One search of (my favourite) Wikipedia threw up the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_V_of_Portugal
QUOTE
Pedro V of Portugal (September 16, 1837 - November 11, 1861) was King of Portugal from 1853 to 1861.
He was the oldest son of Queen Maria da Glo'ria and her King-Consort Ferdinand II. Pedro was an unusually conscientious and hard-working monarch who, under the guidance of his father, sought radical modernisation of the Portuguese state and infrastructure. Under Pedro's reign, roads, telegraphs, and railways were constructed and improvements in public health advanced.
However, this was unable to save the life of the young king who died (along with his brother Ferdinand) of cholera in 1861. He was married to Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, but had no successors and the throne then passed to brother Luis.
ENDQUOTE
... and do you know about the soc.history.what-if network? http://groups-beta.google.com/group/soc.history.what-if/browse_frm/thread/455859521e2a145e/123390bf9351f18f?q=Goa+Portugal&_done=%2Fgroups%3Fq%3DGoa+Portugal%26start%3D10%26scoring%3Dd%26&_doneTitle=Back+to+Search&&d#123390bf9351f18f
Below is one good example of how well-reasoned speculations take place (WI stands for 'what if'):
WI: King Pedro V of Portugal survived the cholera outbreak of 1861
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Jan 1, 2:13 pm show options Newsgroups: soc.history.what-if Date: 1 Jan 2005 14:13:09 -0800 Subject: WI: King Pedro V of Portugal survived the cholera outbreak of 1861
And lived another 50 years, dying in 1911 at age 74.
In our time line Pedro was an able, effective administrator who built roads, telegraphs, hospitals, and otherwise attempted to modernize the country. Cholera put an end to that. The throne went to his younger brother, Luis, who had no interest in government, and thence to Luis' son, Carlos, who was well-intentioned but spendthrift. Under Luis and Carlos, Portugal stagnated, falling further and further behind the rest of Western Europe, and was declared bankrupt twice, in 1892 and 1902. Carlos and his eldest son, Luis Felipe, were assassinated in 1908, and Carlos' was succeeded by his second son, 19 y.o. Manuel II. Manuel was overthrown in 1910 and the Portuguese Republic was established.
But what if Pedro had survived the cholera epidemic and Portugal hadn't fallen behind?
-- Did Portugal become a constitutional monarchy? (I don't think it was already, was it?) -- Did Pedro produce an heir via his wife, Prince Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen? -- Were the Portugues the first Southern Europeans to emulate the social welfare experiments of the Scandivians et al.?
Eventually, Pedro realizes that with its Empire Portugal is expending more resources than it is gaining. In the summer of 1910, 18 months before his death, Pedro announces that he will auction off the following colonial assets to the highest bidder:
-- Angola -- Mozambique -- Portugues Guinea -- Cape Verde Islands -- Macau -- Goa & Dimiu
The bidding is open to: The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Imperial Russia, the United States, and Japan
Who gets what?
Do the Great Powers intervene?
Does Portugal make out like a bandit?
Is Pedro overthrown for this affront to Portuguese national pride? Or hailed as a savior?
Richard Jasper Ann Arbor, MI
ENDQUOTE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) Nr Convent Saligao 403511 GoaIndia Freelance Journalist P: 832-2409490 M: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://fn-floss.notlong.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://goabooks.swiki.net * Reviews of books on Goa... and more
