In Pride of Place- A Portuguese Asia TL

Lusitania

Donor
I'd never heard of that, so I did some digging. I don't think it's true.

The Portuguese did visit Perim at least once, but that was in 1513 when Albuquerque led an expedition to try to conquer Aden. From what I've been able to understand, the island is very dry, and so it was deemed unfit to building a fortress. I couldn't find any mentions to any Portuguese fortress on that island whatsoever..

I was being cheeky, iOTL there was nothing there but I thought if they did spend $$ in this TL that would be the place to do it. Control seas on both ends. Plus $$ from trade fees in both Persian and Red sea plus head tax would pay for the fortresses. Plus allow Portugal to support the only other Christian kingdom (Ethiopia). In the Persian Gulf we did construct fortress on Hurmus and island at mouth of Persian Gulf.

While the Portuguese may still do something in Arabia in my TL I think I don't want them to spend as much money and resources there as they did IOTL. It would be very hard for Portugal to establish a lasting domain over that region. There are better uses for both, Albuquerque's military talent and Portugal's religious enthusiasm. One idea I may consider exploring is having the Portuguese gain more land in Malaysia and Indonesia by fighting the local sultans. Think Portuguese Malacca wank.

In the first century or two I agree, the British only moved against the Aden in the 1820s due to Piracy. The liberating of the Zanzibar and African coast from Oman may require a visit to Muscat but the Arabian territory minus Hormus could become a Portuguese Vassal. The Oman controlled all African Indian coast from Zanzibar.
 
I was being cheeky, iOTL there was nothing there but I thought if they did spend $$ in this TL that would be the place to do it. Control seas on both ends. Plus $$ from trade fees in both Persian and Red sea plus head tax would pay for the fortresses. Plus allow Portugal to support the only other Christian kingdom (Ethiopia). In the Persian Gulf we did construct fortress on Hurmus and island at mouth of Persian Gulf.

Well, the fortress would need to import water, but other than that it should be feasible. This is certainly a better idea than anything the Portuguese did in Arabia IOTL. I'll consider it, thanks.
 
By the way, I'm currently writing the next update. It probably won't be out today, but maybe tommorow or the day after that. It'll focus mainly on the first trip to India and the start of Portuguese colonisation of South Africa.
 

Thanks!

It's good to see people are still interested in my TL even though I've only given them one update and haven't posted in more than a month. I'm getting back to it guys, I promise, I'm just doing some research to make sure I don't screw things up. Also, I've got college exams. But sooner or later I'll get this done!
 
I think Taiwan is a possible place for this.

Yeah, it's definitely one of places I'm interested in having Portugal colonize ITTL. It would serve as a bastion for a more eastern branch of the Empire, as well as place where Portuguese could incorporate elements of Chinese and Japanese cultures in order to make them even more diverse and weird.

The way to go, I think, is having Portugal not be completely kicked out of Japan. If Nanban trade continues, it's likely that the Portuguese might see in Taiwan an opportunity. While it's true that, as mere trade entrepot, Macau served perfectly enough, Taiwan has the advantage of allowing whoever controls it to intercept competition ships in order to have them not arrive to Japan. That was why the Dutch colonized it IOTL. Also, of course, Portugal needs space ITTL, and Taiwan is around half the size of the Portuguese mainland and is nearly empty at the time.
 
Just finished reading. Last post was at the 25th of May. I am reading at the 30th of July. What happened? Such a good idea, such an underexplored theme, and nothing came of it? Man, I am really starting to think I should write my own TL....
 
Just finished reading. Last post was at the 25th of May. I am reading at the 30th of July. What happened? Such a good idea, such an underexplored theme, and nothing came of it? Man, I am really starting to think I should write my own TL....

Hey, thanks for reading. I'm really sorry I haven't been able to give you guys any updates. I initially stopped because exams season started and I really didn't have any time to write. Then, when I finally got some free time, I just kept procrasticating...

The main problem is that I'm not very well-versed in 15th century Indian history. The first chapter was easy to write because it dealt solely with Portuguese history, and about that I do know a lot. But the second one was supposed to be about the first trip to India, so I wanted to do some research to make sure I didn't mess up. I think I'm more or less ready to write now.

I'm really pleased to see that people kept reading my TL even though it seemed I'd abandoned it. That really gives me some motivation. I'll try to get the update ready in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck!

By the way, since we're having this conversation, I wanted to ask for some feedback regarding an idea I've been recently considering for this TL. Would you like me to wank the Kingdom of Kongo? I think I have a pretty good idea of how to do this and I think it may be interesting to have the kingdom as an ally to Asian Portugal.
 
By the way, since we're having this conversation, I wanted to ask for some feedback regarding an idea I've been recently considering for this TL. Would you like me to wank the Kingdom of Kongo? I think I have a pretty good idea of how to do this and I think it may be interesting to have the kingdom as an ally to Asian Portugal.

If by "wanking", you mean "resist european encroachment and conquest and instead forge a mutually profitable relationship and alliance based primarily on trade, easing the trouble of keeping the supply line to India by Portugal and possibilitating an expansion of the Kongo people to the interior or further north the Congo river Basin?" then sure, why not! And you're welcome, the idea is very interesting indeed and with a bit of research I think you could handle the Indian history pretty well.
 
Hey, thanks for reading. I'm really sorry I haven't been able to give you guys any updates. I initially stopped because exams season started and I really didn't have any time to write. Then, when I finally got some free time, I just kept procrasticating...

The main problem is that I'm not very well-versed in 15th century Indian history. The first chapter was easy to write because it dealt solely with Portuguese history, and about that I do know a lot. But the second one was supposed to be about the first trip to India, so I wanted to do some research to make sure I didn't mess up. I think I'm more or less ready to write now.

I'm really pleased to see that people kept reading my TL even though it seemed I'd abandoned it. That really gives me some motivation. I'll try to get the update ready in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck!

By the way, since we're having this conversation, I wanted to ask for some feedback regarding an idea I've been recently considering for this TL. Would you like me to wank the Kingdom of Kongo? I think I have a pretty good idea of how to do this and I think it may be interesting to have the kingdom as an ally to Asian Portugal.
You have easy to find Cambridge histories :)

That or google scholar, quite a few stuff there!
 
Normally a lurker on this site, being relatively new I’m still sussing out the norms. That being said I’m definitely watching this timeline for future updates.
 
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