Spanish Egypt

[rcduggan]

I remember this happened in the Chaos TL, but to a much limited extend (only Morocco)... but I agree that it is not likely to happen. At most you could see Iberians settling in the major cities, where they could form a small (10-20% at most) aristocracy... and at best maybe another ten or fifteen percent middle class. There would be too many Arabs that could not be pushed out with 16th century technology.

Although the Spanish were able to expel 500,000 people from their own country, so it shows they have the ability to. What was the population of Morocco and Algeria like in the 16th century?

 

[htgriffin]

Is there any reason the reconquista couldn't happen in North Africa in a limited fashion, perhaps only limited to Morocco or so?

It seems to me that if the Spanish were so good at depopulating and repopulating southern Spain, they could also do that to Morocco given enough time and will. I imagine if anything Al-Andalus had more people than Morocco, and colonization of that should have presented more of a challenge than a hypothetical colonization of Morocco, especially given that Spain will be more powerful when this colonization takes place.

Um, where do you think all the people they threw out of Andalucia went?

I agree with Pasha, nothing resembling OTL Spain is going to hold onto much of the Maghreb for long. Naval dominance could keep a few ports going but....

HTG

 

[corourke]

Um, where do you think all the people they threw out of Andalucia went?

I agree with Pasha, nothing resembling OTL Spain is going to hold onto much of the Maghreb for long. Naval dominance could keep a few ports going but....

HTG

Sure, I understand that. A lot of them actually went even further south down to Tumbuktou and the Songhai Empire. But would it be that much harder to depopulate and colonize Morocco (or parts of it) than it was to depopulate and recolonize Andalucia? I don't mean to advocate genocide, but I don't see anything that really indicated this to be a much more daunting task than OTL's reconquista. Especially if for whatever reason Spain was not tasked with occupying, conquering, and holding onto the Americas.

 

[Valdemar II]

Sure, I understand that. A lot of them actually went even further south down to Tumbuktou and the Songhai Empire. But would it be that much harder to depopulate and colonize Morocco (or parts of it) than it was to depopulate and recolonize Andalucia? I don't mean to advocate genocide, but I don't see anything that really indicated this to be a much more daunting task than OTL's reconquista. Especially if for whatever reason Spain was not tasked with occupying, conquering, and holding onto the Americas.

No but the lack of German land (and Dutch) could help them to focus south and make a conquest of Mahgreb possible, I doubt they could conquer Egypt in the short run, but if they could hang on as a great power to the late 18th century, I think a conquest is possible.

 

[rcduggan]

No but the lack of German land (and Dutch) could help them to focus south and make a conquest of Mahgreb possible, I doubt they could conquer Egypt in the short run, but if they could hang on as a great power to the late 18th century, I think a conquest is possible.

That is possible. AFAIK Morocco and Algeria were very low-populated, but Egypt would be a completely different matter. If for some reason the Ottomans didn't threaten the Spanish, and they were left alone in the Maghreb, then possibly it could happen. After all, there are a comparative handful of Arabs there, and many Spaniards needing somewhere to settle. But Egypt is a bridge too far for the Spaniards at this point, IMO.