As others have mentioned, Spain has dominance in the Americas and the Indian spice trade and are using that wealth to solidify control in the Western Mediterranean, as opposed to some of the other adventures/goals from the OTL. There has been some excellent work describing the economic transitions undergoing in Spain and some of the ways the State are trying to invest in infrastructure and tamper inflation. But inflation is definitely going to be a huge problem going forward as more people gather more wealth.
It is difficult to know where best to dump some of this investment. Clearly from an Iberian centric view you want more roads and bridges and ports and agricultural improvements and schools and hospitals and universities and administrators in Spain proper. But all that will only get you so far. Inheritance and land reforms could potentially help. But we also know we are going to see some beautiful churches and religious art.
But some of this wealth needs to be shifted to the colonises and the trade posts and potentially North Africa. Indeed, dumping a lot of investment into North Africa may end up being the next best because having your neighbours being well developed helps you to be more developed. But, it is doubtful to me that the Spanish will have either the ability, or the foresight to produce the right investment.
North Africa is getting more arid and we are seeing further desertification. I do not know enough about agriculture to know if the new pastoral lands could be re-converted back into agricultural land using technology and knowledge of the time, and would probably require far more control of the interior than Spain probably is willing to get into. However, if Spain decide that North Africa is their mission, the whole region could become very very different going forward. It could actually see war and rebellion further damage the environment. Again, the author can take it how they want to take it.
Another potential thing going forward if Spain really go deep into North Africa could be greater Spanish awareness of some of the cutting edge Islamic knowledge and research. As an example, could the Spanish get their heads around some of the work of Ibn Khaldun. Perhaps not, but certainly it would be interesting to see Spain carrying that work forward.
It is difficult to know where best to dump some of this investment. Clearly from an Iberian centric view you want more roads and bridges and ports and agricultural improvements and schools and hospitals and universities and administrators in Spain proper. But all that will only get you so far. Inheritance and land reforms could potentially help. But we also know we are going to see some beautiful churches and religious art.
But some of this wealth needs to be shifted to the colonises and the trade posts and potentially North Africa. Indeed, dumping a lot of investment into North Africa may end up being the next best because having your neighbours being well developed helps you to be more developed. But, it is doubtful to me that the Spanish will have either the ability, or the foresight to produce the right investment.
North Africa is getting more arid and we are seeing further desertification. I do not know enough about agriculture to know if the new pastoral lands could be re-converted back into agricultural land using technology and knowledge of the time, and would probably require far more control of the interior than Spain probably is willing to get into. However, if Spain decide that North Africa is their mission, the whole region could become very very different going forward. It could actually see war and rebellion further damage the environment. Again, the author can take it how they want to take it.
Another potential thing going forward if Spain really go deep into North Africa could be greater Spanish awareness of some of the cutting edge Islamic knowledge and research. As an example, could the Spanish get their heads around some of the work of Ibn Khaldun. Perhaps not, but certainly it would be interesting to see Spain carrying that work forward.
