South America
The most famous colonizers of the Americas will forever remain the British and the Spanish, with a little Brazil-shaped Portuguese spot thrown in the mix. However, few of us know that there were other cultures' attempts to colonize the Americas.
In 1608, a Tuscan expedition to the Americas under Captain Robert Thornton, an Englishman, sent by Ferdinando I of Tuscany to explore northern Brazil and the Amazon River and prepare for the establishment of a settlement in northern coastal South America, which would serve as a base to export Brazilian wood to Renaissance Italy. Thornton landed in what we nowadays call French Guiana, only to return to a Tuscany with a new Grand Duke, who had no interest in colonies. The project was abandoned and that was that.
But what if, Cosimo II, Ferdinando I's son had shared in his father's plans and ambitions for the new world and allowed the project to continue?
Alternate timeline[]
- The colony of New Tuscany is successfully established in 1608, following a second Thornton expedition.
- With the mediation of the pope, King Philip III of Spain agrees to allow the Italian to create colonies north of the Amazon River.
- The settlement of Firenze-sul-Rio is established at the mouth of the Amazon River and quickly grows to become a major port in northern South America. Further settlements like Fort Ferdinando, New Medici, Carolina and others are also established. Many Italians emigrate there.
- To safeguard their investment, Grand Duke Cosimo II forbids his brother Carlo de Medici from entering the church and instead prepares him for governor of the colony. In 1618, Carlo de Medici is sent to Firenze-sul-Rio to become the new governor. He develops the colony's infrastructure and makes the colony very profitable, thanks to its natural resources.
- Carlo's descendants serve as governors in the future. Cosimo II names them hereditary governors. Under them, the colony gradually became self-sufficient and very prosperous. Firenze-sul-Rio has become one of the most prosperous cities in the Americas.
- In 1737, Grand Duke Gian Gastone de Medici dies and Francis Stephen of Lorraine becomes the new grand duke as per the wishes of the great powers. Before he dies, Gian Gastone arranges for the colony to be made an independent state as part of the deal to make Francis Stephen his heir. His cousin, Giovanni de Medici is confirmed as the first Grand Duke of New Tuscany and the new head of the House of Medici, receiving the right to bear the coat of arms of the Tuscan grand duchy, which later becomes the coat of arms of New Tuscany. The Grand Duchy of New Tuscany becomes the first American country to obtain independence from Europe.
- During the Napoleonic Wars, Grand Duke Gian Gastone I de Medici allies New Tuscany with Great Britain and the coalitions, using the opportunity to capture Dutch Guiana and annex it to his own country, which is confirmed at the Congress of Vienna.
- During the Latin American Wars of Independence, New Tuscany becomes a bastion of peace and stability in an otherwise chaotic region and maintain neutrality. The liberal Grand Duke Rafaelo de Medici promulgates a constitution in 1832.
- New Tuscany maintains neutrality during the World Wars but aligns itself with the West during the Cold War and joins NATO in 1954.