WI: Spanish North Africa instead of Spanish Netherlands

[Mirza Khan]

So...lets say that, as a POD, either the Hapsburgs don't inherit Spain or Charles V gives the Burgundian inheritance to his Austrian rather than Spanish heir. Furthermore, lets say that this Spain, somewhat isolated from Europe, decides to take all the resources, manpower, and gold OTL Spain poured into the Eighty Years War and spend it on a giant multi-generational crusade to conquer and re-Christianize North Africa.

How far do they get? Might we have a world where all of the major cities of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are under Spanish control for an extended period of time, possibly down to the present? Where the caballeros ride out of Tunis every summer for an expedition against the heathen Bedouin of the desert, and the second sons of Iberian nobility all make the trek to the lonely mountain fortress of Santa Maria de Marruecos to prove themselves in the battle against the Moor? Thoughts?

 

[galik]

The max I can think of is coastal fortresses, citadels and the attempt at diplomatic intervention in the region. Portugal started to aquire such a position in the beginning of the age of exploration due to needing naval bases to protect it's ships, also an attempt to control the choke point that is the straits of Hercules, with the Tangier and Ceuta conquests.
This alternative Spain can include Portugal (or at least support military an independent Portugal) and actually invest with a great degree of manpower to support the Moroccan Sultan Abu Abdallah Mohammed II claim to the throne (what Sebastian did) and win.
Independently of Spain being Castilian-Aragonese, or all of Iberia, a treaty would grant or at least support the Castilian position and claims east of the kingdom of Fez while Portugal stays west, in this case the Moroccan Kingdom would be probably open to trade (important source of grains) with both powers and diplomatically friendly.
Other important aspect is that this Moroccan Kingdom would be a buffer between the Ottomans influence in North Africa and the Iberian Kingdoms, and an important Portuguese ally to coordinate or divide the Ottoman attention and resources between India and North Africa.
I can't see anything more than this for centuries until, and if, the scramble for Africa happens.

 

[John_Smith12]

I could see the second Reconquista being declared and a new crusade against the North Africans. Maybe a massacre of Christians or a build up of tensions due to Moorish raids on Spanish cities, the Moors sack a monastery or maybe raid Barcelona or something that really angers Spain. This trigger makes North Africa a target that Madrid has to deal with and can’t be ignored.

The Spanish win a few major victories early on due to their dreaded Tericos, emboldening them to push for the entire coast. Which they actually take and hold with naval supremacy and liberal bombardments. That’s somewhat possible with 1600s tech, not easy but Spain has the entire wealth of Latin America and the Netherlands to fund this, so it’s not impossible.