In trying to play with the Age of Discovery, I came upon this thread https://www.alternatehistory.com/Discussion/showthread.php?t=137857&highlight=burgundy, along with others which seem to favor a surviving Burgundy, and it gave me an idea. Unfortunately, I know very little about European history at this point in time.
Suppose, after a point of departure somewhere in the mid-to-late 15th century, in the 1480's or 1490's a Flemish or Dutch merchant/sailors (or merchants), came to the Duke of Burgundy (which may or may not be a surviving Charles the Bold) with a proposal:
1) That it should be possible to sail to the west across the ocean to reach Asia.
2) That the distances to China would indeed be enormous (I'm going to assume that Columbus's bad mathematics is rare).
3) That it seems unlikely that God would leave such a vast amount of open ocean.
4) That there are many legends among different nations of lands that lay across the ocean: the Irish, the Norse and Danes, the Greeks and even the Romans talk about them.
5) That there are prevailing winds closer to the tropics that push ships more quickly to the West, and similar winds further north that would push ships back to Europe, both of which would shorten the trip immensely.
6) That, even if it would not be feasible to reach India (or China), it's quite possible that there are large islands out there which could be used as stopping points along a trade route across the ocean -- assuming they do not have riches of their own to exploit.
7) That if all this is true, it's quite likely that the Portuguese will find these lands soon, the way they are going, unless someone else thinks to do it first...
So, here are just a few of my questions:
a) Would such a proposal be plausible -- would it fit into the worldview of a Flemish or Dutch merchant -- perhaps one who's taken a trip or two to the Azores?
b) Would it be plausible for the Duke (or King) of Burgundy to agree to the proposal and give these merchants the ships they want? Otherwise, who would they go to next?
c) Since they are using the trade winds, they are almost definitely going to end up in the Caribbean. If they do, what would a Burgundian colonization strategy look like -- would it be the same as the Spanish did in our timeline?
d) Is whoever controls the Caribbean first also going to be the first to encounter the Aztecs (and depending on their colonization strategy, conquer them)?
Suppose, after a point of departure somewhere in the mid-to-late 15th century, in the 1480's or 1490's a Flemish or Dutch merchant/sailors (or merchants), came to the Duke of Burgundy (which may or may not be a surviving Charles the Bold) with a proposal:
1) That it should be possible to sail to the west across the ocean to reach Asia.
2) That the distances to China would indeed be enormous (I'm going to assume that Columbus's bad mathematics is rare).
3) That it seems unlikely that God would leave such a vast amount of open ocean.
4) That there are many legends among different nations of lands that lay across the ocean: the Irish, the Norse and Danes, the Greeks and even the Romans talk about them.
5) That there are prevailing winds closer to the tropics that push ships more quickly to the West, and similar winds further north that would push ships back to Europe, both of which would shorten the trip immensely.
6) That, even if it would not be feasible to reach India (or China), it's quite possible that there are large islands out there which could be used as stopping points along a trade route across the ocean -- assuming they do not have riches of their own to exploit.
7) That if all this is true, it's quite likely that the Portuguese will find these lands soon, the way they are going, unless someone else thinks to do it first...
So, here are just a few of my questions:
a) Would such a proposal be plausible -- would it fit into the worldview of a Flemish or Dutch merchant -- perhaps one who's taken a trip or two to the Azores?
b) Would it be plausible for the Duke (or King) of Burgundy to agree to the proposal and give these merchants the ships they want? Otherwise, who would they go to next?
c) Since they are using the trade winds, they are almost definitely going to end up in the Caribbean. If they do, what would a Burgundian colonization strategy look like -- would it be the same as the Spanish did in our timeline?
d) Is whoever controls the Caribbean first also going to be the first to encounter the Aztecs (and depending on their colonization strategy, conquer them)?