeline Wars trilogy: ''Patton's Spaceship'', ''Washington's Dirigible'', and '''Caesar's Bicycle'' all see this trope used, as part of a multi-universal time war against Carthagian descended timelines. The first book centers around a downplayed example, with the primary antagonists giving the Nazis technology from the end of World War 2 in the 30s (specifically Me 262 fighter jet aircraft and Panther tanks, both with their flaws fixed), which meant that it was relatively easy to adapt to produce the new weapons while still providing an overwhelming advantage against the Allies. The main character gives a little assistance to the Allied Resistance, but since he's not an engineer or physicist he can't help too much. Mostly he just gives some hints and they figure out how to build nuclear weapons and space ships on their own. And also laser cannons, to the main character's shock.

* In Creator/MichaelSwanwick's ''Jack Faust'', Faust is a scientist rather than a sorcerer and Mephistopheles is a misanthropic SufficientlyAdvancedAlien rather than a demon. Mephistopheles gives Faust access to all the accumulated scientific knowledge of the next several centuries, ushering in the Industrial Revolution and, eventually, a World War many hundreds of years too early.
* Referenced/averted in the ''Tennis Shoes Adventure Series'' -- Maegen decides that radios would be useless, and brings mini chocolate bars and ball-point pens to trade to the Romans instead.

* In ''Literature/TheCrossTimeEngineer'' and sequels by Leo Frankowski, Polish hiker Conrad Schwartz, in a drunken stupor, bypasses all kinds of security and stumbles into a historical-research time portal (created, coincidentally, by his cousin) and awakens in thirteenth-century Poland, where he has just ten years to industrialize and unite his nation before the Mongol hordes arrive.

* Happens ''InSpace'' in the Larry Niven novel ''Literature/DestroyerOfWorlds''. A lone Pak (a highly intelligent, super strong, long lived creature) gets stranded on a primitive world. He introduces the natives (who have Bronze Age technology) to technology in steps, hibernating for unknown periods between each step. He needs to do this to escape the primitive world, by reaching the ramscoop level.
* ''Literature/TheCrossTimeEngineer'' and sequels by Leo Frankowski. Polish hiker Conrad Schwartz, in a drunken stupor, bypasses all kinds of security and stumbles into a historical-research time portal (created, coincidentally, by his cousin) and awakens in thirteenth-century Poland, where he has just ten years to industrialize and unite his nation before the Mongol hordes arrive.

* ''Literature/LestDarknessFall'' by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp. Martin Padway is struck by lightning and finds himself in sixth-century Rome, on the verge of its ruin at Justinian's hands and the onset of the Dark Ages. He may be able to save civilization, if he can only get the ruling Goths to grasp the ''value'' of his innovations. Notable as it does take a few tries to figure out what does and does not work...
** Also notable in that one of the first and most important inventions he introduces is brandy. In itself, useless. For making money and building a place in society, invaluable.

* ''The Last Day of Creation'' by Wolfgang Jeschke. The protagonists are stranded five millions years in the past, and while Neaderthal man proves willing and able to learn to use [=20th=] century jeeps and firearms, when the suggestion of giving humanity a technology jump is raised, they conclude that none of their efforts will amount to anything in the vast abyss of time to come. One reason they're stranded however is because alternate timelines have been created; it's suggested by a more effective version of this trope in which a small team of military advisors with modern weapons time travel to a crucial point in history, ensuring that Cortez is ambushed by machine guns or Columbus gets roasted with napalm.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': In "Savage Time", the immortal Vandal Savage sends a laptop with a message on it to his past self, the information on the laptop allowing the past Savage to take control of Nazi Germany and lead them to win World War II.

* ''Fanfic/ASongOfIceAndFiresThatWerentAllMyFault'' has Harry Dresden and [[spoiler: his daughter]] displaced to Braavos about a decade or so before the events of ''A Game of Thrones'', just after Robert's rebellion. After a couple of years of keeping his head down for [[spoiler: his daughter's]] sake, he decides to engage in a basic effort to advance technology, with the vague aim of, somewhere in his centuries long lifetime, reaching the point where he's able to hex it again. His being a big fan of MugglePower (despite being a [[PersonOfMassDestruction powerful wizard]]), and having a pronounced dislike for feudal lordship, are also factors. One of the main initial successes is starting up a printing press.
** However, the fic also touches on some of the problems with an individual doing this: while Dresden has got a better understanding of fundamental science than most, his knowledge is still fairly vague and his initial almanac (containing stuff like basic germ theory and physics) is likewise relatively limited [[spoiler: (though this problem is ameliorated by the arrival of Lydia, his spiritual daughter, created by Lash's sacrifice, a spirit of intellect who knows everything that both Dresden and Lasciel did)]]. Additionally, his magical compasses, which function as a sort of magical GPS (with two compasses, a chart, and a little geometry, you can figure out pretty much exactly where you are anywhere in the world), are a runaway success, but also hit the small snag that only he can make them. And finally, he's extremely reluctant to introduce gunpowder, on the grounds that it'll make the conflicts even bloodier. [[spoiler: However, he ultimately does so after dragons start appearing beyond his control, to give ordinary humanity a fighting chance.]]

** The {{Backstory}} for the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'' mod ''Corona'' shows that in an attempt to MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight in favor of the [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Empire of the Rising Sun]], Crown Prince Tatsu traveled back to TheHighMiddleAges ([[ForWantOfANail by reverse-engineering the Soviet time machine rather than destroying it, as was in the original game]]) and provided the Mongols with modern Imperial technology, giving the Mongols a disproportionate advantage that allowed them to conquer Europe in a CurbStompBattle. But in an [[HereWeGoAgain ironic repeat of the Soviets' actions]], Tatsu's meddling with the space-time continuum had inadvertently caused the rise of the [[ImperialChina Celestial Empire]] and adding a new warring faction to the already-chaotic MeleeATrois between the Allies, the Soviets, and the Empire of the Rising Sun.

* In ''LightNovel/TheMasterOfRagnarokAndBlesserOfEinherjar'' this is a major part of the plot, Yuuto has his smart phone (which can be charged via [[ThePowerOfTheSun solar energy]] fortunately) and is able to communicate back to Earth. A big part of the wolf clan's rise in power is him rapidly introducing new technologies and military tactics.

* In ''Series/{{Misfits}}'' an old Jewish man goes back in time [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct to kill Hitler]]. He fails and drops his mobile phone, which enables the Nazis to develop better technology and win the war, taking over Britain. Kelly gets the time travel power and is able to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong get the mobile]] away from Hitler, along with [[KickTheSonOfABitch beating him up]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* {{Averted|Trope}} in the sense that no time travelers have gone back to change things... [[PlausibleDeniability as far as we know]].
[[/folder]]

->'''Marina:''' You're not worried about changing the past and messing up the future?
->'''Pearl:''' Nah. I'd only make good changes. Like giving cellphones to cavesquids.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Maoyu}}'', the Demon Queen, a peace-seeking sort despite her name, consorts ([[ArrangedMarriage literally]]) with the opposing Hero to bring modernizations to farming, industry and navigation that help humanity avoid the need for war. Pitfalls are expected by the leader as not everyone on either side of the war is willing to cede control over those who once lacked control of their destinies or did things that others expected because of their heritages. And then because somebody else is ''also'' able to provide advanced technology and uses it to arm her enemies with muskets, the Demon Queen is forced to introduce rifles to surpass this.

* [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26868814 Period Piece]] is about [[LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom Katarina Claes]] bringing the sanitary pad to her MedievalEuropeanFantasy world. Since she was only a consumer in her previous life, it does take some trial and error to find the right materials and a way to mount them.

* In ''LightNovel/AccomplishmentsOfTheDukesDaughter'', Iris laments that she doesn't have the knowledge required to start a technological revolution, but her PastLifeMemories of being an accountant allows her to create an economic revolution by introducing modern financial, educational, accounting and administrative policies (though the concept of a "sales tax" proves to be a non-starter).

* Accidentally travelling back in time and even being able to remember how to create modern technologies is the idea behind [[http://rebuildingcivilization.com/sites/default/files/travel_back_in_time.jpg this poster]]. (Also handy for zombie apocalypses.)