WI: No Discovery of America

Sorry if this has been done before (I'm new here :eek:) but I began wondering what would happen had Columbus never discovered America, or if he did and never made it back to Spain to tell the tale. I was thinking of a POD and came up with a few:
  1. Columbus' ships sink due to a freak storm (Either before or after reaching America)
  2. Columbus reaches America, but he and most of his crew die there (reasons?)
  3. Columbus never gets the funding he needs for his voyage
  4. Columbus never even attempts a voyage to America, and the idea stays just that, an idea.
Any comments or ideas? Is this totally unreasonable? My idea is to put off the discovery of America until as late as I can push it. Once again, sorry if this has already been done.
Perhaps the better idea is to 'roll with it' so to speak... wipe out Columbus but have Cabot and the Portugese discovery of Brazil succeed. Both will likely drive a degree of colonization (fur trading posts and cod fisheries for the former and possibly sugar plantations for the latter) but neither is as attractive as the Spanish claim was in OTL (gold...). Without that side of the attraction settlement will be more limited and exploration slower.
 
How about a big POD like Constantinople does not fall in 1453 and the trade East stays predictable . . . so there is no motivation to sail West.
Maybe, but I think it is unlikely. I would suggest, however, that you consult someone more knowledgeable about European history.:D
 
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