AHC: Crown of Spain retains South America

I've been doing some reading about the Hispanic-American Wars of Independence, all of which interest me to a great degree (no bullshit). But, this AHC asks you to somehow, with whatever POD at your disposal, to somehow manage to have Spain retain its South American territories rather than have them splinter into their respective independent states.
 
Your best chance is to somehow delay or avert the American and French Revolutions. After the age of revolutions kicked off, the antiquated arrangements by which Spain ruled South America were never going to cope with the new ideas that were a challenge to authority. However, if there's no model for them to follow, a process of gradual reform could instead occur, to grant Spanish American dominion-like statuses.
 
If Spain fought against Napoleonic France from the beginning, possibly with the Royal Family fleeing to New World possessions, following the example of Portugal, then it wouldnt have been in Britain's interest to support the rebellions - and they would never have lost contact with the government. Otl, there was no central direction, so each colony was forced to make its own decisions, which became a habit.
 

katchen

Banned
You did say SOUTH American possessions. That means that the Royal Family relocates to Bogotá, New Granada rather than Ciudad Mexico (or to Bogotá from Mexico City perhaps in 1811 as a result of Hildago and Morelos's revolt getting too close for comfort). The challenge dosen't require that Spain retain Mexico and Central America. Only South American colonies.
As a result, Spain has enough troops to put down and capture Simon Bolivar, who is hanged in 1812.
Reforms are made and in 1815, work begun on a Respedura canal connecting the Atrato and San Juan Rivers and therefore Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, thus binding South America together militarily (using African slaves) as well as with the Philippines once the King is nearby and can hear about the site and even visit the site and see that the canal is both feasible and necessary and only 7 leagues long. The canal is finished in 1820, in time for service by the new steamboats which can tug ships upstream and downstream on both rivers within two days.
King Ferdinand is far more aggressive about settling underpopulated areas in the New World. Even in the Exile Years (1807-1814) and Voluntary Exile Years (1814-1820), Ferdinand is creating penal settlements in Florida on Tampa and Miami Bays and sending convicted criminals to St. Augustine, St. Marks and Pensacola to boost the Spanish population, build the economy and fend off American demands for annexation of the Floridas. As well, large numbers of slaves are brought to Florida and land cleared for plantations, particularly sugar in the south.
:prisoners are also sent to California and Texas for the same reasons and new settlements founded farther north on the Pacific coast at Humboldt Bay (Nuevo Cantabria), the Columbia estuary (what DID the Spanish call the Columbia anyway?) and Puget Sound (Nuevo Navarra?). And farther north up the Rio Grande, where gold and silver are promptly discovered which makes it all worthwhile.
The Spanish and Portuguese Kings also, during this Exiled Court period, conclude a mutual defense treaty against the encroachment of other powers and treaties defining the Amazon River and it's tributaries the Napo, Pastanza, Maranon, Hallega, Putamayo, Uapes, Ucayali, Madiera and Negro Rivers, the Orinocco and it's tributaries the Apure, Meta and Cassiaquare Canal and the Parana and it's tributary the Paraguai River and the Tagus River and Duoro Rivers in Spain and Portugal as international waterways, open to the shipping of at least both Spain and Portugal. Which would be vital when it came time to face Admiral Cochrane.
And when Napoleon is defeated, like the Portuguese Emperor Manuel, Ferdinand's court in Bogata is in no hurry for the King to return to Madrid. So from Bogata, the King issues edicts ordering the relocation of all displaced persons to the New World from Iberia--as soon as shipping permits it. And institutes primogeniture with second and subsequent sons recieving lands equal to their inheritance in Spain, but undeveloped in the New World.
 

Ha! I'm glad you caught unto that, indeed not Mexico or Central America, just South America.

Although, in your mind, do you think that it would have been more profitable and more rewarding long term to have tried to retake all of the American territories or just try to save a single Viceroy? (Viceroyalty of Peru and Viceroyalty of New Spain, respectively)
 
Get rid of Godoy. The guy almost single handedly drove the final nail into the coffin of what once was a spanish empire. Granted, things were going that direction anyway, but the guy was a buffoon who hastened the demise.

As with Portugal, Spain was filled with buffoons. Charles IV, Ferdinand, Godoy. 3 'leaders' at a critical juncture who were severely lacking.

So, the easiest is to get rid of Godoy (it's a bit much to ask a change in intelligence/personality for all 3). Assume that his replacement, if not much better, is not going to jump totally into bed with Napoleon (who is going to screw them all over). Spain remains nominally allied with Portugal, and strives for some sort of neutrality with France. Get rid of the 1808 abdications and the spark for almost all the independence movements is dampened. The spark will strike sooner or later, but maybe with a little time, things settle out and some sort of compromise can be worked out. Overall, the 1808 abdications, Joseph bonaparte, and the peninsular war put an end to the new world crown. And Godoy was the root cause of a large part of it.
 
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