The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Portugal

Or England and Portugal if you wish. Just an idle random thought that's been rattling around my head for the last few days and I wondered if anyone have any thoughts on how it would go?
 
The religion barrier is the biggest obstacle to this that I can think of. There is no way that this could happen after England goes Protestant.

If England stays Catholic, this could be rather interesting. I could easily see royal marriages between trusted allies against the Spanish leading to a personal union.

The Dutch would probably have a much harder time holding the East Indies, now that their two biggest rivals are uniting against them. I think the East Indies could end up a lot like the West Indies; split among various colonial powers.

The Dutch could end up as open enemies of the English for much longer than OTL, and a more permanent alliance with France once Spain starts declining and France emerges as England's biggest rival. This would have rather interesting effects on the European wars of the 1600s. I think the Spanish Netherlands aren't going to last long when attacked from all sides.
 
The religion barrier is the biggest obstacle to this that I can think of. There is no way that this could happen after England goes Protestant.

If England stays Catholic, this could be rather interesting. I could easily see royal marriages between trusted allies against the Spanish leading to a personal union.

The Dutch would probably have a much harder time holding the East Indies, now that their two biggest rivals are uniting against them. I think the East Indies could end up a lot like the West Indies; split among various colonial powers.

The Dutch could end up as open enemies of the English for much longer than OTL, and a more permanent alliance with France once Spain starts declining and France emerges as England's biggest rival. This would have rather interesting effects on the European wars of the 1600s. I think the Spanish Netherlands aren't going to last long when attacked from all sides.

Would and Anti-Spanish alliance lead to England concentrating more on South America than North America? Perhaps with the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance attempting to force Spain out of it's colonies in South and Latin America the North gets left largely to the Dutch and French alliance?
 
If England stays Catholic, this could be rather interesting. I could easily see royal marriages between trusted allies against the Spanish leading to a personal union.

I don't really think that the key for a union between England and Portugal is an anti-Spanish alliance. Portugal would be always politically divided between groups pro and against Spain. And the fact that it would always be more vulnerable to Spanish attacks and invasions could eventually mean that this English union would be blamed for all the foreign unrest.

Maybe the better chance to a union between England and Portugal would be actually if both countries are more allied to Spain. A good option would make Henry VIII die earlier and Mary becoming queen and be married to Infant Luiz of Portugal, as Charles V had planned. More details here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=2415069&postcount=24

If this marriage happens and they have issue, and if the main branch of the Aviz dynasty still becomes extinct in Portugal, then there would be a good chance that Luiz and Mary's descendents could inherit the Portuguese throne.
 
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