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So in the mid-late 15th century the Kingdom of Castille and the Kingdom of Portugal were, culturally, closer together than Castille/Aragon. What if, by some sort of marraige alliance, Castille united with Portugal instead of Aragon?
This would surely affect the New world- Columbus thought he could reach China when he set out; Isabela and Ferdinand knew no better whereas Portugal, with its long maritime tradition, laughed at him- they knew the world was too large for China to be so close. If Columbus had bee nspurned by Castille/Portugal would he have gone somewhere else- Aragon, Granada, France (although not likely- it's still reeling from the early 15th century crisis) or indeed England (remember Cabot was also actively exploring west- maybr a double team?)

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