Colombo: Servant of Portugal

One of the most interesting aspects of European-North American Native interaction is the way that the European natives were decimated by European diseases. It would be completely feasible for half if not majority of natives captured were to die on way back to Lisboa.

Secondly when a second expedition was to arrive in the island they should a) find population at less than half b) socity structure destroyed

Indeed that did happen in OTL with only a handful of the 25 Columbus 'invited' surviving.

THUS making it quite easy for the Portuguese to set up their hold on the island and leading them to explore the mainland.
 
The Return of Colombo

Having set out in June of 1490, Colombo made his return several months later in late December in Lisbon after sailing on amore northern path across the Atlantic and arriving back in the Cape Verde islands. Sending letters back to Portugal of the sights he had seen and what he had with him was like a smack to Lisbon as word spread throughout the city and beyond as many debated the truthfulness of Colombo’s words. Had he actually reached the Indies? Was he right all along?

All doubts were washed away when the Santa Maria and the Sao Miguel arrived in Lisbon harbor and docked, where a procession of royalty and onlookers arrived to receive Colombo who disembarked from his ship like a conquering hero! Those who were his greatest critics were already shaking when from the boat came the strange ‘Indians’, six of the twenty five or so that still lived, carrying with them the spoils Colombo had ‘found’ in the west.

Going back to the Castle of São Jorge, Colombo once again would go through what he had seen and what he had done; presenting what he had taken from the west as proof that he had achieved a path to the Indies. The advisors who had most criticized Colombo were speechless and flabbergasted, in the face of this material proof they could not argue at all. The King of Portugal for sometime looked over and inspected the goods brought back by Colombo, as if in contemplation in thinking of the ramifications of Colombo’s success. Finally after sometime, Joao II stands and declares these lands are within the sphere of Portugal and that Portugal will send in another expedition! Portugal had discovered the route to the Indies and it would bring itself closer to them.

The ships of Portugal would go west again and make the setting sun Portuguese.
 
The Dispute

The news of the lands to the west spread like wildfire into Europa, with interest or disinterest popping up here and there. The strongest of which though were angry noises made by the Catholic Monarchs of Aragon and Castille, Ferdinand and Isabella. Up to this point the two united crowns only really had their influence in the Atlantic in the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa. As apart of the Treaty of Alacovas, which was confirmed by the Pope Sixtus IV the Castillians recived dominion over the Canary Islands, had to recieve Portuguese permission to travel south of the islands, and divided the world along a northern-southern line based on the Canaries (except when concerning Africa) bewteen Castille and Portugal.

Alarmed at the discovery of the Western Route, the two monarchs argued that the announced Portuguese influence of their discoveries in the west was not clarified by the last treaty. Though they tried their efforts to break Portuguese influence in the region their efforts were stopped by a combination of fierce resistance by Joao II-where he threatened war with the two other Iberian states, the reflaring of rebellion in Granada in the summer of 1491 greatly stretched their ability to posture, the threat of Charles VII of France, and the indifferance by then Pope Innocent VII, who a Genoan (seveal prominent Genoan families were allied witht he Portuguese crown), just confirmed Portuguese dominion and insisted the line remain at the 29th parallel.

Defeated but not out of the game, the Spanish monarchs would a year later put in charge an Italian explorer who at the time working in Valencia as a engineer had previously proposed of a route to the west. His name was Giovanni Caboto, when he would briefly stop in England on his latter expedition he would be called John Cabot.


OOC: Reposting Gonzaga's map because I can't find another one!
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The Return of Colombo

Having set out in June of 1490, Colombo made his return several months later in late December in Lisbon after sailing on amore northern path across the Atlantic and arriving back in the Cape Verde islands. Sending letters back to Portugal of the sights he had seen and what he had with him was like a smack to Lisbon as word spread throughout the city and beyond as many debated the truthfulness of Colombo’s words. Had he actually reached the Indies? Was he right all along?

Just a nitpick, given the winds in North Atlantic I think Colombo would rather reach Azores sailing from Yucatan than Cape Verde. That could be interesting actually, the Azorians would certainly not expect such a fleet coming from the West.
 
The Second Voyage: Setting up Shop

Almost as soon as Colombo arrived back in Lisbon plans for a 'Second Inda Armada' [1], were underway as the King poured not only the finances of the kingdom but also attracted several private investors-a recovered Domingues amongst them- to fund the expedition. Giving Colombo the official title of "Governor-General of India", and giving him another mission to explore the area, establish trade relations with the local trade centers, and establish factories and outposts for the Portuguese to break into the local market. Colombo promised Joao II that he would not fail in this, and threw himself into preperations for the next expedition, only taking time to see of his lands in Portugal, and go riding with the Infante Afonso [2].

In addition to the Santa Maria and the Sao Miguel, six more ships would be organized in this fleet and would be captained by the cream of Portugal's naval captains, cartographers, administrators, and the like. The men included such men as Fransisco de Almeida, Sancho de Tovar, Pero de Ataide, and others but the notorious was Diogo Dias, the brother of the failed Bartolomeu Dias which some suggested was cursed and would bring nothing but trouble to the expedition.

After much preperation and a buildup of anticipation the 2nd India Armada and Voyage sailed from Lisbon in June of 1493. Following the same path, the fleet sailed southward to Cape Verde, missing the usual huirricane season of the area and rounding the islands they sailed westward to catch the great atlantic current westward. It was not long into this that the fleet became caught in the Doldrums, which was something that had been expected and prepared for so the ships continued to inch westward to get out of the region. It was on the edge of this after more then a week of this that a storm began to build up, both pushing the armada and threatening to swallow it whole. It was then that Diogo Dias broke down mentally, speaking in gibberish and hiding inside the hull of his ship and occasionally yelling out his brother's name. It was then that the young noble Pedro Alvares Cabral took command of the ship and ordered Dias to be secured below.

The Armada rode out the storm, with only one supply ship reported to being lost to the storm and so they continued until arriving at the mouth of the Mirapouco river [3] the fleet sails for Bemvindo where it comes upon Dulmo and those left by the last voyage at the southern tip of the island. Dulmo is still alive, if not many of those left behind who look more then ravanged by the look of them but nontheless all are glad to see the return of their countrymen. He accounts the events of the last year or so, from teaching the local natives Portuguese and about the Bible, making dozens build their homes, exploring on the caravel left behind with them and mapping neighboring islands and along the coast, including up Mirapouco river where they discover more people living on stilted huts [4].

It is here that Fransisco de Almeida, as appointed Viceroy of India makes his power felt, much to the discomfort of Colombo. Despite friction bewteen the two, the 2nd India Armada resupplies the men on Bemvindo and helps them construct a better fort to secure themselves and then heads westward establishing an additional prescence on Ilha de Vera Cruz. The Portuguese sail once again to Cozumel, and what they find is quite different then what they left seeing as the villages previously seen by Colombo and Vasco de Gama are deserted or destroyed. With a small army of some two hundred men the Portugese land on the island and search for the 'Indians', all the while finding the scenes of abandonment and destruction, the temple previously visited is abandonded (though the Portuguese find a number of material devotions in gold, jade, and several unseen before items within the temple complex mostly on a number of corpses and sacred shrines) and more searching only finds less then a handful of villages on the southern interior of the island with Indians. The Portuguese ambush one such village and find the inhabitants weakened and mass graves of the dead...though they also find more abandonded wealth which they help themselves to.

The Portugese convene and work out that some sort of plague must have swept the local Indians, perhaps by the wrath of God or something brought by Colombo, which turns back to memories of the locals brought by Colombo to Lisbon who all died within a month of their arrival. With this news de Almeida orders construction of a fort and factory on the island, which the Portuguese do but by now Colombo's interferances in de Almedia's authority become more and more frequent. This goes on for several weeks until de Almeida agrees with Colombo to go explore the sighted mainland, de Almedia staying on the island, now named Ilha de Afonso in name of the Infante.

Quite pleased with this, Colombo takes three ships and sails to the mainland.
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[1] The first being Colombo's expedition
[2] Afonso officially has not died as in OTL
[3] Orinoco river
[4] Warao people

Just a nitpick, given the winds in North Atlantic I think Colombo would rather reach Azores sailing from Yucatan than Cape Verde. That could be interesting actually, the Azorians would certainly not expect such a fleet coming from the West.

Hmm...aha! I know what my next prose entry for the TL will be!
 
Giovanni Caboto: Servant of Spain

The loss to the Portugese which at the seemed quite likely could result in grand political and economic power for the emerging Espania frustrated the royal majesties of the larger power of Iberia. Their naval experiance though much shorter and much smaller then their neighboring brother country was still ambitious as they desired sorely wanted and desired connections with the Orient to stimulate their own emerging economy. Knocked out of any legal claims to the lands being discovered by the Portugese the Spanish Monarchs turned to finding a new route and claiming the land to the north of the Portugese claims for not only the economic long term benefits but a grander prestige and glory.

To this they turned to one man in 1491 named Giovanni Caboto, who native to Genoa was at the time working as a engineer in Valencia designing a bridge. When the Monarchs had put forth the call for proposals to find the route to India, he was one of the first to scramble to the capital and present his plans. Giovanni Caboto proposed a northern route, which along a northern latitude would be much shorter and easier then across the bredth of the equator he explained.

Eager to match the Portugese, the Spanish monarchs managed to pull togehter the funds and resources for a expedition of three carrack ships to set out on Februrary 14, 1493. From the southern coast of Spain, across the breadth of Portugal, infuriating the Portugese in the process, Caboto sailed to English waters and then sailed westward toward the setting sun. Arriving in late April off the coast of Newfoundland.
 
Smell hard times for France and England about the scramble in America... If they don't moved early than OTL, i don't know what will happen...

Maybe they go to South, to Africa then India?
 
Smell hard times for France and England about the scramble in America... If they don't moved early than OTL, i don't know what will happen...

It took a long time for them to get seriously involved in the Americas IOTL, but they still conquered large territories. And Portugal has even less resources to protect all his larger colonial empire than Spain had.
 
Portugal's Empire kind of got snatched by the Dutch a nd others alot easier because simply theirs were all small, vulnerable coastal areas scattered here and there.
 
Portugal's Empire kind of got snatched by the Dutch a nd others alot easier because simply theirs were all small, vulnerable coastal areas scattered here and there.

We must see before if the Dutch will gained its indipendence first...
 
We must see before if the Dutch will gained its indipendence first...

More importantly, we must see if Castile and Aragon fall into the hands of the Habsburgs. The way I see it, Juana not marrying Philip or Juan not dying → No personal union between the Netherlands and Spain (and eventually Portugal) → No excuse for the Dutch to claim the Portuguese lands as rightfully theirs.
 
More importantly, we must see if Castile and Aragon fall into the hands of the Habsburgs. The way I see it, Juana not marrying Philip or Juan not dying → No personal union between the Netherlands and Spain (and eventually Portugal) → No excuse for the Dutch to claim the Portuguese lands as rightfully theirs.

Well, that was only their excuse. They wouldn't need any other reason than the good and old greed.;)
 
Well to be quite clear my intentions are to halt any unification of Iberia and the Hapsburgs, while if possible keep Portugese holdings 'Portugese' and Spanish North American colonies 'Spanish'.

Also with this TL and several other TLs I am goin to take a cue from Glen's Dominion of Southern America and go for smaller updates with content. It's just a matter of ideas to write about.

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Caboto's Discovery:
Landing off the coast of New Foundland, Caboto was somewhat disappointed to find conditions not that unlike in England: Cold and Wet. The natives also were not that much impressive to Caboto for as his ships skirted the coasts of what would be Maria's Land (Newfoundland) and came into sight of native villages many would flee at the sight of them. Inspection of villages and in one case the ambush of a returning group of warriors to one such village put into mind then pen and paper by Caboto that perhaps much like the English in Europe those inhabitants of the world's north were inferior. With this in mind he sailed south shortly after declaring Maria's Land for the Crown of Catille and Aragon. Reaching the Caboto River (Hudson) after a small storm nearly claimed his expedition and sped him around Nueva de Granada he was much more warmly recieved by the locals tribes, thus again in the name of the Monarchs of Castille an Aragon he established a fort on a sizable island in the river.
 
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