http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peral_Submarine
Oh, I forgot it. The Ictíneo II:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictineo_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peral_Submarine
Peral Submarine was more advanced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peral_Submarine
Oh, I forgot it. The Ictíneo II:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictineo_II
Indonesia? Now that's interesting. I've always wanted to see what Spanish Indonesia would look like, and the 1800s it'd be fascinating to see if either they take Sarawak and North Borneo or just fight the Dutch again.You mean after the loss of most of the colonies in the Americas? Well, there was a TL here when I first registered that had Spain controlling Taiwan, more parts of Indonesia, the Dominican republic and Morocco, but nothing as far as the Middle Eastern conquests suggested in this thread. I can`t remember what the TL was called, though.
The sub quoted is really an overpriced mine.
3kt underwater is barely station keeping and if early torpedo prices are anything like interwar this is a very pricey weapon. As it would have to be prepositioned and in anything like a current have difficulty aiming while submerged its a mine.
Surfaced its difficult to see what advantage it would have over a contemporary torpedo boat, which would be far less complex and much faster.
The sub quoted is really an overpriced mine.
3kt underwater is barely station keeping and if early torpedo prices are anything like interwar this is a very pricey weapon. As it would have to be prepositioned and in anything like a current have difficulty aiming while submerged its a mine.
Surfaced its difficult to see what advantage it would have over a contemporary torpedo boat, which would be far less complex and much faster.
Really from the Latin American independence wars vs the Spanish everything is outside Spanish control and subject to the Monroe doctine.
So probably not spending the 18th century more or less constantly at war with the British would help.
Perchance, could the Spanish have taken the Congo? The Belgians were able to do it, so a Spain that is not focused on reconquering its rebellious colonies (at least as much) might could get into the Congo as their major African Colony.
Other than that, agree with the others in the thread. If we're looking for a Spain that has lost its major colonies to leap back into power, Southeast Asia and the Middle East is the way to go. They just have to act fast, which, after losing their colonies, they might not be capable of. I doubt that they can take the requisite mental effort to get over their old flame of America and chase the new wealth.
One possible way to do it might be to have them retain one of the colonies on the mainland. That might assuage their pride enough that they can look elsewhere to keep expanding the Empire. If that were the case, they probably should try to keep New Granada. Mexico is too distant from Spain and too close to the United States. Without New Granada, Peru is a harder to get to and is too far from Spain in too many regards. New Granada is close to their Caribbean holdings.
With, say, New Granada remaining in the Empire, I can see them deciding to shed the rest of the continent as dead weight (with the sense that, soon, they will show their superiority to the breakaways, anyway) and turn towards the east once more. Take as much of Borneo and the East Indies that are still free, and as much of Arabia as they can. It really just depends.
A presumptive list of things to do in that scenario (granted, I don't understand the political climate in general, so I'm not sure the turn of events which would allow for this to happen. just that X various things might be the best route) P.O.D. Congress of Vienna
Retain New Granada Somehow
Let other colonies go (relatively) peacefully. Site Great Britain's trouble with the US, and how years of attempts to retake the lands would be fruitless.
Do keep an eye out for the Central Americans if they break away, and try to keep them in sphere.
Find an ally in the Western Hemisphere in order to allow focus to shift east.
(Possible sell of Florida to US and renegotiating of US-New Spain border to precede talks of alliance? POD precedes Monroe Doctrine)
(Calmly remind both the breakaways and the US that they are no longer under Spanish protection, and they would not be assisted by the crown from any foreign invasion)
(Or possible Portuguese alliance. Would possibly allow use of Portuguese ports on East Coast of Africa)
Establish land colony on African coast. (Possibly in Cameroon or Congo)
Reinforce Philippines. Start expanding into Borneo and south into New Guinea.
Start looking towards Arabia (particularly, Oman)
Of course, the problems here would give Spain a large presence in the East Indies, squat between Japan and Britain. Might be interesting to see an Anglo-Japanese alliance counteracted by a Spanish-American one. The trick is figuring out how to make all this happen. That's the only way I see a major colonial Spain still surviving.
The problem with New Spain is that, along with la Plata, were the first to rebel against Spanish control. Some of the most famous rebel leaders were from New Granada (Bolívar, Sucre...). So, if Spain is able to keep New Granada, they will surely be able to hold on to New Spain anda Perú. So, with the combined forces of New Spain, New Granada, Perú and mainland Spain, the US could be actually defeated. Anyways, I am writting a TL in which Spain gets to keep both New Spain and Perú, so of you are interested in a greater Spanish Empire in the XIX Century, check my TL.