...somewhere between the 1520s-1620s or 30s.
But the earlier the better.
I'm trying to find a slight change of events to allow for the possibility of a Franco-Portuguese Union as opposed to the Iberian Union that occurred OTL.
If you can help me in one of two ways I'd appreciate it.
1. I had considered marrying Catherine of Braganza to a longer lived Francis II of France, and having them conceive issue, (Mary of Scots married a male Elizabeth in ttl) but there are a couple of problems I need help with. Firstly, Catherine's claim to Portugal in the succession crisis of the late 16th century was bolstered strongly by her husband's place in the succession as well as his standing in Portuguese noble society. Eliminating this only makes the claims of the other claimants stronger. However with French support and if at least a plurality of the Portuguese people and nobility can be swayed to their side Catherine, Queen Consort of France could win out and become Queen of Portugal, leaving her hypothetical son with Francis II as King of France, Portugal, and the Algarves.
2. Any other possibility than the one above. Is there one easier or more likely than this one I might have missed?
And, if you don't mind a little extra discussion:
While initially the colonies of Portugal and France (as well as the kingdoms themselves) would be administered separately in theory and in practice, this longterm personal union should ideally become political - it benefits everyone but Spain for this to occur.
Once the governments and colonies are effectively merged (I'll give it sixty years or so) what effect can we see in the administration of the colonies?
Certainly a Franco-Portugal can be a competitive force with England, The Netherlands, and Spain, but how do the colonies look?
India can be had as they both had semi-successful and secure colonies there. Playing the locals off one another like the British did later would be pretty easy given where their colonies were. Southeast Asia, Austrolasia, etc. as well.
Would we see Portuguese settlers become a sizable minority in New France and French fur trappers establishing a lasting cohabitation with and assimilation into Brazilian settlers?
Anyway, I couldn't find any mention of this before on here (and there may be a reason) and really could use some help on the hows, whys, whos, whens, ifs, and what nexts...
Thanks, folks.
Edit: Also, I know there will be quite the succession war that might unite other claimants under Francis or Phillip and therefore we'll have an epic war between France/Portugal and Spain/Portugal, but it's one I could see the former winning at great cost.