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Post by puffyclouds on Aug 29, 2016 3:49:29 GMT
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an idea I had for a more robust Spain to enter the Seventeenth Century. Enjoy.
The marriage of Alfonso, Prince of Portugal, and Isabella, Princess of Austurias, was ratified late in 1490. The two developed a strong marriage and in 1491 she delivered a healthy son, Miguel, who became the heir to Portugal, Castile, and Aragon. In 1495 Alfonso acceded to the throne of Portugal with his father’s death, and continued the practices of his father in supporting exploration, and strengthening the economy. The reign of Alfonso VI would see the growth of the middle class, arts, and a temperate treatment of people. Notably, Alfonso declined to further the persecution of Portuguese Conversos and Jews.
Nine years later, Queen Isabella died and the couple came to Toledo to accept the Crown of Castile for Isabella, and eventually Miguel. The dynasty located its capital in Lisbon but equally enfranchised its citizens. Like his father before him in Portugal, Alfonso’s reign saw a diminution of the nobility’s influence and power in Castile with respect to the crown.
Ferdinand II’s adventurism against the Italian states and France contrasted with Alfonso and Isabella’s profitable restraint. In 1512 Ferdinand conquered Navarre for the Crown of Aragon. Four years later, Ferdinand II died and the crown of Aragon passed to his grandson, Miguel.
Miguel ruled in deference to his parents, but the family presented itself as a United Kingdom of Aragon, Castile, and Portugal. The constitutional culture of Navarre had spread into Aragon though, and Miguel had to moderate the absolutist tone set out by his fore-father.
In 1506 Isabella II’s first cousin Charles V assumed his father’s Burgundian inheritance. Though Charles initially disputed Isabella’s claim to Castile, he was unsupported and was sufficed to concentrate his ambitions on the Low Countries. Following the death of his grandfathers, Charles became King of Naples, Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor (1519). Most of Charles’s efforts were spent in a hegemonic contest against the French and the Ottomans.
Isabella II and Alfonso VI abdicated their thrones in 1520 in favor of Miguel (they would die in 1528 and 1530 respectively). A considerable portion of Miguel’s life work was committed to reigning in religious, and xenophobic excesses. Facing pervasive unrest among a growing middle class, Miguel reformed the country through a constitutional arrangement into the Kingdom of Spain. Miguel saw this as a positive as it resulted in a dangerous amount of power being transferred from nobles to enfranchise the lower classes.
The conquest of Mexico, and the trade route to India brought much wealth to Spain. The armed neutrality espoused by Alfonso VI prevented costly wars with France. Careful naval actions with Charles V pushed the Ottomans out of the western Mediterranean Sea. At the end of Miguel’s reign Spain stood strong, free of debt, vigilant against privateers, unentangled in the religious wars, and controlling a global empire.
Miguel’s son John acceded to the throne on Miguel’s death in 1557. John, born in 1508, had the benefit of tutelage from his great grandmother Eleanour of Viseu, his grandfather Alfonso VI, and his parents. John was a scholar king, who heavily invested in the development of Spain and its core colonies. While so much of Europe was tearing itself apart, during John’s reign Spain flourished.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Aug 29, 2016 3:52:54 GMT
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an idea I had for a more robust Spain to enter the Seventeenth Century. Enjoy. The marriage of Alfonso, Prince of Portugal, and Isabella, Princess of Austurias, was ratified late in 1490. The two developed a strong marriage and in 1491 she delivered a healthy son, Miguel, who became the heir to Portugal, Castile, and Aragon. In 1495 Alfonso acceded to the throne of Portugal with his father’s death, and continued the practices of his father in supporting exploration, and strengthening the economy. The reign of Alfonso VI would see the growth of the middle class, arts, and a temperate treatment of people. Notably, Alfonso declined to further the persecution of Portuguese Conversos and Jews. Nine years later, Queen Isabella died and the couple came to Toledo to accept the Crown of Castile for Isabella, and eventually Miguel. The dynasty located its capital in Lisbon but equally enfranchised its citizens. Like his father before him in Portugal, Alfonso’s reign saw a diminution of the nobility’s influence and power in Castile with respect to the crown. Ferdinand II’s adventurism against the Italian states and France contrasted with Alfonso and Isabella’s profitable restraint. In 1512 Ferdinand conquered Navarre for the Crown of Aragon. Four years later, Ferdinand II died and the crown of Aragon passed to his grandson, Miguel. Miguel ruled in deference to his parents, but the family presented itself as a United Kingdom of Aragon, Castile, and Portugal. The constitutional culture of Navarre had spread into Aragon though, and Miguel had to moderate the absolutist tone set out by his fore-father. In 1506 Isabella II’s first cousin Charles V assumed his father’s Burgundian inheritance. Though Charles initially disputed Isabella’s claim to Castile, he was unsupported and was sufficed to concentrate his ambitions on the Low Countries. Following the death of his grandfathers, Charles became King of Naples, Archduke of Austria, and Holy Roman Emperor (1519). Most of Charles’s efforts were spent in a hegemonic contest against the French and the Ottomans. Isabella II and Alfonso VI abdicated their thrones in 1520 in favor of Miguel (they would die in 1528 and 1530 respectively). A considerable portion of Miguel’s life work was committed to reigning in religious, and xenophobic excesses. Facing pervasive unrest among a growing middle class, Miguel reformed the country through a constitutional arrangement into the Kingdom of Spain. Miguel saw this as a positive as it resulted in a dangerous amount of power being transferred from nobles to enfranchise the lower classes. The conquest of Mexico, and the trade route to India brought much wealth to Spain. The armed neutrality espoused by Alfonso VI prevented costly wars with France. Careful naval actions with Charles V pushed the Ottomans out of the western Mediterranean Sea. At the end of Miguel’s reign Spain stood strong, free of debt, vigilant against privateers, unentangled in the religious wars, and controlling a global empire. Miguel’s son John acceded to the throne on Miguel’s death in 1557. John, born in 1508, had the benefit of tutelage from his great grandmother Eleanour of Viseu, his grandfather Alfonso VI, and his parents. John was a scholar king, who heavily invested in the development of Spain and its core colonies. While so much of Europe was tearing itself apart, during John’s reign Spain flourished. So in this timeline Afonso, Prince of Portugal will not die in a horse-riding accident on the banks of the river Tagus in 1491. |
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Post by puffyclouds on Aug 29, 2016 4:13:00 GMT
That's right. Without the tragedy of his death Isabella II doesn't fall into the delusion that it was God's curse for Portugal's Jews.
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cornelis
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Post by cornelis on Aug 29, 2016 9:25:10 GMT
Interesting PoD, the Portuguese union will definitively strengthen the early efforts of colonization in America, while the absence of Habsburg marriage will keep the Spanish out of the Netherlands war. To be picky, I see two issues :
- constitutional reform : I do not see how an Iberian king, however skillful he may be, manage to make a political union of three different crowns (with more sub-kindgoms under them), without concessions to the nobility. The "pactism" of Aragon and the many civil wars of Castilla had made the nobility really powerful and adverse to any kind of restriction on their local "liberties". The Navarra is not an example : Beaumonteses v. Agramontes, Gamboinos v. Oñacinos, the kingdom was split in two by nobiliary "bandolerismo" in the 15th c. and the King had to choose a side in order to grab or keep the power.
- Charles V : if he is a contender to the spanish throne, a french alliance is necessary to hold him back (and the French has their own interests in the meddle). If not, why does the Kingdom of Naples goes to him ?
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Aug 29, 2016 11:04:48 GMT
Interesting suggestion but apart from the points Cornelis raises I can't really see this greater Spain escaping the Reformation and resultant chaos and devastation as well as social changes. It will have to decide one way or another even if wise kings seek to moderate excesses. Almost certainly it will stay Catholic, epecially since it will have a role in bringing Christianity to the new lands in the Americas and Asia. Also with Spain united is there still a Treaty of Tordesills? Might not see the need with Spain and Portugal united but might also want something to reserve the new lands from other European powers. In one way a moderate religious attitude could make matters worse in the longer run. You're likely to see the growth of Catholic and Protestant groups within the kingdom and its colonies and many of them will not be tolerant.  Also allowing Protestantism isn't going to go down well with the Papacy. As such instead of the OTL fierce repression of the reformation and Protestant ideas you could see the country divided by bitter civil wars over the issue a few decades or generations down the line. Basically there are always counter-currents that tend to screw with any wank, which makes it bloody difficult to greatly boost a power over a prolonged period.  The other factor of course is that if Spain was that powerful and wealthy either it would seek to use that power to benefit it inside Europe or other powers fearing such actions would tend to gang up against it. |
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cornelis
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Post by cornelis on Aug 29, 2016 13:09:59 GMT
If I am not mistaken the (Spanish) Inquisition was created before the PoD. Once it is there, it will be quite hard to de-establish it. The first spanish protestants will be warmly welcomed |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Aug 29, 2016 14:51:21 GMT
If I am not mistaken the (Spanish) Inquisition was created before the PoD. Once it is there, it will be quite hard to de-establish it. The first spanish protestants will be warmly welcomed Afraid so, in 1480 according to Wiki. This included all Spanish colonies and possessions including the Spanish Netherlands and Naples as well as their lands in the Americas later on. Agree that this makes any real tolerance of Protestant ideas very difficult unless a monarch is willing to break with the Papacy big time. Couldn't really occur before ~1520 when Manuel unified the realms and would be likely to bring him into conflict with a lot of his subjects. Short of somehow butterflying Luther and other protesters at Papal corruption, possibly by their quick suppression? or them quickly being accepted by the church, which is likely to only delay matters by a generation or two I can't really see the reformation and resultant bloodshed and chaos being avoided. Which means that any state in Catholic Europe, especially one that powerful and closely linked with with Papacy would be drawn in. Just checked up and while the Jesuits aren't about yet the term most Catholic Majesty was used by the Papacy for Ferdinand and Isabella in 1493 so that's likely to still occur and the links between the church and the OTL Spanish kingdoms be pretty close. It might be that in opposition to Charles V's pretty harsh stance on Protestants, since they were contesting his rule in the Netherlands and much of Germany, Manuel might argue for a more tolerant stance, although still recognise the supremacy of Rome perhaps but I doubt he and his heirs can ride both horses indefinitely. |
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Post by puffyclouds on Sept 1, 2016 5:44:09 GMT
Fair points. This idea is contingent on a lot of optimism, but is also vague so the reader can fill in their own thoughts or to use it to develop their own idea. - constitutional reform : I do not see how an Iberian king, however skillful he may be, manage to make a political union of three different crowns (with more sub-kindgoms under them), without concessions to the nobility. I read that John II of Portugal had managed to consolidate power over the aristocracy, Castille had a more authoritarian tradition of royal rule than Aragon, and that the monarch of Navarre had almost a contractual duty to the people. I supposed that: Alfonso VI using his power in Portugal, would help Isabella II to consolidate authority over Portugal; The constitutional sentiments of Navarre would have spread through Aragon in Ferdinand’s last years; Miguel would be able to use the appearance of conceding his absolutism, to placate the aristocracy, while actually enfranchising a wider base of the population. - Charles V : if he is a contender to the spanish throne, a french alliance is necessary to hold him back (and the French has their own interests in the meddle). I thought Charles V would be so busy with the various historical problems that he would settle for a friendly Spain. - Charles V :If not, why does the Kingdom of Naples goes to him ? I once read, that Charles V was to be given the Kingdom of Naples, I think it was part of the marriage arrangement of his parents. I can't really see this greater Spain escaping the Reformation and resultant chaos and devastation as well as social changes. I don’t either. My intention was that the Inquisition is contained to Castile and Aragon, the Conversos and Jews aren’t murdered, and that Miguel or his successors redirect that institution and that energy into more useful and charitable efforts. I don’t expect the life of a Converso, a Jew, a Muslim, or a Protestant will be very pleasant in 16th Century Spain, but they won’t have to fear extinction. Also with Spain united is there still a Treaty of Tordesills? I haven’t carried the idea forward enough to consider that treaty. The other factor of course is that if Spain was that powerful and wealthy either it would seek to use that power to benefit it inside Europe or other powers fearing such actions would tend to gang up against it. This was my biggest concern, and one reason why I was eager to shed the Kingdom of Naples. I think they will use the power to seize parts of northern Africa. My goal was to get a stronger Iberia to the 17th Century without throwing the country away to arranged marriages or pointless wars. It might be that in opposition to Charles V's pretty harsh stance on Protestants, since they were contesting his rule in the Netherlands and much of Germany, Manuel Miguel might argue for a more tolerant stance, although still recognise the supremacy of Rome perhaps but I doubt he and his heirs can ride both horses indefinitely. Frankly, what I imagine will happen is that a lot of the religious minorities will find their way over to the colonies. They will have more breathing room there in this timeline, and be able to achieve greater levels of economic development for those places than in OTL. |
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Also allowing Protestantism isn't going to go down well with the Papacy. As such instead of the OTL fierce repression of the reformation and Protestant ideas you could see the country divided by bitter civil wars over the issue a few decades or generations down the line.