AH Challenge: Aragonese colonial empire

Maybe if Charles of Viana and Agnes of Cleves produce an heir a united Basque and Aragon would be able to take advantage of colonization. You would also need to somehow avoid the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_against_John_II or make sure it is fast and victorious. I think the major reason why Portugal was successful, was because of their stable monarchy. The Aragonese however were often at war with themselves, and always caught between France, Castille, and the Italian situation making the nation very unstable.

I actually had something like that happen in my Palaiologos TL. Charles of Viana won the civil war with help from King Louis XI of France, but since he was already middle aged without a legitimate son I had him promote his illegitimate son Philip (he had a deal with Louis XI and an antipope that allowed him to legitimize his son). Unfortunately they then lost control of Sicily (and southern Italy wasn't theirs at my PoD), but that gives them some incentive to look west I think.
 
Ferdinand of Aragon did conquer Navarre in the early 16th century, andit was originally attached to Aragon. It was later transferred to Castille under the thinking that as part of Castille it could be better protected from France. In a scenario where Castille and Aragon are separate, this would remain part of Aragon.
He used castillian troops. Without castillian muscle he would not have dared to defy France and without union with Castille it would have been Castille (or Castille-Portugal) the one who would have taken Navarre.
The Crown of Aragon is a mixed bag economically. Various events had weakened the Aragon from its strong position in the centuries past. However, Aragon also possessed Naples and Sicily, and these Italian portions were very important to the economy of Imperial Spain.
Again. No union with Castille, no castillian troops, no Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, no Naples and probably no Sicily.
With this, we can imagine a situation where Castille joins with Portugal. Isabella marries Afonso V. Not sure who Ferdinand eventually marries.
Columbus never sails because with Portugal's access to the East, Castille doesn't need its own, western route. This delays the discovery of the new world
Navarre joins Aragon around 1510.
At some future point, the new world is discovered, perhaps by Bristol fishermen looking for cod.
Europeans begin to establish colonies in the New World, but it's probably over a longer period of time. Aragon's share is probably some colonies in the Caribbean.
The exact disposition of the colonial empires depend on too many factors, so it all depends on how you develop it.
Aragon always centered its policies in the Mediterranean, why would they try to open new routes through a channel (Gibraltar) controled by another power willing to keep the gates to its riches closed?
 
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