If a Japanese expedition attacked Spanish America from the Pacific, Dutch and English forces might have exploited the opportunity from another direction. Possible territorial gains would have competed with James I's interest in better relations with Spain. An initial suggestion involving Drake is corrected because he had died in 1596; Raleigh supplies a surviving candidate for the imagined English role. Japanese footholds in Mexico, South America or California could then have changed the later balance in North America. These possibilities extend the counterfactual response to the ship seizure; the expedition did not happen.
Notable Point · 1:59:20-2:02:46
Japanese, Dutch and English pressure on Spanish America
A Japanese expedition against Spanish America might have created opportunities for Dutch and English attacks and new territorial footholds.