WI:Brittany sponsors Columbus

What if a surviving independent Brittany, assuming Francis, the father of Anne of Brittany sires a son who sponsors Christopher Columbus.
 
Why would Columbus go to Brittany? The Duke of Brittany might send him away -- could the Duchy even afford it? Even if they discover anything it, Brittany doesn't have the resources of say, France or Spain. Maybe they could colonize a sugar island or two but it seems unlikely in the long run. Even if there is a surviving male heir, the French Kings will probably work to subjugate Brittany closer to Paris anyways.
 
By 1492 Brittany is part of France in all but name. Of course, that doesn't mean too much: Columbus was travelling to France the day he received word that Castile would finally sponsor him after so many years. If he had just left a few days earlier the messenger would have failed to catch with him.

But moving to France is not the end of the adventure but the beginning. He'll have to waste a lot of time convincing the French court to sponsor him like it happened in Portugal and Castile, and if he sails from La Rochelle (or Brest, just to meet the OP's suggestion of Brittany) then he will land in a completely different spot of the Americas since he's starting way further to the North. (If he lands at all by the way - he's also starting way further to the East. And he packed so few supplies IOTL that the crew was planning a mutiny in the days prior to the first sign of land).
 
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yourworstnightmare

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By 1492 Brittany is part of France in all but name. Of course, that doesn't mean too much: Columbus was travelling to France the day he received word that Castile would finally sponsor him after so many years. If he had just left a few days earlier the messenger would have failed to catch with him.

But moving to France is not the end of the adventure but the beginning. He'll have to waste a lot of time convincing the French court to sponsor him like it happened in Portugal and Castile, and if he sails from La Rochelle (or Brest, just to meet the OP's suggestion of Britain) then he will land in a completely different spot of the Americas since he's starting way further to the North. (If he lands at all by the way - he's also starting way further to the East. And he packed so few supplies IOTL that the crew was planning a mutiny in the days prior to the first sign of land).

Hmm, if Brittany can provide harbors for an early French exploration project, their little duchy can become very rich.
 
...if he sails from La Rochelle (or Brest, just to meet the OP's suggestion of Brittany) then he will land in a completely different spot of the Americas since he's starting way further to the North.

But, wasn't part of his plan to use the trade winds in the first place? If so, he'd still end up sailing down to the Azores, and then straight west and end up somewhere in the Caribbean.
 
France was already powerful enough in the period, quite a big rival to the Habsburgs despite the latter having all that new world money (and admittedly a lot of other stuff on their plate), with the new world...ouch. Super France.
 
And the French didn't have the massive Brain Drain the Spanish had from the Inquisition. That didn't happen to the French until the Hugenots got the same convert or die message the jews and muslims got in spain.
 
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