How would a remaining/strong Byzantine Empire have responded to greater exploration

ar-pharazon

Banned
I do find the idea of how a unified mediterrean handles the age of colonization to be an interesting one.

A wanked out Byzantine empire with the mediterrean as a Roman lake and a ship's routinely going into the Indian Ocean would have a vastly different attitude towards colonization than the powers of OTL.
 
A theoretical Byzantine Empire that kept Justinian’s conquests would so throw off the course of history in Europe that I don’t feel confident even speculating about it. The idea of them even having Southern Spain is a complete game changer. I imagined this thread was talking about if they barely survived and soldiered on from there. Though I guess that too would be a huge divergence.

Still, I have to say that there’s nothing inherently stopping this larger Empire from becoming the “Spain” of TTL. Nothing is set in stone.

Does anyone think that Spain being Catholic was a large reason why it was so motivated to claim the New World territory? Maybe to impress the rest of the Catholic world and the Pope or something? In that case, this Byzantine Empire would have no such motivation.

This probably warrants another thread by itself... but how would the Great Schism work if Rome was still United?
 
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ar-pharazon

Banned
There would be no great schism or at least one similar to OTL-there might be one based on a north south axis instead of a east west axis.
 
Still, I have to say that there’s nothing inherently stopping this larger Empire from becoming the “Spain” of TTL. Nothing is set in stone.

Does anyone think that Spain being Catholic was a large reason why it was so motivated to claim the New World territory? Maybe to impress the rest of the Catholic world and the Pope or something? In that case, this Byzantine Empire would have no such motivation.

Spain headed west because:

1) the Ottomans cut them off from trade in the Eastern Med. And what was open to the west was largely under the control of Venice and the other Italian States.
2) The Pyrenees Mountains provided a defensible position against their only threat on land. So they were incentivized to develop a strong navy, which indirectly lends itself to exploration.
3) Their neighbors, the Portuguese were already heading down the coast of Africa so the Spanish would have first hand accounts of some of the potential that existed, as opposed to third hand stories shared in Constantinople.

I realize geographic determinism is a relatively controversial idea but to the extent that it exists, Spain had it about as good as it gets (outside of England). In contrast, the Byzantine position for colonial conquest was barely better than Austria. So while its possible, there are a number of obstacles to overcome that the Spanish, Portugese, and English did not face.
 

TruthfulPanda

Gone Fishin'
Would a surviving strong Rhome there even be an Age of Discovery?
Everything depends upon definition of surviving strong Rhome.
I can see scenarios where not much changes versus OTL, and others where the Cape of Good Hope is discovered in 1600.
The first change which a surviving strong Rhome brought to my mind is Charles V's Spain not spending the bounty from South America on fighting the Ottomans but on the HRE ... bye, bye, Luther and Calvin and Zwingli? Reformation dies a painful death in the crib?
 

ar-pharazon

Banned
A Byzantine empire that holds out in the Balkans and Anatolia is a non factor in the colonial game.

A revitalized empire of Justinian's size or more could actually be to participate in not dominate the ATL age of discovery.
 
The Byzantine empire just won't care. If they really, really, really, really, really just get an urge to go colonize something, the Balkans, Persia, and Egypt are all right there, give better revenues, and are way more defensible than some far-flung colony in the Americas or even farther.
 
Would a surviving strong Rhome there even be an Age of Discovery?

This is what I wonder too. The Ottomans blocked the trade routes east and gave access to Venice which drove the Portuguese and Spanish to seek other solutions. Would a surviving Byz, ideally propping up surviving Crusader states with access to the Red Sea, force the same problem on the western European countries?
 
This is what I wonder too. The Ottomans blocked the trade routes east and gave access to Venice which drove the Portuguese and Spanish to seek other solutions. Would a surviving Byz, ideally propping up surviving Crusader states with access to the Red Sea, force the same problem on the western European countries?
The Fall of Constantinople is over rated, Portugal and Spain were exploring the Atlantic for decades before the city fell.
 

ar-pharazon

Banned
It really depends on the situation of the empire-a rump one in Anatolia and Greece simply won't have the resources or inclination to get in on the colonial game.

A massive empire that controls the mediterrean and Southern Europe is a different story.
 
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