AHC - Bonapartist Finland
- Thread starter varyar
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Is it possible for Napoleon to marry a Russian princess instead of an Austrian one, and for their son or a later descendant to inherit the Grand Duchy of Finland?
If I recall correctly, Napoleon ended up marrying Marie Louise of Austria because Josephine did not give him an heir and he wanted to further his alliance with Austria. I may be mistaken but I do not believe that there were any Russian princesses available for Napoleon.
This is an interesting challenge and I will have to look more into the possibilities.
EDIT: According to Wikipedia: "His wish to marry Tsar Paul I of Russia's daughter, Grand Duchess Anna, caused alarm in Austria, who were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other. At the persuasion of Count Metternich, a marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise was suggested by Emperor Francis to the Count of Narbonne but no official overture was made by the Austrians. Though officials in Paris and Austria were beginning to accept the possibility of the union, Marie Louise was kept uninformed of developments.
Frustrated by the Russians delaying the marriage negotiations, Napoleon rescinded his proposal in late January 1810 and began negotiations to marry Marie Louise with the Austrian ambassador, the Prince of Schwarzenberg. Schwarzenberg signed the marriage contract on 7 February. Marie Louise was informed of the marriage by Metternich."
This is an interesting challenge and I will have to look more into the possibilities.
EDIT: According to Wikipedia: "His wish to marry Tsar Paul I of Russia's daughter, Grand Duchess Anna, caused alarm in Austria, who were afraid of being sandwiched between two great powers allied with each other. At the persuasion of Count Metternich, a marriage between Napoleon and Marie Louise was suggested by Emperor Francis to the Count of Narbonne but no official overture was made by the Austrians. Though officials in Paris and Austria were beginning to accept the possibility of the union, Marie Louise was kept uninformed of developments.
Frustrated by the Russians delaying the marriage negotiations, Napoleon rescinded his proposal in late January 1810 and began negotiations to marry Marie Louise with the Austrian ambassador, the Prince of Schwarzenberg. Schwarzenberg signed the marriage contract on 7 February. Marie Louise was informed of the marriage by Metternich."
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So if Napoleon had married Grand Duchess Anna, how would the inheritance laws work?
Tsar Paul I ended up passing the Pauline laws in 1797, which ended up changing the law set up by Peter the Great that the reigning emperor or empress could designate their heir. In essence, it would be a semi-Salic law of succession. However, I am not sure if the Russian nobles would be too keen on a Bonaparte inheriting the throne or being that close to the throne for that matter.
Napoleon marrying a Romanov would be crazy, but it just. might. work.After doing a bit more reading, I think that we may be going at this at the wrong angle. While it may seem that marrying a member of the Romanov dynasty would be a good idea, it is in my opinion that there would have to be more events to occur in order for anything close to inheriting the Grand Duchy of Finland to happen.
This time period is not exactly one that I read much into but, if I recall correctly, Napoleon had siblings and would have a son in 1811. Furthermore, a potential POD could be around the time of the Finnish War of 1808-1809. The Swedish were in a pretty tough position at that time and, if the French were more directly involved, it could open up possibilities for them. The only issue that I foresee is that Finland is quite far from France and I am not sure about the state of the French navy at that time.
This time period is not exactly one that I read much into but, if I recall correctly, Napoleon had siblings and would have a son in 1811. Furthermore, a potential POD could be around the time of the Finnish War of 1808-1809. The Swedish were in a pretty tough position at that time and, if the French were more directly involved, it could open up possibilities for them. The only issue that I foresee is that Finland is quite far from France and I am not sure about the state of the French navy at that time.
Maybe Bernadotte gets Sweden, French win an ATL coalition war with Sweden on their side, so Bernadotte gets Finland from the Russians, and then marries into the Bonaparte clan, and eventually one of his heirs doesn't have a male heir himself so a Bonaparte gets the Swedish and Finnish thrones.
If I am not mistaken, there is a current TL about Bernadotte (after his ascendancy to the throne) siding with Napoleon. I haven't had the time to look it over but the concept is interesting. However, IIRC Bernadotte and Napoleon did have some issues with one another OTL. I am not sure how plausible it would be to have him marry a Bonaparte. Another thing that I had noticed was that the Swedes were woefully unprepared for fighting in Finland and more concerned about the western front.
Of course, Bernadotte did have a connection with Napoleon. Bernadotte's wife, Desiree Clary, had a sister who married Napoleon's older brother, Joseph.
Of course, Bernadotte did have a connection with Napoleon. Bernadotte's wife, Desiree Clary, had a sister who married Napoleon's older brother, Joseph.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...rgeant-and-a-little-corsican-corporal.393195/
Here's the link to the TL that I mentioned. The most recent update has the Crown Prince (Bernadotte) making moves into Finland. I must say that it is definitely a well written piece of alternate history.
Here's the link to the TL that I mentioned. The most recent update has the Crown Prince (Bernadotte) making moves into Finland. I must say that it is definitely a well written piece of alternate history.
The bride Napoleon really wanted for himself was neither of the girl of who he asked to marry but Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia, Anna's older sister (who OTL was married to Geoge of Oldemburg and became Crown Princess and then Queen of Württemberg with her second wedding). If she had not be already married Alexander will be unlikely able to deny his sister's hand to Napoleon without insulting him (Anna was too young for marry while Ekaterina, like Marie Louise, had the right age).
If Ekaterina is still free will really Alexander decide to risk or fight a war only for not marrying Ekaterina to Napoleon? I do not think who his mother's influence will be enough for that or also Alexander's own opinion of Napoleon if was unfavorable... Better sacrificing his sister to an unappy marriage to a very powerful parveneu than broke an useful alliance and fight a war...
Why would the refusal of marriage result in a war with Napoleon? It didn't OTL which resulted in Napoleon going to the Austrians. The resulting war was caused by Napoleon's actions over a few years.
If there is accuracy in the sources that I have read then Alexander, while on decent terms with Napoleon, was still cautious. He was also described as an enigma by contemporaries and a "shifty Byzantine" by none other than Napoleon. While his mother's influence may not be enough there is still the factor of his personality. Personality isn't something that is immediate. To put it simply, personality is developed over time and if there is to be a different Alexander in regard to personality then you need to go back to his childhood. However, with a POD like that one can only imagine the butterflies...
If there is accuracy in the sources that I have read then Alexander, while on decent terms with Napoleon, was still cautious. He was also described as an enigma by contemporaries and a "shifty Byzantine" by none other than Napoleon. While his mother's influence may not be enough there is still the factor of his personality. Personality isn't something that is immediate. To put it simply, personality is developed over time and if there is to be a different Alexander in regard to personality then you need to go back to his childhood. However, with a POD like that one can only imagine the butterflies...
Because OTL Alexander hastly married off Ekaterina before Napoleon was free to ask her hand and Anna was really too young for the marriage and Napoleon needed to marry and have a son as soon was possible and Alexander instead of refusing his sister's hand to Napoleon played on her age. If Napoleon ask the hand of Ekaterina, Alexander's choices will be of said yes or no. If he refuse his sister's hand to his ally he will almost surely broke that alliance and likely obtain a declaration of war for having insulted Napoleon and his honor (and Alexander will not be able do deny that)
But his mother arranged the marriage of Ekaterina. The dowager empress, according to a source, was the cause of the delay in the response in regard to Napoleon's request for Anna's hand. The dowager empress was still a factor. I am sure that we can agree that without Maria Feodorovna in the picture that things would have gone differently as far as the marriage proposals are concerned. She was highly respected by the family and was often asked for advice in regard to important matters. Have her die off and Alexander will be forced to make that decision on his own without his mother's influence clouding things up.