WI: Charles V abdicated differently?

[ordinarylittleme]

What if Charles V split up his vast domains differently? If instead of passing on Sicily, Naples, Milan and Spain to his son, he gave them to his brother Ferdinand. And instead of passing on the Holy Roman Empire to his brother, he gave them to his son Philip.

 

[Tocomocho]

He technically couldn't do the latter because the HRE was elective. And his brother was already resident in Vienna and popular due to being the king of Bohemia and Hungary.

Sicily and Naples were part of the Crown of Aragon so they wouldn't be detached from it.

About the only plausible difference is sending the Burgundian inheritance and Milan to his brother too, but I suspect he didn't do that IOTL because he saw them (ironically) as more loyal and easier to hold by his son than the Austrian inheritance.

Best and most underrated POD would be either or both sons of Charles V that died in infancy surviving and the Burgundian, German, and Spanish possessions being partitioned between them.

 

[CalBear]

Please use the Pre-1900 Misc. thread for these sorts of WI.



You need to actually start a discussion not just ask a question or issue an AH challenge

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