How realistic are Polish or Lithuanian colonies in the Atlantic?

A different idea, but suits the topic.

I once had an idea for TL in which the assassination attempt against Sigismund III in 1620 succeeds due to the perpetrator using guns instead of a pick, leading to death of both Sigismund and Vladislav (future IV). End result was an election of Gustavus Adolphus as a king; he did consider candidature historically in 1632. In 1620 he has better chances as its before the war with him and there wouldn't be many other candidates - with upcoming massive Ottoman invasion on PLC neither Habsburgs nor Russians would be willing to involve themselves too closely, while there aren't many strong domestic candidates and the best one - Jan Karol Chodkiewicz - is choleric, likely to ruin his chances, and kinda old. Sons of Sigismund are too young to be viable candidates.

In the end, one of questions of Gustavus rule would be how to deal with Zaporozhian Cossack issue. And sending some of them (most vocal ones) to America is an excellent solution which leaves everyone happy - they are moved out of Ottoman border, no longer cause troubles, they are mostly independent and answer only to King as they wished, they are by nature frontiersmen which means they are well suited to American colonization, there is a syncretic and inclusive tendency among them which would enable them to assimilate some other settlers. This solves the issue of manpower historical swedish colonies had, and some of the landless polish nobles of the Golota group could also be tempted to follow into cossack footsteps. Thus leading to "Swedish" colonies being largely Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian.

Actually i found the cossack influence on modern america to be a potentially fascinating question. Sadly, despite planning it out a bit, I do not have time to write the timeline down beyond the first chapter.
 
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Lusitania

Donor
Couple of issues, as others have indicated the date of 1510 is way too soon for settler colonies. Heck the Europeans did not even know what they had found for several decades.

We have to understand that Spanish, French and English explorers were trying to find way to Asia after Columbus reported he found land to west and then for next few decades they tried to find way around the landmass trying to find westward route.

It was only in 1522 that Magellan showed you could circumvent the world going west.

As indicated before the first settler colonies were started in mid 1500.
 
Ignoring the specific details of that proposal, any kind of Polish-Lithuanian colony would be difficult to mantain due to the limited access to the Atlantic.
 

Lusitania

Donor
Ignoring the specific details of that proposal, any kind of Polish-Lithuanian colony would be difficult to mantain due to the limited access to the Atlantic.
Yes in addition it would of been the only colonial power with its ports in the Baltic freezing in winter and no access during those months. Where as southern ports on the Black Sea would need to pass through Ottoman Empire controlled areas and through the Med.
 
Obviously 1510 is way too early; the Spanish and Portuguese were only just getting started at this point. Pretty much everybody knew of course that the world was round, they just weren't sure if there were any realistic ways to get around that large landmass that we know as the Americas. The thing is, despite being Portuguese, Ferdinand Magellan was leading a Spanish expedition to circumvent the earth (which was completed by Basque explorer Juan Sebastian Elcano after Magellan's death). Similar of course how Columbus as an Italian was the one discovering the New World at the head of a Spanish expedition.

So it would be possible that Polish nobility wanting to get in on the action, maybe even having a Polish-Lithuanian explorer leading a Spanish expedition just like Columbus and Magellan did before. Not sure if the Spanish would allow for Polish-Lithuanian colonies (discovered lands would be claimed for Spain of course, thus Spanish colonies and settlements), but it could possibly lay the groundwork for Polish-Lithuanian expeditions later on. Clearly 1510 would be too early, instead half a century later or so when Couronian colonization became a thing, would be more realistic.
 
The problem with a purely Baltic powers getting Atlantic colonies are that the ships used in the Baltic was different from high sea ships, they lay less deep in the water to enable to navigate the shallow waters and to being able to move fast in the less windy Baltic, it’s why Baltic navies tended to have fewer cannons than Atlantic navies, as can be seen when the Swedes tries to make a ship (the Gustav Vasa) with more cannons and it foundered on its maiden voyager after 1,3 kilometer of sailing. The Baltic nation also made used of galleys and gun yawl. Mobility was king in Baltic naval warfare, and the waters was dangerous low.
 

Lusitania

Donor
The problem with a purely Baltic powers getting Atlantic colonies are that the ships used in the Baltic was different from high sea ships, they lay less deep in the water to enable to navigate the shallow waters and to being able to move fast in the less windy Baltic, it’s why Baltic navies tended to have fewer cannons than Atlantic navies, as can be seen when the Swedes tries to make a ship (the Gustav Vasa) with more cannons and it foundered on its maiden voyager after 1,3 kilometer of sailing. The Baltic nation also made used of galleys and gun yawl. Mobility was king in Baltic naval warfare, and the waters was dangerous low.
This was the same limitation that Italian trading nations faced. You need ocean sailing technology which means proper ships
 
This was the same limitation that Italian trading nations faced. You need ocean sailing technology which means proper ships

If we look at the Baltic countries, only two players had long term colonial empires; Denmark and Sweden, both states also had access to the Atlantic, Sweden more limited than Denmark, and while the Swedish colonial empire was more sexy with a settler colony in USA, the Danish was more economic and political important and far longer lasting (in many ways it could be said to exist yet with Greenland).
 

Lusitania

Donor
If we look at the Baltic countries, only two players had long term colonial empires; Denmark and Sweden, both states also had access to the Atlantic, Sweden more limited than Denmark, and while the Swedish colonial empire was more sexy with a settler colony in USA, the Danish was more economic and political important and far longer lasting (in many ways it could be said to exist yet with Greenland).
Yes but Denmark had access to Atlantic ports and its Atlantic ports not subject to freezing in winter. Sweden on other hand waited till end of the 17th century to do any colonizing.
 
This continent is fictional. Shouldn't this post be in the ASB forum?
Even though I'm running a game based on a fictional continent, this thread's question is geared toward the Atlantic in general. If it's plausible for there to be Polish colonies in North or South America or the Caribbean during the 16th-18th centuries, that's all I'm interested in.
 
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