Ooh I've always wanted to see a TL about Portugal focusing more on Asia.
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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..
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.
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.
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I think Taiwan is a possible place for this.
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....
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 historiesHey, 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.