IOTL, Portugal briefly flirted with colonizing eastern Canada (Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia), while France attempted to take Brazil in the 1550's. I'm planning out a TL where I basically swap France and Portugal around: France gets Brazil, successfully throwing out the Portuguese, and as cliché as it might be, dumps its Huguenots there. Portugal, in the meantime, focuses on Canada and makes it a settler colony.
A quote I found in another Novaterra thread:
Now, some questions. Obviously, Portugal needs to colonize Canada while also not destroying France Antarctique. How could I accomplish this? Would a bigger Portuguese focus in Canada inherently make them less interested in Brazil? IIRC, Brazil was originally unprofitable and caused the Portuguese many headaches, so who knows, maybe success in Novaterra could make the Portuguese lose their interest in Brazil? Just a thought. Later, there needs to be a concerted effort from the French government to colonize and exploit Brazil. It's unlikely to succeed because of Huguenot adventurers alone. With Metropolitan France behind it, though, I feel like it could work. Especially if they reach Minhas Geraias, which IIRC has a crapton of gold.
As for the next thing – I unfortunately completely forgot what thread I found this on, and I searched for hours yet still couldn't find it. So you'll just have to take my word here when I say that I've stumbled upon a thread here where forum members said that if France expanded in South America, then it would be much more hostile to Spain, which would lead to the Spanish Habsburgs not wanting/trying to get a Bourbon prince on the throne. After all, they'd enter union with their main colonial rival in South America. Is this a plausible outcome? Or would the War of the Spanish Succession still happen the way it did?
A quote I found in another Novaterra thread:
This is what makes me think a Portuguese "Novaterra" could have succeeded.The Portuguese picked a poor spot to settle. Had Fagundes chosen a better site than Sable Island, the colony could have grown. Even if it had mostly been cod fishermen, the price of salted cod began rising in the early 1520's and by the 1540's was 2.5 times of what it had been earlier in the century. By the 1550's, the price of cod once gain doubled before going back to its 1540's level. This alone would have brought prosperity to any permanent settlement.
Now, some questions. Obviously, Portugal needs to colonize Canada while also not destroying France Antarctique. How could I accomplish this? Would a bigger Portuguese focus in Canada inherently make them less interested in Brazil? IIRC, Brazil was originally unprofitable and caused the Portuguese many headaches, so who knows, maybe success in Novaterra could make the Portuguese lose their interest in Brazil? Just a thought. Later, there needs to be a concerted effort from the French government to colonize and exploit Brazil. It's unlikely to succeed because of Huguenot adventurers alone. With Metropolitan France behind it, though, I feel like it could work. Especially if they reach Minhas Geraias, which IIRC has a crapton of gold.
As for the next thing – I unfortunately completely forgot what thread I found this on, and I searched for hours yet still couldn't find it. So you'll just have to take my word here when I say that I've stumbled upon a thread here where forum members said that if France expanded in South America, then it would be much more hostile to Spain, which would lead to the Spanish Habsburgs not wanting/trying to get a Bourbon prince on the throne. After all, they'd enter union with their main colonial rival in South America. Is this a plausible outcome? Or would the War of the Spanish Succession still happen the way it did?