Wouldn't the Portuguese be in the better position for this with the circum Africa route
Yep, I was trying to say in the scenario with Portugal still had the Personal union with Spain or if Spain focuses on the Indies.
Wouldn't the Portuguese be in the better position for this with the circum Africa route
If colombus did not discover , the Spanish would be the one conquering Eastern and Central Indonesia, leaving the Islamized parts of Indonesia and the Philippines untouched for a longer time.
I think Spain was in a relatively unique position in being able to make huge conquests and hold that territory. Every other power I can imagine Columbus sailing for at the time would have had greater difficulty IMO building empire in the New World.