AHC: Habsburg Kingdom of Italy

With any POD you wish after 1770, try to create a Habsburg led state in Italy that later unites the peninsula.

The main problems that comes to my attention is Metternich who was set on turning back the clock to pre FRW borders and the fact that the Habsburgs seemed to have little interest in consolidating their holdings in Italy.
 
With any POD you wish after 1770, try to create a Habsburg led state in Italy that later unites the peninsula.

The main problems that comes to my attention is Metternich who was set on turning back the clock to pre FRW borders and the fact that the Habsburgs seemed to have little interest in consolidating their holdings in Italy.
Not quite. Metternich's goal was to create a stable Europe where status quo could be maintained (and Austria's position) with no Great Power too powerful. Considering the amount of land exchanges that happened at the Congress, he had little interest in completely pulling the clock back completely.

Speaking of Metternich, one of his failed project was to introduce an 'Italian League' modeled after his German Confederation, but the monarchs of the region refused.

So, I can think of two ideas and they both involve Leopold II of Tuscany:

1) The Italian League is founded, bringing the Italian states a little bit closer earlier. Some kind of Zollverein may happen as well later on. When Vienna is distracted by Prussians or angry Liberals, their power erodes in Italy and Leopold II takes the reins. Eventually, the Italian states are united by Tuscany instead of Sardinia. After all, Leopold sympathised with the Italian nationalists and was well-liked before Vienna forced his hands after 1848.

2) Leopold, as per OTL, supports the revolutionaries in Milan, although perhaps even more. Somehow, the Austrians are less succesful (perhaps their distractions are more severe elsewhere and Radetzky is sent elsewhere). Leopold then secures leadership of the Italian revolutionaries (perhaps by telling Vienna that a Italian Habsburg is better for them than Vienna herself or, worse, a Savoyard). Either the Savoyards hesitate to take advantage of the situation or Leopold beats them.

Either way, I think Leopold is the only choice, but his credibility was destroyed by, ironically, the Austrian victory.

Of course, number 2 can happen with PoD 1, but the first one can have more severe butterflies by the time 1848 hits.
 
I agree with @Magyarország. If there is a chance, then it resides in the person of Leopold II of Tuscany.

I like the idea about Radetzky being sent elsewhere in 1848. We have too few timelines about alt-1848s...
 
Not quite. Metternich's goal was to create a stable Europe where status quo could be maintained (and Austria's position) with no Great Power too powerful. Considering the amount of land exchanges that happened at the Congress, he had little interest in completely pulling the clock back completely.

Speaking of Metternich, one of his failed project was to introduce an 'Italian League' modeled after his German Confederation, but the monarchs of the region refused.

So, I can think of two ideas and they both involve Leopold II of Tuscany:

1) The Italian League is founded, bringing the Italian states a little bit closer earlier. Some kind of Zollverein may happen as well later on. When Vienna is distracted by Prussians or angry Liberals, their power erodes in Italy and Leopold II takes the reins. Eventually, the Italian states are united by Tuscany instead of Sardinia. After all, Leopold sympathised with the Italian nationalists and was well-liked before Vienna forced his hands after 1848.

2) Leopold, as per OTL, supports the revolutionaries in Milan, although perhaps even more. Somehow, the Austrians are less succesful (perhaps their distractions are more severe elsewhere and Radetzky is sent elsewhere). Leopold then secures leadership of the Italian revolutionaries (perhaps by telling Vienna that a Italian Habsburg is better for them than Vienna herself or, worse, a Savoyard). Either the Savoyards hesitate to take advantage of the situation or Leopold beats them.

Either way, I think Leopold is the only choice, but his credibility was destroyed by, ironically, the Austrian victory.

Of course, number 2 can happen with PoD 1, but the first one can have more severe butterflies by the time 1848 hits.
I've been reading up on Metternich's proposed Italian League and he seemed to make headway in convincing Alexander of it's necessity but his major obstacle was the Pope (as always) who ordered the Spanish delegation to reject such a proposal.

It's also worth noting that Metternich specifically designed the league so that it would prevent Italian unification. Not that that was able to stop Prussia in Germany but still.
 
I don't think there is an "Italy."

Still, if you get a queen ruling Savoy/Sardinia who marries into the Hapsburgs...
 
I've been reading up on Metternich's proposed Italian League and he seemed to make headway in convincing Alexander of it's necessity but his major obstacle was the Pope (as always) who ordered the Spanish delegation to reject such a proposal.

It's also worth noting that Metternich specifically designed the league so that it would prevent Italian unification. Not that that was able to stop Prussia in Germany but still.
Metternich also wanted not only the entire Austrian Empire (yes, including the whole Kingdom of Hungary and Galicia) AND the Italian states into the Zollverein, which seems completely nuts at first, but would've seriously weaken Prussia even without the Italians or Hungarians.
 
Metternich also wanted not only the entire Austrian Empire (yes, including the whole Kingdom of Hungary and Galicia) AND the Italian states into the Zollverein, which seems completely nuts at first, but would've seriously weaken Prussia even without the Italians or Hungarians.
That sounds a lot like trying to reinstate the Holy Roman Empire.
 
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