There is potentially some connection due to similar language structure behind the names, but they are not connected in terms of a common mythological source.

PC -ness has turned Hermione and Mary Jane black and made Iron Man and other male Marvel characters female.

I will say that this has nothing to do with political correctness, and everything to do with the fact that you go with the actor/actress' performance skills in stage theater, not their looks.  Theater is full of non-typical castings like this.

As for the literature segment, I think that is more of "we have been milking this cash cow for so long we are running out of reboot ideas."

Although personally the change doesn't bother me in the slightest.  When there can be canon story lines of Batman taking place on "Everyone is a Pirate world" I think it's more that everything is prone to change rather than political correctness.

The soul of a ship is the power crystal.  I do not think there is anything special about the wood.  I would think the power of books is the power of the perserved Art, so in a way paintings and physical works of art would also possess soul.  Books may also gain a bit stronger importance by the fact that they hold knowledge as well.

My guess is that TWG is the focus of all monotheist faith (or All-Mighty faiths).  That would mean that he would have all three Abramic Faiths, Brahma from Hindu theology, Gitche Manitou from Algonquin tribes of the Great Lakes area.  That gives Him a much more overarching influence across multiple cultures that justifies the influence he holds instead of being entirely Judeo-Christian centered.

I guess where I sit is that I read TAW not as a future of humanity, but more of a alternate past in terms of cultures. 
I'll try to respond to this the best I can, but I am sure I will slip up in my words.

Steampunk (to my knowledge) tends to be heavily influenced by Victorian Age England and Europe if one goes international, so that is why the protagonists are all based on the UK and generally other European nations.  There are likely Steam punk stories that are based out of non-European countries, but I am not aware of any specific titles at this time. 

From what I can find, Spain at the time was in decline, and was one of the poorest countries in Europe at the loss of it's colonies, and could not readily compete with the UK.  The country was not able to easily develop itself to utilize it's own natural resources and fell behind on the world stage. 

Can the book be read as spreading bad stereotypes about Latin American governments?  I can understand that point of view, since a lot of the prejudice that can be cast against Spain can be cast against Latin America.  However, I am skeptical that Jim truly had any conscious or unconscious bias against Latin America or Spain in the context of the story.  I believe he drew his inspiration from the historical context of Spain in terms of culture, and so he has no intent in terms of spreading bad stereotypes or prejudice.

This video comes to mind every time I see this thread in my inbox

Hmmm, I guess by definition of the lift crystals, they cannot do that, and from the sounds of it, neither can the trim crystals.