Antarctique?

In 1555, the french set up a colony on the site of OTL rio de janero. It was doing pretty wel, but its governor, Villegagnon, started acting like a general jackass, causing people to flee. Reports of his attitude actually cancelled an expedition of 900 people, which would have let the french hold on to the area and outnumber the portuguese in the region. (northern brazil is probably out, though).

The portuguese probably, in turn, appeal to the pope, who protests at their violation of the treaty of tordesailles, which, in turn, upsets the french businesses.

How does a colony that's part hugenot, part catholic, proudly french, effect the development of the area? And how does the pope's protest effect the religious wars.

Interesting. They were letting Huguenots into the colonies back then?

Was this before or after the French colonies were set up in Acadia and Canada? The French never had many people interested in going there as it was - with a non-frigid alternative available even fewer French will go to Canada than in our timeline.

Acadia/Canada never got much support until Champlain started heavily campaigning for colonization efforts (around 1615), and even then, French support was lukewarm at best.

With a prosperous colony in South America 40 or 50 years earlier, its very possible IMO that France may have said the hell with Acadia, and concentrated on S.A. and the CAribbean.

It'd be interesting to have Sam Champlain as the 'Father of Antartique' instead of the Father of Canada... Maybe he convinces King Louis (and his mother) to create 'Nouvelle France' in S.A.?

Well, now the Huguenots have a place to flee to when the Catholics start killing them. Perhaps instead of going to Prussia, Holland and so on, France Antartique gets a population boost?

I'd say the French king would say f*ck the pope and continue colonizing(can he afford to do that?). That is, if people don't lose interest in the place. Assuming Canada still becomes French, I don't think the colonization policy would be the same as OTL. Anyone care to speculate on the effects of a more populous Canada on the rest of North America?

Regarding the Portuguese, I'm fairly sure they will fight the French all the way. What I don't know if the main effort will come from the South(São Vicente, in São Paulo state, first Brazilian city, founded in 1531), or from the North(Salvador was founded in 1557, IIRC). I'd bet it comes from the North, but the Portuguese were starting colonization of Brazil at the time, so it's anyone's guess. A southern-based colonization brings all sorts of interesting consequences, especially the fact that Minas Gerais gets discovered sooner.

I suspect the French won't be too successful at challenging Portuguese power in this region in 1555 - altough perhaps with some deft diplomacy it could be coupled with an Ottoman drive in the Red Sea/Indian Ocean?

Brazil exists but is smaller than OTL obviously. Antartique I see becoming a nation with the stengh of say argentina or colombia.

Straha said:

Brazil exists but is smaller than OTL obviously. Antartique I see becoming a nation with the stengh of say argentina or colombia.

Click to expand...

Or, given the climate, it might end up as Greater Haiti (a slaves-and-tropical-products colony rather than a settlement colony).