Interesting 16th century PODs?

Some personal favorites of mine:

Charles V accepts Luther at the Diet of Worms.

Ferdinand I (of Austria) becomes Charles' Regent in Spain instead of Austria.

Henry the Duke of Guise becomes Henry IV of France.

Elizabeth marries (somebody).

The Scottish and French Thrones enter into personal union (Mary and Francis).
 
I believe I have settled on my PoD, and I shall be doing the survival of Miguel da Paz. The interest in Spain and Portugal being united is certainly interesting and I've already pondered about several things stemming from it.

- Most importantly, Portugal, Castile, and Aragon will be united in one person by 1521, when Manuel I dies. Assuming Isabella doesn't die in childbirth, she'll rule Castile in 1504, and Aragon in 1516. I'd expect her to be fairly dominated by husband and he'd call the shots; after he dies, Miguel would become co-ruler with his mother. If Isabella dies in childbirth in 1498 as she did in OTL, and Miguel simply survives, then Miguel's father will no doubt serve as regent for his young son.

- Tolerance for the Jews? Manuel was quite tolerant of them, he only expelled them from Portugal in order to marry Isabella, Miguel's mother. Once he comes to rule over Spain, is it possible he reverses the Alhambra decree and allows Jews to settle in Iberia again? Even after his marriage, he executed those who started an anti-Jewish riot in 1504.

- Isabella's confessor, the Archbishop of Toledo, Csnieros, probably finds himself out of a job in an Aviz dominated Iberia...

- Yet on the other hand, in 1515 and onward, Manuel asks for the Pope to allow the formation of the Inquisition in Portugal. If he comes to rule Spain through his wife, or for his son, the Spanish Inquisition may be expanded into Portugal. It's powers could be cut back, however, especially if Manuel chooses to reverse some of the unsavory policies of the Catholic monarchs, especially regarding the Jews.

- The Iberian monarchy is going to be a rising star, no doubt, with the Portuguese trade routes in the East, in India and Asia, and the Treaty of Tordsillas which has essentially named the Americas as a whole a possession of Iberia. The Aviz monarchy is essentially going to be a hyper-power, but it's going to have trouble dividing it's interests in Asia, and the Americas, and the interests of the constituent portions of the monarchy. The idle noblility of Castille who IOTL played a part in creating the Spanish Empire are going to need something to do and will push for the same things, while commercial interests in Lisbon will find more interest in maintaining the Portuguese empire. The Aviz will be a hyper-power for awhile, but as Spain and Portugal both declined after their heydey, the crash will probably be quite bad, but good for their rivals in Europe.

- The Italian wars will still occur, as Aragon was tied to Italy and that will bring Portugal in against France's ambitions. But the Aviz will definately take a different route in dealing with it; who knows if this state has the energy to bash down the French, and deal with maintaing an empire in Africa and Asia, WHILE attempting to tame the Americas. Lots of divided interests, and lots of juicy fun.
 
Good choice! Avizian Iberia is always an interesting option!

Most importantly, Portugal, Castile, and Aragon will be united in one person by 1521, when Manuel I dies. Assuming Isabella doesn't die in childbirth, she'll rule Castile in 1504, and Aragon in 1516. I'd expect her to be fairly dominated by husband and he'd call the shots; after he dies, Miguel would become co-ruler with his mother. If Isabella dies in childbirth in 1498 as she did in OTL, and Miguel simply survives, then Miguel's father will no doubt serve as regent for his young son.

Actually Isabella could not become queen of Aragon in 1516 because that kingdom followed Salic Law. The throne would pass directly to her son, Miguel.

Tolerance for the Jews? Manuel was quite tolerant of them, he only expelled them from Portugal in order to marry Isabella, Miguel's mother. Once he comes to rule over Spain, is it possible he reverses the Alhambra decree and allows Jews to settle in Iberia again? Even after his marriage, he executed those who started an anti-Jewish riot in 1504.

- Yet on the other hand, in 1515 and onward, Manuel asks for the Pope to allow the formation of the Inquisition in Portugal. If he comes to rule Spain through his wife, or for his son, the Spanish Inquisition may be expanded into Portugal. It's powers could be cut back, however, especially if Manuel chooses to reverse some of the unsavory policies of the Catholic monarchs, especially regarding the Jews.

I'm affraid the Jews would be quite doomed by now. The king might make that the anti-Jewish laws are not fully enforced, but the Inquisition would probably be formed anyway, and it would be enough to create persecution. To be anti-Jewish was common among the population by then, and to defend them too much would make the king quite unpopular.

The Italian wars will still occur, as Aragon was tied to Italy and that will bring Portugal in against France's ambitions. But the Aviz will definately take a different route in dealing with it; who knows if this state has the energy to bash down the French, and deal with maintaing an empire in Africa and Asia, WHILE attempting to tame the Americas. Lots of divided interests, and lots of juicy fun.

Once Naples is secured on Aragonese hands the king would have no more interests in Italy. One of the main disputes of the Italian Wars was the possession of Milan, that was never claimed by the Habsburgs as their inheritance, but as an Imperial fiefdom. So the Emperor might still fight the French for Milan, but with less (or even without) Spanish help. Maybe ITTL Milan might even fall to the French.
 
Please do not get rid of Cisneros. IOTL he performed a sort of pre-reformation in Spain in order to improve formation of priests and their moral. It was so harsh that some of them fled to Morocco and converted to Islam.
 
You made a good choice for a POD, even from a Dutch point of view. I think we can be fairly certain now that the Netherlands don't become Spanish.
Philip the handsome probably won't die as soon as OTL, as his death was conected to him becoming king of Spain. I can still see him and his son Charles V try to unite* the Netherlands just as OTL. What would happen during the reformation if the Netherlands is Austrian instead of Spanish (or even more or less independent), could be very interesting.


* unite is of course an anachronism. A united Netherlands or even the concept of a united Netherlands didn't exist before CHarles V united it. The Dutch unification was more of a conquer everything close by than a unification. Only when he decided to stop conquering he decided that it was the Netherlands. If he had conquered more (like East Frisia), it would have been as Dutch as the rest and if he had conquered less (like Groningen) it would have been as seperate as the rest of Germany.
 
Cisneros had carried out much of his reforms before Isabella died, so it'd be too late to reverse anything. I based this assumption on Miguel being friendly to Jewish interests; but as they have already been banished for some time and as Gonzaga pointed out, the Portuguese appearing too friendly to the Jews would cause a back-lash to their Castillian subjects, it is a moot point. If anything, Cisneros will probably gain the favor of the King of Portugal and introduce his reforms into that Kingdom.

Indeed, the Netherlands will be interesting. Philip will reign for much longer, and I see it possible that he divides his realm akin to Charles V did historically. Philip's father may choose to have his grandson Ferdinand proclaimed King of the Romans, leaving the eldest, Charles, to rule over the Burgundian inheritance. Or perhaps it will be the other way around. We shall see.
 
Suppose, in the early 1500's, the Pope amends his Line of Demarcation (1493) to zones of demarcation, assigning sections of unclaimed territory to France, Italy, Britain, Netherlands, etc.; on the condition the be established as Catholic. Why? To attempt to quell the Protestant movements in the north. And if a newly settled community went Protestant? The Catholic countries could jointly ally to conquer them!
 
I doubt the line of demarcation gets amended to include the other Catholic monarchies. The Aviz would be far more pleased as punch to see the entire Americas granted to them by the Pope, and would be hostile to any Papacy seeking to change that. Plus at this time, the Pope was pro-Spanish; that's what brought about the Treaty in the first place. With the wealth of the Eastern trade routes, not to mention the Castillian rents (this is what won Charles V his election, alongside money from the Fuggers and other German banking families, as the Americas weren't producing a lot of gold yet), the Church would not want to offend the Portuguese. Still, they're only going to be concerned in churning a profit, finding gold and finding heathens to convert, so the north will be free for other powers to colonize as they historically did. With such divided interests iin Iberia, we'll probably see encroachments into the Carribean and such that didn't happen until the 17th century, happening much earlier.
 
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