Could Númenor Have Been Redeemed?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by skip spence

Depends on what you mean by wisdom. The Numenoreans, being Men, would eventually have sailed to Valinor regardless of Sauron's influence. Maybe not with the explicit intent of making war but still.

Would they? It took Sauron lying personally to an old King who feared death to set them on their way. And even after all Sauron's efforts, Pharazôn was that close to calling it all off when he came in sight of Valinor.
Had Sauron not been taken to Númenor, I think they would have continued on as conquerers of Middle-earth, despots ruling over the Men there. After all, that was Pharazôn's motivation for going to war with Sauron in the first place- to challange his supremacy in Middle-earth. If he had been content with Sauron's defeat, and perhaps established a kingdom there, I think it possible that prolonged contact with 'lesser' mortal Men might have given his successors pause. Maybe if their interests had been more established in the East, they would have turned their backs on the West. I'm not saying that what they created would have been as noble as what the Faithful did with Arnor and Gondor, but surely it would still have been better for them than making war on the Valar.