English Mexico
The English would have been quite happy to go down the same path that the Spanish did in Mexico. That (finding precious minerals and living off the Indians) was their first impulse in Virginia. It didn't work there because the Indians were too few and independent and there were no deposits of gold or silver within easy reach. That reaction might have been fueled by English knowledge of the Spanish model though, so no guarantees that Mexico would go the same way
The rest of this assumes that the English discovery happened before the Spanish took control of the West Indies, because it would be very difficult for it to happen if the Spanish controlled Cuba and the other big West Indies islands. So assume that the Spanish turned Columbus down and he ended up in England a few years later. The English bite on his scheme, find the West Indies, settle there and experiment with various schemes to exploit their new colonies.
The Spanish entered the New World with a template for conquering new areas, based on hundreds of years of the reconquest of Spain an their experience in the Canary Islands. The English would presumably fall back on their previous experience at conquest, which would be their experience in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. They would flounder a bit when they encountered the Tiano in the West Indies, but they would probably not be adverse to conquest and enslavement.
The home country would probably not give the colonists a great deal of guidance, because the Tudor dynasty was very recent to power and not too secure on the throne, not to mention being embroiled in European wars. The settlers would probably have a great deal of autonomy until they found enough gold or silver to get the English crown's attention, which probably wouldn't happen until they found Mexico. Given that background, I wouldn't expect a single English Mexican colony to emerge from an English discovery of Mexico. I would expect a bunch of quasi-independent and competing groups to grab pieces of the Mexican coast and compete for the gold trade.
The English would have been quite happy to go down the same path that the Spanish did in Mexico. That (finding precious minerals and living off the Indians) was their first impulse in Virginia. It didn't work there because the Indians were too few and independent and there were no deposits of gold or silver within easy reach. That reaction might have been fueled by English knowledge of the Spanish model though, so no guarantees that Mexico would go the same way
The rest of this assumes that the English discovery happened before the Spanish took control of the West Indies, because it would be very difficult for it to happen if the Spanish controlled Cuba and the other big West Indies islands. So assume that the Spanish turned Columbus down and he ended up in England a few years later. The English bite on his scheme, find the West Indies, settle there and experiment with various schemes to exploit their new colonies.
The Spanish entered the New World with a template for conquering new areas, based on hundreds of years of the reconquest of Spain an their experience in the Canary Islands. The English would presumably fall back on their previous experience at conquest, which would be their experience in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. They would flounder a bit when they encountered the Tiano in the West Indies, but they would probably not be adverse to conquest and enslavement.
The home country would probably not give the colonists a great deal of guidance, because the Tudor dynasty was very recent to power and not too secure on the throne, not to mention being embroiled in European wars. The settlers would probably have a great deal of autonomy until they found enough gold or silver to get the English crown's attention, which probably wouldn't happen until they found Mexico. Given that background, I wouldn't expect a single English Mexican colony to emerge from an English discovery of Mexico. I would expect a bunch of quasi-independent and competing groups to grab pieces of the Mexican coast and compete for the gold trade.