unprincipled peter
Donor
a bunch of questions.
What was Spain's aims? Obviously to diminish Britain. But what territorial/material gains?
In the territorial/material gain thing, did Spain gain more by losing than by winning? OTL, France ponied up the Louisiana Territory to ally Spain. If the allies had won, would France have still given it up? Was that the price of entry to get Spain to join in? Nevermind that Spain didn't do much with it.
In the What If department, how do things changes if Spain mounts a slightly more credible campaign in Portugal? OTL, they didn't do too badly, but came up just shy in a couple of campaigns before the civilian guerilla war/scorched earth policy forced them to retreat. I don't pretend to be all that knowledgeable on the war, but the little I've read leads me believe Spain bungled just enough to be stalled in advancing and then get embarrassed by logistics . So, assume they don't bungle and drive through, capture Oporto, then swing to Lisbon, advancing quick enough to polish off Portugal before P gets a chance to resist. Nevermind how. the portuguese court was poised to escape to Brazil (several decades before OTL). What happens then? Britain, although winning elsewhere, is nearing bankruptcy. Do they write off Portugal and allow Spain to keep it? As well as Louisiana? They weren't going to let France keep it. Would they let Spain be the sole 'winner' (moreso than they OTL were) amongst the losers.
What was Spain's aims? Obviously to diminish Britain. But what territorial/material gains?
In the territorial/material gain thing, did Spain gain more by losing than by winning? OTL, France ponied up the Louisiana Territory to ally Spain. If the allies had won, would France have still given it up? Was that the price of entry to get Spain to join in? Nevermind that Spain didn't do much with it.
In the What If department, how do things changes if Spain mounts a slightly more credible campaign in Portugal? OTL, they didn't do too badly, but came up just shy in a couple of campaigns before the civilian guerilla war/scorched earth policy forced them to retreat. I don't pretend to be all that knowledgeable on the war, but the little I've read leads me believe Spain bungled just enough to be stalled in advancing and then get embarrassed by logistics . So, assume they don't bungle and drive through, capture Oporto, then swing to Lisbon, advancing quick enough to polish off Portugal before P gets a chance to resist. Nevermind how. the portuguese court was poised to escape to Brazil (several decades before OTL). What happens then? Britain, although winning elsewhere, is nearing bankruptcy. Do they write off Portugal and allow Spain to keep it? As well as Louisiana? They weren't going to let France keep it. Would they let Spain be the sole 'winner' (moreso than they OTL were) amongst the losers.