Maritime focused Japan? Can it become East Asian England?

The Portuguese didn't have a port in Brazil until 1500, and only established sub-equatorial African forts in the 1480s. This scenario would need to have Asian traders establishing those forts instead of the Portuguese. This in turn requires a Japanese presence in the Indian Ocean pepper trade of the 15th century - perhaps off the back of the Chinese presence there.

To my mind Persia is the most plausible one. In fact in OTL there were Venetian diplomats Caterino Zeno, Ambrogio Contarini, and Giosafat Barbaro in Persia in the 1470s, right at the time when their fellow Italians like Columbus and Cabot were pitching royal courts for exploration capital. The Italian diplomats were in a position to have pitched the idea to the Persians too, who already had a base way down in Zanzibar.

Persia's not a bad idea but they would probably prefer a land route, or go through Russia.


As said in a previous post, I think the rise of a colonial Japan is more plausible around 1700 with Holland in decline. Another entry point is after 1602 Ricci and Li Zhizao co-publish the first world map in Chinese, the Kunyu Wanguo Quantu which greatly expanded both Chinese and Japanese knowledge of global geography, just when Portugal is in decline.
Agreed with you but the other one is so much more difficult, it's a fun challenge ;D



For the early version, wattabout this:
Portuguese do arrive in 1498, bloodshed ensues, driving the Muslim out, at least damaging them by 1510. However due to civil war/economic crisis/succession crisis/etc... Portugal stops sending people as a state led enterprise and private merchants get wiped out by slightly miffed Indian princes

In the chaos, the Japanese hear about it, they hear about the high margin possible in Europe and they see an opportunity.
Given they're not muslim, or hindus, or christian, it's very easy for them to talk to everyone. They get a strong presence in the country trade with Chinese imitations, smuggled tea, copper... and from there, try to go to Europe
Because of shenanigans, the Portuguese believe they're christian and do not try to wipe them out but rather send an embassy and founders to help them fight the islamic menace.
 
Problem: Late Muromachi Japan is in its own chaos, being not one, but a dozen or so warring princedoms. :p
Good point but if they're already in the country trade, some merchants could maybe become rich enough to not need state backing?
 
Another element to this that we haven't quite developed is the religious fanaticism of the Europeans at the time, especially the Portuguese and Spanish, who had been committing genocide in Iberia for hundreds of years. It would put off Asian traders even if they did know about the price differentials of spices. It's like telling someone in Columbia today that ISIS pays top dollar for coffee: the answer would be 'big deal'.

The technology issue is moot. Niccolo de Conti reported to Fra Mauro that an Asian junk rounded the Cape of Good Hope clockwise in about 1420, and the Chinese fleet reach Zanzibar in the 1430s. European caravels were not in fact superior to Asian junks. The Chinese could and probably would have made it to Europe in the 15th century if only their foreign policy had not been redirected. One theory is that it was redirected by the Confucianist faction, which preached insularity and that trade was immoral. If that faction had not come to power we could easily have seen China as the world's first colonial power, which the Japanese could then seek to ride on the back of.
 
Another element to this that we haven't quite developed is the religious fanaticism of the Europeans at the time, especially the Portuguese and Spanish, who had been committing genocide in Iberia for hundreds of years. It would put off Asian traders even if they did know about the price differentials of spices. .
You're overestimating it by quite a bit. The Portuguese in particular didn't seek force conversions. They had a huge beef against Muslims.
Muslims were wrong and deserving all kind of horrible stuff. The others were more like misguided children.
 
Another element to this that we haven't quite developed is the religious fanaticism of the Europeans at the time, especially the Portuguese and Spanish, who had been committing genocide in Iberia for hundreds of years. It would put off Asian traders even if they did know about the price differentials of spices. It's like telling someone in Columbia today that ISIS pays top dollar for coffee: the answer would be 'big deal'.

IOTL there's no evidence of European "fanaticism" putting off Asian traders, and I don't see why TTL would be any different in this respect.

Plus, why would a Chinese or Japanese merchant even care what the Spaniards and Moors did to each other? They weren't modern humanitarians, they'd be unlikely to pay much notice unless it somehow affected their trade.
 
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