?What would have happened if Christopher Columbus had not discovered the Americas
In 1492, Columbus set out on the ocean. But what if Columbus never came back from his voyage? His three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, may have run out of water, threatening the lives of all his sailors by drowning. Perhaps they got lost at sea, or were killed in a sea storm because they sailed during hurricane season. Or perhaps, more likely, he (Columbus) had reached the Caribbean but never returned to Europe. In fact, Columbus' largest ship, the Santa Maria, ran aground on Haiti's reefs to miraculously return Columbus to Europe after his maiden voyage.
So what if Columbus sailed to the Atlantic and never came back? Would Europe have given up the western route to Asia, or would other countries eventually send their own flights? Without the silver and gold flowing from the New World to Europe, would the Habsburgs (sometimes referred to as the Austrians) have retained power? Did the British Empire exist? And with weaker competition, will the Ottomans conquer Europe? Without Columbus' voyage, the history of the world would be very different. The possibilities are as follows:
1. Some other explorers may pass the Americas, only delaying the same inevitable results
If Columbus had not landed in America, would the Europeans have given up on the idea of a Western route to Asia altogether? Would anyone dare to cross the Atlantic, knowing that the road destroyed the three ships of Columbus? It is possible that another explorer made it to the Americas at some point. But when will Europeans after 1492 attempt to cross the Atlantic?
In 1500, the Portuguese explorer (Pedro Alvares Cabral) landed in Brazil. Cabral wasn't looking for the new world. His fleet had simply ran aground on its journey across the coast of Africa, on its way to India. Instead strong winds developed Rahal (Cabral) in Brazil.
Cabral could have simply been the first European to reach the Americas. If the Portuguese had captured the entire New World, they would have poured their fortunes into the Iberian nation, which would have completely changed European history.
2. Portugal will become the major European trading power
When Columbus sailed to find a western route to Asia, Portuguese explorers had already shown how promising an eastern route could be. In 1488, Bartolomeo Dias sailed at the Cape of Good Hope. Just a decade later, Vasco da Gama set sail for India. Over the course of the 16th century, Portugal established many ports on the coasts of Africa, India, China, and even Japan.
Without competition from the Spanish New World, Portugal would have dominated European trade networks. And while the Ottomans and Italians might have retained their power in the Mediterranean, Portugal would have benefited from the wealth of Asian trade in an impressive way. Even the Portuguese President (Aníbal Cavaco Silva) recently declared that the ways the Portuguese built to connect the continents and oceans are the foundation of the world we live in today. In the absence of Spanish competition, Portugal's dominance is likely to be greater.
3. The Aztec Empire would have continued to grow across Central America
Throughout the 15th century, the Aztecs conquered central Mexico. Their empire succeeded in subjugating many neighboring regions, and consolidated their control over large lands. However, one area remained unoccupied: Tlaxcala, east of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
In 1519, the adventurous Spanish soldier Ernán Cortes allied with the Tlaxcalan peoples to defeat the Aztec Empire. Without their vital support, Cortes would almost certainly have failed to conquer the Aztecs. Without the presence of Cortes, which came as a direct result of the discovery of Columbus, the Aztecs would almost certainly have continued their conquest of Mexico, expanding throughout Central America.
4. South America could have been conquered by the Inca Empire
In the 100 years before the Spanish arrival, the Inca more than doubled the size of their empire. By building alliances with neighbors, the Incas created a powerful and sophisticated empire on the Pacific coast of South America.
However, the Conquistador (Francisco Pizarro) overthrew the empire with the help of superior weapons and ruthless tactics. After the capture of the Inca ruler Atahualpa and the payment of a ransom of more than $50 million today, Pizarro executed the ruler. Even before the Spanish reached the Inca lands, European diseases had swept through the country, weakening the empire.
Without the Spanish arrival, the Incas would have continued their expansion, creating a huge empire that would conquer South America.
5. China will remain a powerful country that dominates Asian trade
The dominant Ming dynasty in China sent its own expeditions of exploration during the fifteenth century, under the command of Admiral Zheng, the Chinese fleet traveled to India and Africa.
However, when the Ming made a quick and different turn, when they declared that China was the only civilized part of the world, the European merchants present in China at that period had only to acknowledge the Chinese supremacy.
As for the European powers that were seeking to break into the Chinese market, they were unable to do so due to the absence of their colonies in the New World.
As a result, China continued as the dominant power in Asia, and its dominance of trade throughout Southeast Asia was expected due to weak competition from European powers, especially Portugal and the Netherlands.
6. It was possible to unite the North American tribes with nations hostile to the Native Americans.
• Many Native American groups turned into federations before the European connection with North America. One of these groups was the Iroquois Confederation, which consisted of five countries [Mohawk, Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Oneidas] which was dominated from the Great Lakes to New York, it has The Algonquin states fought mostly for territories in the Northeast.
• California was home to 300,000 Native Americans making up nearly 100 tribes before the advent of the Spaniards, and since relations between tribes were usually peaceful and free of war, it is likely that separate groups united over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and that the (Aztec) expansion It has arrived in California.
European disease, homelessness, forced labor, and extermination caused a massive population decline, which in turn led to the amalgamation of North American tribes into many dominant confederations that were likely to control large tracts of land.
7. The Ottomans would have continued their expansion in Central Europe
In the early modern period, the Ottomans laid siege to Vienna twice, and both times the Habsburgs were able to deter their conquests.
Knowing that these situations would have been different without the Habsburg allies in Spain who dominated a large empire in the New World.
Beginning in 1500, the Ottoman Empire controlled a large part of the international trade coming to Europe. The Ottoman rulers of Istanbul dominated the trade coming from the Black Sea, Asia Minor and the Middle East, as their naval fleet crossed the Mediterranean without resistance, and in the absence of a strong competitor in Central Europe, the Ottomans could have continued
8. Spain was to be divided into several rival kingdoms
Spain united two decades before Columbus' voyage and that was when Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon shared their crowns.
The Spanish Jews were expelled by the Catholic kings and took control of Granada in 1492, eliminating the last Muslim kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula. The discovery of the New World led to an influx of gold and silver bullion into Spain, which supported the recent United Kingdom.
Without the wealth of the New World, Spain would collapse into rival kingdoms, and as a weak Spain did not succeed in driving Muslims and Jews from their country, Iberia became more diverse and less united.
9. Italian city-states could have continued their renaissance
Italian city-states flourished in the 15th century, during the Renaissance. They spread cultural, political and social ideas to the rest of Europe. However, Columbus's voyage and focus on the colonization of the New World overshadowed the general character of the Italian Renaissance. None of the Italian city-states could compete in the race for colonies, in part because of their smaller size compared to the dominant powers of the Age of Discovery.
However, without the discovery of the Americas, the Italian Renaissance may have continued. Italy may have resisted invasions from France and Spain in the early 16th century, which would extend the Italian Renaissance into the early modern era.
10. North American people will speak Dutch or French
Had Columbus not reached the Americas, some other European voyages would have eventually reached the New World. Perhaps the Portuguese discovered Brazil and focused their efforts on colonizing South America. Another European power would have risked the journey across the North Atlantic to settle in North America and establish new colonies.
France was the European country most likely to colonize North America in the 16th century. In fact, France created a huge colony in North America. Instead of competing with the Spaniards, France would have colonized much of the east coast and would fight Dutch rivals. Instead of gaining independence from the British, the United States may have originated from a French colony, such as Canada, or even a Dutch colony. As a result, people in the United States will speak French or Dutch instead of English.
11. It would have been decades before another ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean
Christopher Columbus struggled to find a supporter for his voyage. He visited the Portuguese in search of royal patrons, but they rejected him. Columbus also offered to sail under French or English sponsorship, but both refused.
By the time Spain funded Columbus's voyage westward, the project was barely alive. Imagine if Columbus, after pleading before every court in Europe for money, simply sailed away with the money and never came back. Or perhaps the Europeans might have invested their wealth in the purpose of discovering an eastern route to Asia, as the Portuguese did, rather than sending more fruitless voyages to the West. It may have taken another explorer decades to persuade Europe's royal family to bet on Columbus' failed road.
12. West African countries could have developed into independent expansionist imperial powers
In the 15th century, the Mali Empire dominated West Africa. Prior to Columbus' voyage, Mali controlled an area larger than Western Europe, and applied a sophisticated political system to control its empire. The Mali Empire enriched itself with trade, especially important commodities such as gold and salt.
By 1500, a new dominant power emerged in West Africa, the Songhai Empire, which controlled the trans-Saharan trade routes.
However, West Africa eventually turned into rival neighboring states, due in part to a new trading network, the Atlantic slave trade. Without the European demand for slaves for the New World, West African states such as the Mali and Songhai empires would have continued to grow and consolidate their power further.
13. The Russian Empire will become the dominant power in the world
1492 was an important year for Russia. The King of Poland died, and his weak successor eventually ceded his Baltic lands to Ivan the Great. Ivan also conquered the Mongols, turning Central Asia into a ripe area for Russian conquest.
Russia's strategic location allowed it to access Asian trade without having to pass through hostile Ottoman lands. With less competition from the Habsburg rulers, the Russians could have expanded their empire faster, transforming themselves into a global hegemon. Indeed, Russia fought the Ottomans for centuries, but the balance may have been tilted in Russia's favor as a stronger European trade line passed through Russian territory. Without the resources of the New World, the Europeans still needed Asian trade, which the Russians could provide.
14. England may become the 'sick man of Europe'
England was slow to colonize the New World compared to its European competitors Spain, Portugal, France, and even the Dutch. But without their North American colonies, which made up the vast majority of Britain's overseas empire by 1750, England would not have become a major European power.
Britain used the North American colonies to fuel its expansion, and the colonies also became an important outlet for religious dissidents. The British might not have gained control of India without their experience and wealth from their American colonies.
However, by the eighteenth century, with the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, great coal reserves were likely to make Britain a prosperous island. It could even have grown into another great power, such as the Russians or the Ottomans.
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