What are some other polities able to colonize the Americas?

[shearsforest]

In OTL, the Americas were settled mainly by France, England (Great Britain after 1707), Spain, and Portugal, with some minor colonization attempts by the Dutch, Danish, Russians, Hospitallers, Norwegians, Scottish (pre-Union), Swedish, and Courland.

It was only while doing a scenario positing a world where every major world power colonizes the Americas did I realize how implausible some colonies (like those of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome) would be, mainly due to the difficulty of getting there and just propping up a colony.

Which brings me to the question: what other polities (including non-American tribes) could have colonized the Americas?

For example: the most common non-OTL colonial powers I keep seeing in AH media include a sufficiently advanced Rome or Carthage, China, Japan, or the Polynesians.

 

[Polish Eagle]

One of the Moorish dynasties from Morocco ruling the Canary Islands and possibly reaching as far as the Azores or beyond is the easiest.

 

[Aghasverov]

I've always thought it would be interesting if the Kingdom of Hanover managed to acquire a few colonies, during the time of personal union with the UK, and then retained them after the union ended in 1837...

 

[GameBawesome]

There are other nations that could probably try to colonize the New World. The most obvious one is the Ottomans. Another few other ones were Morocco, the a German State of the Holy Roman Empire, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

However, the problem is that is any of these colonies could realistically succeed, and the colonial attempt wouldn’t fail miserably. Probably yes.

 

[Aghasverov]

There are other nations that could probably try to colonize the New World. The most obvious one is the Ottomans. Another few other ones were Morocco, the a German State of the Holy Roman Empire, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

However, the problem is that is any of these colonies could realistically succeed, and the colonial attempt wouldn’t fail miserably. Probably yes.

That's why I like the idea of Hanover, as their colonies would be able to rely (to a degree) on the "symbiotic relationship" with their much larger and established-colonizer partner in the personal union

 

[pjmidd]

There are other nations that could probably try to colonize the New World. The most obvious one is the Ottomans. Another few other ones were Morocco, the a German State of the Holy Roman Empire, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

However, the problem is that is any of these colonies could realistically succeed, and the colonial attempt wouldn’t fail miserably. Probably yes.

Look at a map, all the people that had realistic colony's in the Americas had an Atlantic coast. The Ottomans are at the wrong end of the Med, have hostile nations in the way and their expansion is more East focused anyway. Without a safe route to America , any colony is doomed.

 

[Orcot]

I always have founded weird that the low countries under belgium never had any colonies despite their habsburg union with spain and emperor charles v being born in the low countries.

 

[GameBawesome]

Look at a map, all the people that had realistic colony's in the Americas had an Atlantic coast. The Ottomans are at the wrong end of the Med, have hostile nations in the way and their expansion is more East focused anyway. Without a safe route to America , any colony is doomed.

That’s why they tried to conquer or vassalize Morocco a few times in the 16th Century, so they can get access to the Atlantic. There’s also was the time that Barbary Pirates (One group from Algeria, another from Sale) raided Iceland, so they had the naval capability to sail the Atlantic.

 

[Arkenfolm]

That's why I like the idea of Hanover, as their colonies would be able to rely (to a degree) on the "symbiotic relationship" with their much larger and established-colonizer partner in the personal union

Forget Hanover, have their ancestral state in Henry the Lion's Duchy of Saxony colonize the Americas.

 

[CastIron]

Klein-Venedig was a thing for a few decades, though it ultimately reverted to Spanish control. Would be interesting to think of a situation where Venezuela had been colonized by Germans instead of the Spanish, but I'm not sure how the colony could remain in the hands of the Weisers long-term. Maybe some sort of debt-for-land swap with the King of Spain?

 

[Aghasverov]

Forget Hanover, have their ancestral state in Henry the Lion's Duchy of Saxony colonize the Americas.

As intriguing as that is... having a German colonization of the Americas in the 12th Century is intruding a bit too much into the realm of our leathery-winged extraterrestrial friends for my tastes

 

[Aghasverov]

I always have founded weird that the low countries under belgium never had any colonies despite their habsburg union with spain and emperor charles v being born in the low countries.

Well... from my understanding though, the Spanish Netherlands never had much of a degree of autonomy while they were under Spanish rule...

 

[Orcot]

Well... from my understanding though, the Spanish Netherlands never had much of a degree of autonomy while they were under Spanish rule...

even then they could have settled something even if it's yust under the habsburg crown.

 

[Tabs]

Tuscany of all places tried to colonize what is now French Guayana in the 1600s, even hiring an English explorer to explore the region. He returned to Tuscany too late though, and by the time he returned, the grand duke who sent him to explore, Ferdinando I, had died, and his son Cosimo II wasn’t remotely interested in a colonial venture.

Have him live a few years longer, and you can get an Italian colony in South America, though I can’t begin to tell you if it could’ve survived.

also, the Polynesians without their 2000 year pause from exploring would be very interesting. It’s unknown why they ceased exploring for so long, but had they continued, they would’ve certainly reached the Americas, and could have set up a lot of colonies in places like California. It’s a very interesting scenario, but it’s hard to say how much they’d have been able to settle.

 

[Lusitania]

If you have different countries and history anyone which has access to the Atlantic could potentially have colonies in the America’s. For non Atlantic countries to do it such as ottoman empires italian trading nation to do so then short answer is no. There have been many threads on this. Now if you changing the strength or power of Taliban trading country or Ottoman Empire to do so then yes but not the countries we knew

 

[Vinization]

What about Denmark?

 

[Diego]

so they had the naval capability to sail the Atlantic

Yes, they had the capacity to sail, what they lack is capacity to defend themselves against the European Navies, they were able to reach Iceland by sneaking there and attacking unnarmed civilians, but if they want to keep their colonies they need a real Navy to defend their colonies and maybe even more important their communication routes.

What about Denmark?

Already OTL, they had Danish West Indies, some colonies in India and most obviously Greenland.

 

[ramones1986]

This is a borderline ASB, but how about an Itelmen-wank (e.g. earlier exposure and intermarriage with West Eurasian pastoralists) in relation to the western coast of North America?

 

[Miguel Lanius]

An independent and unified Ireland might be in a good position to do it.

An unified Scandinavia might be another player, but they are too distant.

 

[PsyloSurgeon]

A Chola empire that controls the Philippines, and then sail across the Pacific to the Americas. They establish a sphere of influence in Mesoamerica and Andean regions, making influencing and enabling these civilizations to survive to the present day.