raharris1973
Gone Fishin'
When Columbus returned from his first Caribbean voyage, he stopped in Portuguese territory, twice, in the Azores and Lisboa, before he set foot again in Spain. He even met with the King of Portugal and bragged about his discoveries, trying to rub it in for the King not supporting him before. The Portuguese King was pissed off and was quizzing Columbus accusing him, correctly, of exploring and claiming lands too far south for Spain according to the Treaty of Alcáçovas.
The Portuguese King threatened to send a fleet west to claim the western lands for himself. He didn't do that, but negotiations started, eventually leading to Papal mediation and the Treaty of Tordesillas, which set a new line of demarcation which happened to grant the great bulk of America to Castille but ended up reserving the Brazilian hump for Portugal.
However, it was storms and other circumstances of the voyage that forced Columbus into these politically risky detours. The Pinta, Captained by the Pinzons, made it back from the New World, directly to northwest Spain. What if Columbus similarly only docked back into Spanish territory after his voyage and didn't have his combined conversation/bragging/interrogation encounter with the Portuguese King? Would the Portuguese be a little less informed on some finer details and a less speedy about making claims and demanding negotiations?
In any negotiations, would Portugal have had less leverage, and Brazil have been placed all within the Spanish sphere of demarcation? If so, what changes?
The Portuguese King threatened to send a fleet west to claim the western lands for himself. He didn't do that, but negotiations started, eventually leading to Papal mediation and the Treaty of Tordesillas, which set a new line of demarcation which happened to grant the great bulk of America to Castille but ended up reserving the Brazilian hump for Portugal.
However, it was storms and other circumstances of the voyage that forced Columbus into these politically risky detours. The Pinta, Captained by the Pinzons, made it back from the New World, directly to northwest Spain. What if Columbus similarly only docked back into Spanish territory after his voyage and didn't have his combined conversation/bragging/interrogation encounter with the Portuguese King? Would the Portuguese be a little less informed on some finer details and a less speedy about making claims and demanding negotiations?
In any negotiations, would Portugal have had less leverage, and Brazil have been placed all within the Spanish sphere of demarcation? If so, what changes?