If Burdgundy had survived as an independent state, how would they affect the colonization of the new world and asia/africa? Is it possible that it might be they who sponsor Columbus?
I think that Burgundy would become some kind of super-Dutch with the centre of power located somewhere in the Netherlands. Certainly if they would somehow be able to avoid a religious conflict.
Without immediate access to the Atlantic they have to rely on the goodwill of their neighbours to let them through the Channel/Gibraltar, so they are at a disadvantage, just like how every other nation that wasn't Spain, Portugal, France, or Engalnd/Britain was.
Without immediate access to the Atlantic they have to rely on the goodwill of their neighbours to let them through the Channel/Gibraltar, so they are at a disadvantage, just like how every other nation that wasn't Spain, Portugal, France, or Engalnd/Britain was.
Ever heard of the Netherlands?
Anyway, the Channel's wide and the North Sea has more than one exit.
Nonetheless, lacking continuous territory in multiple areas could be an issue.
I agree, coneecting Burgundy to the Netherlands would be essential. Am I correct that they just need to add the county of Lorraine to Burgundy to bridge the gap between them? Also Liege would be useful as well (and Utrecht) and to counter the rise of France some other areas in the neighbourhood.
He was also called 'Charles the Rash', so there's that.@Archdevil: Yes, sometimes I think that "Bold" was only a polite way of saying "he's brash".
A lack of natrual resources forced the Dutch to be innovate manufacturers and traders, they even had a wind-powered industrial revolution in the 1600s. Does Burgundy have a similar situation, or would trade be the cream instead of the basis of survival?
It did not in OTL, so frankly it would depend on who she marries (and if her husband/son identifies more with Burgundy than the paternal inheritance).Alone versus Lorraine, Charles should have been easily capable of securing Lorraine and uniting the Burgundian territories. However, with only a daughter, Burgundy itself would inevitably revert to the French crown, making these conquests useless.