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The Spanish conquered much of the New World rapidly after Columbus’s
voyage. Their initial landing point in the Caribbean was conducive to
exploitation to Mexico, Panama and ultimately Peru.


The disastrous effects of guns, germs, steel and horses on the
Amerindian empires are well known, but would they have made it a high
probability that any other conceivable power that backed Columbus
would have had similar spectacular success?


The French, English, Scots, Portuguese, Danes and residents of the
Holy Roman Empire (especially the Dutch) all had guns, germs, steel
and horses. The Amerindians would have gotten about equally sick from
encountering any of them as they got from contact with the Spanish.


However, were particular Spanish characteristics, their excellent
military organization (they were the best infantry in Europe for a
couple centuries) and overall machismo a crucial ingredient in the
rapid toppling of the Aztecs and Incas that other Europeans would have
been unlikely to duplicate?


Broad fundamentals suggest that most West Europeans attempting to
expand into the Americas in the 1500s would have been successful.
However, several threads have speculated that non-Spaniards (specific
examples I have heard are the French and Portuguese) would have been
more likely to set up trading posts rather than outright conquer the
Americas. This would seem to imply that Spain’s military skill and
aggressiveness was a somewhat unique advantage.


Another thread speculated that even if another state was the initial
European discoverer of the Americas, Spain would have been fairly
likely to grab those colonies and expand them, implying that Spanish
machismo was pretty overwhelming in the 1500s.


What do you make of this?


If Spanish machismo could be a crucial factor in the totality, speed
and extent of conquest in the Americas, does this suggest that if, for
example, there was a Castille-Portugal union instead of OTL’s Aragon
union, that Castilian infantry might have backed up Portuguese voyages
in Africa and Australasia with far more extensive land conquests than
OTL?


In Africa and Asia, there would generally be a guns and ships
advantage, but no germs or horses advantage.
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