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I saw this touched on in the 'Failed Marriages and Pregnancies' thread, but it wasn't explored in as much depth as I'd like, so I figured I'd pose the question directly.

What If Mary I had Philip II's son?

During Phillip II's reign, Spain reached the zenith of its power across the globe, which also means it began to decline. Revolt in the Netherlands, the failure of the Spanish Armada, multiple debt defaults, and the ascendency of the House of Bourbon reigned in what had been Europe's superpower. England had a direct role in half of these, and indirectly in all; war with Elizabeth's England sapped the treasury, Elizabeth didn't lend support to the Catholic League in the French Wars of Religion, and England aided the Dutch rebels against the Spanish.

So what if England's king and his regent were die hard Catholic Habsburgs? In terms of Continental politics, could the Dutch Revolt have been stamped out? Could Spain and England keep the French politiques from gaining primacy, and if they did, would the French still be able or willing to stop Ferdinand II, with Tilly and Wallenstein, from stamping out the rebellious princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Reformation with it, and thus consolidating a national state?

English affairs are wholly outside my wheelhouse, so what effect would a reigning Spanish Habsburg have on English development, specifically regarding protestantism and parliamentarianism? Furthermore, English colonization of the Americas followed a very different pattern from the Iberians, who ruled over and mixed with the natives, rather than driving them off outright.

The Early Modern period was one of the most influential in shaping the world we live in, so a small change, like a particular woman becoming pregnant or not, is going to have serious ripples.
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