THE POSSIBILITY

1553 – PRESENT WAR WAR, NOT JAW JAW

Any formal alliance between Spain and England would have had deep political and religious repercussions throughout Europe. Any balance of power involving France would have been seriously undermined. The imposition of strict Catholic beliefs by Spain as the dominant partner in the alliance with England would have caused constant unrest. Persecution and oppression would be the order of the day, with any resistance met with the full force of the new empire’s financial, political and military power. Europe would’ve become a battleground as new alliances were made and old ones broken.

1553 – PRESENT TAKING A DIFFERENT LINE

In the 16th century even royal marriages were no guarantee of a strong line of succession. But what if things had been different? If Mary and Philip had had children, and in particular a male heir, then there would have been no Elizabethan era. If Elizabeth had decided to marry Philip after all and they had children, or Philip decided to introduce his own heirs after her death, then the succession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England would have been in doubt. There would’ve been no Charles I, and so no English Civil War. The entire course of British and European history would have been different.

1553 – PRESENT A NEW WORLD ORDER

Had Spain and England unified and pooled their resources, wealth, expansionist ambitions and trade links, there would’ve emerged a global superpower on a scale never seen before. Both knew the value of trade and the wealth it brought. But as its master the Spanish Empire would always have held its English terrier on a very tight leash. English influence around the world through culture and most notably language would’ve been stifled and English innovation and invention, along with its pride, would’ve been robbed by Spain as if gold bullion on the high seas.