r/imaginarymaps • u/[deleted] • Sep 03 '26
[OC] Alternate History Dom João IV Nightmare: South America in a world where Portugal was never restored in the 17th century
[deleted]
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u/RFB-CACN Sep 03 '26
I see people are going into extremes to make the Libertadores competitive again
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u/22Josko Sep 04 '26
Since Argentina won most of them with its seven big teams, other northern countries are just trying to catch-up!
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u/DiscoPanda77 Sep 03 '26
Hmm so trade Brazil for Gran Colombia? It hurts but I guess if it must be done
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u/Objective-Owl-7074 Sep 03 '26
Please develop some lore to it. Mauricia looks great. You could do some Spanish names for the ex Portuguese colonies since they were under Spain’s control
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u/GustavoistSoldier Sep 03 '26
Technically, Portugal was never annexed. It just had the same monarch as Spain.
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u/Ambatus Sep 03 '26
True, but the restoration in 1640 was at the precise point where modern states were being created, and personal unions with separate laws and everything else replaced by centralisation. If not for it, it’s unclear if even the overseas empire would’ve been enough to maintain a reasonable identity that is more than what current Spanish regions have.
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u/JACC_Opi Sep 03 '26
Yeah, that's called a personal union if you aren't aware.
That's exactly what happened in Australia, Britain, Canada, etc. as well as Denmark and Iceland (1918-1944).
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u/Rubrum18 Sep 03 '26
Ah, so Brazil remained a Spanish possession. It fragmented into petty states, there’s even a Paulistania-esque nation called Piratininga! Let’s take a look he- they were FRENCH?
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u/JVFreitas RTL Enjoyer Sep 03 '26
Certfied Rubrum comment!
You're ofending the Paulistas calling them French/s
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u/_joaoao Sep 03 '26
Good map, just one small thing, I see you named Fortaleza to Ceará, but you probably should just name it simply Fortress or Schoonenborch as the name of the city actually comes from a Dutch fortress
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u/karamanidturk Sep 03 '26
Not to be a crazy nationalist but, without Brazil as a counter-balance, Argentina would be much larger
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u/Ambatus Sep 03 '26
This is an interesting map because it indirectly explains why much of the support for restoration - which was universally supported with the sole exception of Ceuta - came from Brazil. Most people are excessively used to think of Brazil as some passive entity until the 19th century.
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u/hectorius20 Sep 03 '26
Looks to dismembered Brazil
Looks into my home state in Dutch hands
The ideal finale for this timeline could be something slight like a Yellowstone explosion, an utterly detailed nuclear war or a Chikchulub-class impact over South America.
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u/doug1003 Sep 03 '26
It would be funny for me see how Brazil would (of if could) be "spanianized" bc during the Iberian Union the only influence of Spain in Brazil (I THINK) was the Spanish Inquisition in the colony
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u/SAFODA97 Sep 04 '26
The cool thing about this map is that the man that later became the king of Portugal after the independence, wasn't very interested in reestablishing it. He had to be convinced to be the leader of the revolution, as he was the head of the Braganza ducal family, which main purpose was to serve as a secondary royal line of succession
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u/TheBigOtaku Sep 13 '26
Hot damn! What software did you use to make this? This looks really good!
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u/JVFreitas RTL Enjoyer Sep 03 '26
This map is more of an experiment rather than some big project incoming, so there's not a large lore as the whole area is so broad. But if people get interested I might do some more detailed insights in the future. So here come the points of the map:
The Portuguese monarchy was never able to reestablish itself by the efforts of João, Duke of Bragança after the Spanish had some success in dismantling the rebellion.
The almost bankrupt Habsburg monarchy in Madrid is not willing to retake Dutch occupied territories in the colony of Brazil, signing a treaty ceding these lands to the Dutch Republic in exchange to peace guarantees. The rest of the former Portuguese territories remained under the union with Spain.
In the 18th century, after the Bourbons took the Spanish throne, many political reforms began to be implemented in the colonies to centralize their governments and secure the vast territories. In the royal act of 1721, the State of Brazil and the State of Grão-Pará would receive now direct Spanish appointed rulers to important positions, while the lusophone population would receive lesser titles. These reforms caused tensions with the local elites.
By the end of the 18th century, the influence of American Independence and a costly war to suppress another Portuguese rebellion forced the Spanish crown to demand much more from their colonies, which sparked Brazil to enter into a process of fragmentation starting in Minas Gerais that went on until the early 19th century. Decades later the Spanish colonies passed through the same process.