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What if Elizabeth I didn't return England to Protestantism when she became Queen, but instead kept the country Catholic as it had been under her sister Mary. How would the history of Britain and the world be different? Would Elizabeth send troops to support the Scottish Catholics, rather than the Protestants as IOTL? And, given that England and Scotland were IRL drawn closer together by their shared Protestantism, would a union of Catholic England and Scotland (assuming it still happened) be less likely to survive?

The union with Ireland, OTOH, would probably be more likely to survive, because, whilst religious differences weren't the only factor in that country's divisions, they were certainly a complicating issue. So would we perhaps see today a United Kingdom of England and Ireland, with Scotland having broken away?

And what of foreign policy? Historically England was quite close to Spain during the early 16th century, and the two became enemies largely due to the Reformation. So would England have continued this friendly policy do you think, or would fear of growing Spanish power have caused them to cut ties as IOTL?

Ah, so many potential butterflies...
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