The Lion’s Paw (or) Vive la Venicewank

Hi, this is a timeline where (among other things), Venice is interested in a new route to India, internal Castilian politics prevents Spain from coming into existence, and Charles VIII eats a bad oyster. This is my first TL so please be gentle. And now, I give you The Lion’s Paw!


1463: (first point of divergence) King Henry IV of Castile, realizing his unpopularity among the gentry and the supposed illegitimacy of his daughter, decides to eliminate another potential claimant. His plot to murder the nine-year-old Princess Isabella succeeds flawlessly, however, Castile will have to endure a Civil War in the 1480s.

1486: Realizing that despite a friendly state of affairs with the Ottomans, new sources of revenue must be explored, Venetian Doge Angostino Barbarigo becomes interested in alternate routes to the Indies. He quickly discovers that one man is trying to reach the Orient by sailing west. His name: Cristoforo Colombo, or as we know him, Christopher Columbus!
1486, continued: Columbus convinces the Dodge wholeheartedly, and Angostino agrees to equip him with six ships as soon as an Atlantic port can be located.

1487: War finally breaks out in Castile upon Henry IV's death. His daughter, Queen Joanna of Castile defends her throne from a powerful coalition of nobles, who spread rumors about Joanna's legitimacy, and back her cousin Alfonso. Venice uses this opportune moment to conquer Castile’s erstwhile vassal, the Moorish emirate of Granada. Granada finally capitulates in 1491. This not only secures for Venice control of Granada's large treasury and fertile land, but also its access to Gibraltar and the Atlantic.

To be continued…
 
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Interlude
Conversation between Doge Angostino and his Secretary, Antonio Dandolo.

"You want to give how many ducats and ships to that Genoese and his expedition to nowhere?"
" I keep telling you,it's our only choice: even with our presently cordial relationship with the Turks,they still impair travel on the land route [to the Indies], and the Portuguese control African exploration. And if we wait,Castile could decide that it doesn't want us in prosperous Granada, and the entire expedition would be a waste!

" The moment you focused on this delusion,the Ottomans would take Cyprus and Crete! What with that calamity, and the fact that Cardinal Borgia's already eyeing the Romagna,the Council of Ten would have your head!"

" Maybe. But this could be the biggest opportunity of all time. The Aegean market would be meaninglessly insignificant if half the tales are true! Besides,if we fall behind, we may never catch up. The Mediterranean would become a backwater,and we'd be left picking up the pieces! "
" Thats it! He's sailing in April, as soon as the conditions are right! And that is final!"
 
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I sincerely hate to be the guy to offer the first criticism, as I was in your exact position a few years ago.

While important, the Bosphorus was not essential to Venetian trade with the east, as Venice traded predominantly with the Mamelukes of Egypt. Hence, even with the capture of Constantinople, the republic would not need to actively search for new trade routes.

Also, Venice and the Ottomans were notoriously good pals, there's no reason the Bosphorus wouldn't be allowed to stay open to the Venetians.

About Grenada, it took the Catholic Monarchs of Spain 10 years (though not constant) to capture it. How could Venice do it in 1 year?

I've written a very similar Venice TL (which takes place just 5 years after your last update) and have had to deal with these issues before. Trust me, deal with them now, make your thread more realistic. It beats having to go back and do it again!

Regards,

FC
 
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Sorry to add to the things that need a little looking into, but Isabella had a younger brother who was alive when she was nine, and died unexpectedly just shy of adulthood, aged 14 in 1468, so what happened to him? It seems suspicious that Henry would consider Isabella the bigger threat, especially when her brother was used as a figurehead in rebellions against him later on, and Isabella only became the rebels' choice after his sudden death.
 
Sorry to add to the things that need a little looking into, but Isabella had a younger brother who was alive when she was nine, and died unexpectedly just shy of adulthood, aged 14 in 1468, so what happened to him? It seems suspicious that Henry would consider Isabella the bigger threat, especially when her brother was used as a figurehead in rebellions against him later on, and Isabella only became the rebels' choice after his sudden death.

Because Alfonso already had enough potential supporters to make it likely that his (Henry's) head would literally end up on the chopping block. Isabella was (in TTL) too much of a political nonentity for her murder to immediately cause a coup d'etat. However,that didn't matter,because the assassination was not discovered. The end result is,a civil war develops between Joanna la Beltraneja and Alfonso.
 
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1492: The Republic officially commissions Columbus with six ships,event though only three are needed (the Doge is betting that the expedition will bring back enough spices and precious metals to make the extra ships necessary.
April brings an unexpectedly good trade wind,and Columbus makes it to Isola di San Marco (OTL Hispaniola) five days ahead of schedule. What he finds? GOLD! Enough gold that even with the crew's very small shares of the profits,most of them will be able to buy their way into the minor nobility.
They also find some heathen natives (OTL Arawak), and a spicy plant of theirs, Chile Peppers! The Arawak unfortunately come to a bad end like OTL,as slavery and European diseases carry them off.
When it is time to return,it is found that the Doge was right. Even so, they have a speedy passage home, and Venice and Columbus soon become one of the most prestigious nations and people in Europe,respectively.
 

Dirk_Pitt

Banned
1492: The Republic officially commissions Columbus with six ships,event though only three are needed (the Doge is betting that the expedition will bring back enough spices and precious metals to make the extra ships necessary.
April brings an unexpectedly good trade wind,and Columbus makes it to Isola di San Marco (OTL Hispaniola) five days ahead of schedule. What he finds? GOLD! Enough gold that even with the crew's very small shares of the profits,most of them will be able to buy their way into the minor nobility.
They also find some heathen natives (OTL Arawak), and a spicy plant of theirs, Chile Peppers! The Arawak unfortunately come to a bad end like OTL,as slavery and European diseases carry them off.
When it is time to return,it is found that the Doge was right. Even so, they have a speedy passage home, and Venice and Columbus soon become one of the most prestigious nations and people in Europe,respectively.

Why is there gold? To my knowledge there wasn't any OTL.
 
What name would be better for Cuba?

isola di Colombo (Island of Columbus)

isola della fertilità (island of fertility, OTL basis for Cuba's name)

isola della Beata Vergine (Island of the Blessed Virgin)

l'isola occidentale (the western isle)

Please give me your answers in 24 hours!
 
Jamaica is "l'isola occidentale",or The Western Island.

Due to a narrowly escaped hurricane in the Lesser Antilles,they will be known as the Ie Isole Della Fortuna (the Islands of fortune)
Cuba is "I'isola di Colombo".
 
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