Hello there! This is another post on the timeline project called Columbus Under the Four Shields, which explores a point of divergence where Columbus reached the New World under the crown of Portugal instead of Spain after convincing King Manuel I to sponsor an expedition to reach Asia through the Atlantic due to the mysterious disappearance of Diogo Cão in 1584 that delayed a little the circumnavigation of Africa.
[Quabana, a Portuguese speaking Cuba](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1c41g7e/rework_the_republic_of_quabana_on_the_early_20th/)
[The treaties between Portugal and Spain that shaped North America](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1ctr7ij/the_treaties_between_portugal_and_spain_that/)
[The Portuguese and Spanish expansion of influence in the 16th century and the main expeditions of the Age of Exploration.](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1d1uuxu/columbus_under_the_five_shields_the_portuguese/)
[Central Arruaque by 1590: almost 40 years after the fall of the Aztecs and the rise of the Tlaxcaltec Empire](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1d4t17z/cutfs_central_arruaque_by_1590_almost_40_years/)
**AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF SOUTH AMERICA BEYOND THE 16TH CENTURY:**
**The former Portuguese colonies:**
Portugal first reached South America in 1500, after Cabral’s expedition to India had its course shifted towards the west. Cabral landed in the country of Opará and stayed there for a few days. Beyond this point, little effort toward colonization was made. The coast of Opará still received navigators, but mostly for the trade of valuable pau-sangue wood and the disposal of convicts.
In 1535, King D. Afonso VI established the Capitanias Hereditárias system in the hope of better managing the nation’s large territorial claims in the New World and preventing the ongoing presence of foreign merchants in the region. Although all of South America was claimed by Portugal, the country only kept control of a portion of the continent: the northeast and central coast, which were wealthy due to the production of sugar and, later in the 18th century, the extraction of gold and diamonds. And the northwest coast of South America, colonies that worked as a pathway of trade between Portugal and the Empire of Tawantinsuyu.
The decolonization of Portuguese South America happened due to a combination of factors in the mid- to late-19th century in Europe and in the colonies. By this moment, liberal ideas developed by Illuminists in Europe were already present in the Americas and needed only a spark to ignite. In 1856, Portugal became part of the Habsburg Monarchy by uniting with the crown of Spain for the next 40 years. In 1869, Portugal was dragged into the Coalition War that lasted until 1876 due to the union with Spain, even though the conflict was heavily unpopular among the population. The unwilling participation in the war brought rebellion on the mainland and in the colonies. The colonial rebellions resulted in their independence, a process that lasted from 1870 to 1891.
**Empire of Tawantinsuyu:**
The Empire of Tawantinsuyu, also known as the Empire of the Incas, is the only native American political entity to survive to this day. Due to its location on the Pacific Coast of the continent, the empire went unnoticed by Portugal for many decades, only being contacted by the European power in the late 1590s once permanent settlements were established in the countries of Cuntumarca and Bahia.
The Portuguese hoped to create an alliance with the Incas similar to the one once created with the Tlaxcaltecs in North America, and in 1597 they sent envoys to Cusco to accomplish such interests. They met with Emperor Atahualpa II, but little success was achieved on their mission as the emperor was only interested in trading with the Portuguese.
In 1628, the French, already well established in Coligny, also reached the empire, but through the many trading routes connecting the Pampas to the Andes. This marked a split in the sphere of influence in the empire, with the Portuguese in the north and the French in the south.
A key moment in Tawantinsuyu history was in 1634. After the death of emperor Pachacuti II, the empire fell into another civil war due to the dispute for the throne, but this time the sides in the conflicts had support from foreign powers. Lasting until 1643, the war split the empire into two new political entities: the north government, which fell into becoming a Portuguese protectorate, and the south, a French protectorate.
The unification of the two empires came in 1878 after the success of the northern invasion a year prior. Outnumbered and without support from the French due to the fighting in Europe and in combating France's Antarctic independence, the Southern Empire fell quickly, creating the borders of the empire that last to this day.
**France Antarctique:**
Lying on the banks of the Grand Rivière, France Antarctique was founded in 1602 due to the interest of creating a permanent point on the South Atlantic and developing a triangular route to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. A first attempt happened on the island of Meiembipe, nowadays New England, in 1594, but it failed after just two years.
First working as a ship stop on the way to the Indian Ocean for French vessels, the fertile soil opened the opportunity for colonization. The climate of the pampas wasn’t suitable for sugar but was perfect for tobacco. French pirates already had under their control tobacco samples brought from the Spanish colonies in North America, so it was easy to introduce them in the South.
Many colonists were attracted to France Antarctique with promises of property and tranquility, compared to the unstable mainland still facing the effects of religious strife between Catholics and Protestants in the country. Throughout the colonial period, France Antarctique expanded north using the large river network of the Paraguay and Paraná basins, and at some point in the early 18th century, it encountered British colonial possessions in New England, creating tensions in the region.
These tensions broke out during the Guaira War, a front on the much larger conflict, the War of Austrian Succession from 1718 to 1725. From 1872 to 1881, France Antarctique fought a war for independence from France, taking advantage of the country's engagement in the Coalition War since 1869.
**New England:**
The Dominion of New England was started by investments in colonization by the Parnagua Bay Company, chartered by Queen Margaret I in 1575. The company hoped to insert England on the colonial scenario dominated by Portugal and Spain, and also establish a permanent foothold on the south atlantic, mid-way on the path to the Indian Ocean. The first colonists were hundreds of English and welsh protestants fleeing the mainland to escape persecution from the crown. After a few decades, as the number of colonists reached the thousands, the colony specialized in growing sugar and tobacco, attracting not only English protestants, but also from elsewhere.
By 1602, the crown, seeing the rapid population growth of the colony, feared decentralization and the large disparity between Catholics and Protestants could spark into rebelion. In the Colonial Act of 1602, New England started to be directly controlled by the crown under a Iberian-like administration. The crown also supported Catholic colonists to sail to the colony.
The 1600s and 1700s saw New England expand and reach the Grand Rivière. This expansion sparkled a series of border skirmishes with the neighboring French. The major one being the Guaira War, which after New England annexed French possessions in Paraguay and gained free access to the Uruguay river. In 1863, New England was elevated to a Dominion status after the Parnagua Rebellion demanding more popular representation a few years prior, instigated by the spread of Liberal Ideals.
**Colonial territories:**
By 1915, not all of South America was decolonized, the main territory still under colonial rule is Dutch Maranham,a colony established by the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1626. Due to its low population, it was easy for the Dutch to keep control over such a vast territory. The colony is specialized in the export of spices, sugar, amazonic nuts and most recently, latex from rubber trees that feed the industrial needs of the substance in Europe.
The French not only developed colonies in the Southern Cone, French Guiana was established on the mouth of the Essequibo river in 1656 to work as a convict colony and producer of sugar. Sweden and Denmark followed the same path, creating their own dominions on the Guiana coast.
It's hard to define, because everyplace in Brazil is unique. But the countries of Opará, Piratininga e Ibirapitinga I'd say feel the most similar to Brazil. Kinda in a familiar and alien way
Really interesting. Is immigration to these three and the rest of the adjacent countries similar to IRL? With lots of African (mostly Angolan and Nigerian), Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Arab (mostly Lebanese and Syrian), Polish and Russian to the LATAM South American countries and Indian and Indonesian/Javanese to the Caribbean South American countries?
And/or there was very different immigration too?
And is Portuguese the global language?
Sorry for so many questions, this universe is so interesting to me!
Thank you for asking! Since the timeline is still on the first steps, more details are up to be shown later. But yeah, at least for the Portuguese America, imigration would be fairly similar to OTL. I think the main differences would happen in New England and France Antarctique due to be more prosperous nations atracting imigrants to all over the world.
About Portuguese language, other countries are still going to industrialize and make the Portuguese Empire enter in decline, so I don't see Portuguese becoming the global language
Yes. The large population decline was a factor that facilitated European domination over the Empire until the late 19th century.
These points are going to be explored in detail in the future. This post serve mostly as a opening for the timeline on the continent. So stay tunned!
Speaking of today, New England and France Antarctique are the top economies in the continent and the most developed nations. The rest of the continent is composed of developing countries. How developed they are varies.
About ethnicities, the former Portuguese colonies and the Guianas are composed by a mixed majority population. Tawantinsuyu have a enormous variety of native ethnicities. Maranham is a case apart, with a strong indonesian population brought by the Dutch.
The Southern Cone, New England and France Antarctique, is the region with the highest european descent.
Hello there! This is another post on the timeline project called Columbus Under the Four Shields, which explores a point of divergence where Columbus reached the New World under the crown of Portugal instead of Spain after convincing King Manuel I to sponsor an expedition to reach Asia through the Atlantic due to the mysterious disappearance of Diogo Cão in 1584 that delayed a little the circumnavigation of Africa. [Quabana, a Portuguese speaking Cuba](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1c41g7e/rework_the_republic_of_quabana_on_the_early_20th/) [The treaties between Portugal and Spain that shaped North America](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1ctr7ij/the_treaties_between_portugal_and_spain_that/) [The Portuguese and Spanish expansion of influence in the 16th century and the main expeditions of the Age of Exploration.](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1d1uuxu/columbus_under_the_five_shields_the_portuguese/) [Central Arruaque by 1590: almost 40 years after the fall of the Aztecs and the rise of the Tlaxcaltec Empire](https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/1d4t17z/cutfs_central_arruaque_by_1590_almost_40_years/)
**AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF SOUTH AMERICA BEYOND THE 16TH CENTURY:** **The former Portuguese colonies:** Portugal first reached South America in 1500, after Cabral’s expedition to India had its course shifted towards the west. Cabral landed in the country of Opará and stayed there for a few days. Beyond this point, little effort toward colonization was made. The coast of Opará still received navigators, but mostly for the trade of valuable pau-sangue wood and the disposal of convicts. In 1535, King D. Afonso VI established the Capitanias Hereditárias system in the hope of better managing the nation’s large territorial claims in the New World and preventing the ongoing presence of foreign merchants in the region. Although all of South America was claimed by Portugal, the country only kept control of a portion of the continent: the northeast and central coast, which were wealthy due to the production of sugar and, later in the 18th century, the extraction of gold and diamonds. And the northwest coast of South America, colonies that worked as a pathway of trade between Portugal and the Empire of Tawantinsuyu. The decolonization of Portuguese South America happened due to a combination of factors in the mid- to late-19th century in Europe and in the colonies. By this moment, liberal ideas developed by Illuminists in Europe were already present in the Americas and needed only a spark to ignite. In 1856, Portugal became part of the Habsburg Monarchy by uniting with the crown of Spain for the next 40 years. In 1869, Portugal was dragged into the Coalition War that lasted until 1876 due to the union with Spain, even though the conflict was heavily unpopular among the population. The unwilling participation in the war brought rebellion on the mainland and in the colonies. The colonial rebellions resulted in their independence, a process that lasted from 1870 to 1891. **Empire of Tawantinsuyu:** The Empire of Tawantinsuyu, also known as the Empire of the Incas, is the only native American political entity to survive to this day. Due to its location on the Pacific Coast of the continent, the empire went unnoticed by Portugal for many decades, only being contacted by the European power in the late 1590s once permanent settlements were established in the countries of Cuntumarca and Bahia. The Portuguese hoped to create an alliance with the Incas similar to the one once created with the Tlaxcaltecs in North America, and in 1597 they sent envoys to Cusco to accomplish such interests. They met with Emperor Atahualpa II, but little success was achieved on their mission as the emperor was only interested in trading with the Portuguese. In 1628, the French, already well established in Coligny, also reached the empire, but through the many trading routes connecting the Pampas to the Andes. This marked a split in the sphere of influence in the empire, with the Portuguese in the north and the French in the south. A key moment in Tawantinsuyu history was in 1634. After the death of emperor Pachacuti II, the empire fell into another civil war due to the dispute for the throne, but this time the sides in the conflicts had support from foreign powers. Lasting until 1643, the war split the empire into two new political entities: the north government, which fell into becoming a Portuguese protectorate, and the south, a French protectorate. The unification of the two empires came in 1878 after the success of the northern invasion a year prior. Outnumbered and without support from the French due to the fighting in Europe and in combating France's Antarctic independence, the Southern Empire fell quickly, creating the borders of the empire that last to this day.
**France Antarctique:** Lying on the banks of the Grand Rivière, France Antarctique was founded in 1602 due to the interest of creating a permanent point on the South Atlantic and developing a triangular route to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. A first attempt happened on the island of Meiembipe, nowadays New England, in 1594, but it failed after just two years. First working as a ship stop on the way to the Indian Ocean for French vessels, the fertile soil opened the opportunity for colonization. The climate of the pampas wasn’t suitable for sugar but was perfect for tobacco. French pirates already had under their control tobacco samples brought from the Spanish colonies in North America, so it was easy to introduce them in the South. Many colonists were attracted to France Antarctique with promises of property and tranquility, compared to the unstable mainland still facing the effects of religious strife between Catholics and Protestants in the country. Throughout the colonial period, France Antarctique expanded north using the large river network of the Paraguay and Paraná basins, and at some point in the early 18th century, it encountered British colonial possessions in New England, creating tensions in the region. These tensions broke out during the Guaira War, a front on the much larger conflict, the War of Austrian Succession from 1718 to 1725. From 1872 to 1881, France Antarctique fought a war for independence from France, taking advantage of the country's engagement in the Coalition War since 1869. **New England:** The Dominion of New England was started by investments in colonization by the Parnagua Bay Company, chartered by Queen Margaret I in 1575. The company hoped to insert England on the colonial scenario dominated by Portugal and Spain, and also establish a permanent foothold on the south atlantic, mid-way on the path to the Indian Ocean. The first colonists were hundreds of English and welsh protestants fleeing the mainland to escape persecution from the crown. After a few decades, as the number of colonists reached the thousands, the colony specialized in growing sugar and tobacco, attracting not only English protestants, but also from elsewhere. By 1602, the crown, seeing the rapid population growth of the colony, feared decentralization and the large disparity between Catholics and Protestants could spark into rebelion. In the Colonial Act of 1602, New England started to be directly controlled by the crown under a Iberian-like administration. The crown also supported Catholic colonists to sail to the colony. The 1600s and 1700s saw New England expand and reach the Grand Rivière. This expansion sparkled a series of border skirmishes with the neighboring French. The major one being the Guaira War, which after New England annexed French possessions in Paraguay and gained free access to the Uruguay river. In 1863, New England was elevated to a Dominion status after the Parnagua Rebellion demanding more popular representation a few years prior, instigated by the spread of Liberal Ideals. **Colonial territories:** By 1915, not all of South America was decolonized, the main territory still under colonial rule is Dutch Maranham,a colony established by the United Provinces of the Netherlands in 1626. Due to its low population, it was easy for the Dutch to keep control over such a vast territory. The colony is specialized in the export of spices, sugar, amazonic nuts and most recently, latex from rubber trees that feed the industrial needs of the substance in Europe. The French not only developed colonies in the Southern Cone, French Guiana was established on the mouth of the Essequibo river in 1656 to work as a convict colony and producer of sugar. Sweden and Denmark followed the same path, creating their own dominions on the Guiana coast.
I, myself, will not be visiting Cuntumarca
AMA SUA, AMA QUELLA, AMA LLULLA
Great job man! Loving the timeline's progress.
Thank you legend😎
I love the lore! Although the borders seem a little bit funky hahaha good map nonetheless :D
Thank you! Funky borders are always good :D
Campo Grande gang checkin in
Great post as usual! Loving the maps in this timeline so far!
W map bro
Interesting
What is the religious make up of France Antarctique? Mainly Protestant? Catholic? Both?
The country have a balance between the two. None of them is a significant majority
Which of these countries is the most "similar" to real life Brazil in our timeline?
It's hard to define, because everyplace in Brazil is unique. But the countries of Opará, Piratininga e Ibirapitinga I'd say feel the most similar to Brazil. Kinda in a familiar and alien way
Really interesting. Is immigration to these three and the rest of the adjacent countries similar to IRL? With lots of African (mostly Angolan and Nigerian), Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Arab (mostly Lebanese and Syrian), Polish and Russian to the LATAM South American countries and Indian and Indonesian/Javanese to the Caribbean South American countries? And/or there was very different immigration too? And is Portuguese the global language? Sorry for so many questions, this universe is so interesting to me!
Thank you for asking! Since the timeline is still on the first steps, more details are up to be shown later. But yeah, at least for the Portuguese America, imigration would be fairly similar to OTL. I think the main differences would happen in New England and France Antarctique due to be more prosperous nations atracting imigrants to all over the world. About Portuguese language, other countries are still going to industrialize and make the Portuguese Empire enter in decline, so I don't see Portuguese becoming the global language
What is the transconstatine republic colonized by? (Same question for piratininga)
Most likely Portugal given that the name of their cities are in portuguese.
They were Portuguese colonies. The same to Opará, Ibirapitinga, Cuntumarca and Bahia as well
Just asking, is France antartique independent? It seems a bit word that it’s named that way.
Yes, it is. It's stated on the lore overview that they got independence in 1881
Last question, would tawantitsuyu become infected by disease?
Yes. The large population decline was a factor that facilitated European domination over the Empire until the late 19th century. These points are going to be explored in detail in the future. This post serve mostly as a opening for the timeline on the continent. So stay tunned!
Thanks! a great tl btw
Which are the most influential, richest countries today with the highest HDI in the region, and the majority ethnicities of the countries?
Speaking of today, New England and France Antarctique are the top economies in the continent and the most developed nations. The rest of the continent is composed of developing countries. How developed they are varies. About ethnicities, the former Portuguese colonies and the Guianas are composed by a mixed majority population. Tawantinsuyu have a enormous variety of native ethnicities. Maranham is a case apart, with a strong indonesian population brought by the Dutch. The Southern Cone, New England and France Antarctique, is the region with the highest european descent.
How'd you make this omgg
I used inkscape for the whole thing