DBWI: Indian Ocean colonization without the Inca Empire?

Deleted member 97083

Imagine an (admittedly unlikely) scenario where the Inca Empire was taken down in the First Spanish War, and never had a chance to reform into a maritime empire. The alliance with Queen Elizabeth against Philip II is never formed, the colony of New Lima is never built in California. The gold and silver from Collasuyu doesn't fill the coffers of the Tawantinsuyu, but rather becomes a colony of Spain, like Mexico, inflating Spanish economy and fueling the expansionist wars of the Habsburgs. Meanwhile, there are no Incas to create the second trans-Pacific trade.

In a world without the Inca Empire as a major power, what would Indian Ocean colonization have been like? Certainly, Incan silver led to great changes in the region, with the establishment of trading posts in the East Indies for silk, spices, and chinaware. Trade with China was "a fundamental source of income and materiel for the burgeoning Inca state" according to Sir Walter Yupanqui, Count of Warwick. "In addition, without Inca traders spreading Intiist ideals, a resurgence of Sun Worship in the form of Adityas would not have flourished in the Indies".

Ultimately, Quechua could not have become the primary trade language in the East, either. Perhaps Portuguese would have replaced it, due to the early successes they had in Malaya. But ultimately, another power probably would have superseded the Portuguese. If not the Inca, perhaps the Flemish?

In the Americas, would Acapulco still have become independent as a mercantile league under the Inca colonial sphere, or would it remain part of Spain, allowing the Spanish to benefit more from their trade with China? Certainly, if the Spanish had taken total control of the Pacific, Catholicism may have seen greater success in the East Indies.
 

spendabuck

Banned
Southeast Asia would probably be a lot less diverse; in Indonesia alone you can find large populations of Intiists, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and people following indigenous beliefs. If European colonization became dominant, then Christianity would have most likely become the primary religion.

Besides religion, this would also have many affects on Quechua culture. Quechua might use Roman script as oppose to Chinese characters, and there certainly wouldn't be any idea of the Mandate of Heaven in the Andes (especially due to Spanish rule).
 
With Inca silver filling their coffers, the Hapsburgs would have money for a LOT of war! I don't see the Flemish or any related alt-hist country being able to secede from them and building a colony in the Indian ocean in this scenario. The Netherlands would be a Spanish colony until well into the 19th century, and the Portuguese would be the dominant power in the Indies.
 
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