The two kingdoms might get united into one completely like in OTL..
Una diferente ‘Plus Ultra’ - the Avís-Trastámara Kings of All Spain and the Indies (Updated 11/7)
- Thread starter Torbald
- Start date
Mary Tudor the elder (the sister of Henry VIII, not his daughter) and Anna of Bohemia & Hungary were both considered for Charles V IOTL too. Without the whole Iberian Inheritance, marriage politics will be much more determined by Habsburg and Imperial interests (in that order). When I had some thoughts about no Iberian Inheritance, it was always more from the Austro-Burgundian perspective (for obvious reasons
).TBH not a big fan about the Spain backstabbing their Habsburg ally, but also Savoy, and giving the French free reign in Northern Italy. The valid concerns, which brought both houses together still stand, the marriages were used to seal this alliance. The OTL Iberian Inheritance was like winning the dynastic jackpot, Ferdinand had a better chance at inheriting Bohemia & Spain, than Charles V had at gaining the thrones of Castille & Aragon. (By which I mean fewer people had to die to make the former happen, than the latter.)
The Habsburgs like OTL may have wanted the duchy of Milan, but realistically restoring the duchy of Milan to the house of Sforza and getting the house of Savoy their duchy back, probably is the best they can do ITTL, since that would be something they could get enough support for to make that happen. Not to mention, that even more than IOTL the restoration of the duchy of Burgundy will be a dream, and ITTL Charles V (or Philip the Handsome) doesn't have the means to pursue that dream (though duke of Burgundy will remain a prominent Habsburg dynastic title).
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You're closer than you know, one might even say spot on
Without the whole Iberian Inheritance, marriage politics will be much more determined by Habsburg and Imperial interests (in that order). When I had some thoughts about no Iberian Inheritance, it was always more from the Austro-Burgundian perspective (for obvious reasons
That's right. Both Spanish and Imperial internal affairs are going to improve quite a bit more than OTL without the strain of OTL's interdependence. The empire under the Hapsburgs is going to be a different animal entirely ITTL - certainly a more cohesive unit.
From the Spanish perspective ITTL it wasn't seen as much of a betrayal: the Hapsburgs were just one party among many during the first Italian War, and were completely uninvolved in the second, so at this point in time the dispute over Italy is seen much more as French and Spanish head-butting than as a specifically French-Imperial conflict. Maximilian is a proud and ambitious man, and is much less hurt by the Spanish backing out than he is frustrated by the fact that such backing-out leaves him without a southern front against the French. Regardless, things aren't over between France and Spain, and although Fernando was able to procure a diplomatic safeguard against another French-Spanish conflict for the foreseeable future, Spain and France are simply going to remain fundamentally at odds in their respective ambitions. You are also absolutely right that the Avís-Trastámaras and the Hapsburgs, albeit estranged for the present, will remain allies by necessity.
Although the Hapsburgs are going to have to contend with the French without explicit assistance from Spain for a while, the fact that Louis XII resumed hostilities with the Spaniards after it should have been clear to him that he had been soundly defeated has cut the French presence in Northern Italy to ribbons (another reason the Spanish don't believe they left the French with "free rein"). If they are willing to pour in the resources, it is not too outlandish for the Hapsburgs to swoop in and requisition the duchy of Milan in the name of Imperial territorial integrity - as for the duchy of Savoy, while it is certainly under the de facto control of the French (military occupation for the sake of maintaining supply lines and ensuring loyalty from the local authorities, really), the Duke of Savoy, Philibert II, is still techically in charge (I apologize for not making this more clear in the last update). You are right that reclaiming the traditional Duchy of Burgundy will remain a pipe dream for the Hapsburgs, but now that the Spanish front against the French is fading away, the Hapsburgs will be investing far more in the Burgundian Netherlands. Also, your comment reminded me: I have been reading Spain by Robert Goodwin (great book btw) and I find it fascinating just how French Charles V was, at least in regard to French being his first language and also regarding his sentimental attachment to Old Burgundy...
Manuel I of Portugal was adamant in preserving Portugal's separateness in OTL when he and the Infanta Isabel made their oath before the Cortes of Castile, and the fact remains that Portugal, by this point, has already achieved enough of an overseas presence (not to mention painstakingly carved out its own American empire in the Treaty of Tordesillas) that granting the much more populous Castile freedom of trade and movement in what were supposed to be exclusively Portuguese colonies would prompt a full-scale rebellion on the part of Portugal's wealthier magnates. Considering Manuel possibly received his crown through a trail of assassinations, the aforementioned magnates would have no problem producing a pretender to the throne. Manuel and his son Miguel are definitely going to have to sell this Iberian union to the primarily Portuguese dissenters, assuring them that it will be a Portuguese, rather than a Castilian or Aragonese, "conquest." However, one of the major problems Portugal had in its imperial aspirations were both the brusqueness of its diplomacy in Asia and Africa and its frequent lack of access to silver bullion. Given the outrageous amounts of silver the Spanish are going to have access to as well as the slightly more tactful diplomatic approach of the Castilians, the Portuguese are going to find their colonies much more widespread and well-financed than in OTL.
I think Portuguese can eclipse castillan if Portuguese becomes the linguafranca of the iberian peninsula and portuguese immigrants go to new spain..
I think Castile would be contained in the americas..
Ooooh, a Isabella II scenario? I am always in favour for a iberian union, non hapsburg style. Will watch!
You're closer than you know, one might even say spot on
That's right. Both Spanish and Imperial internal affairs are going to improve quite a bit more than OTL without the strain of OTL's interdependence. The empire under the Hapsburgs is going to be a different animal entirely ITTL - certainly a more cohesive unit.
IOTL before Maximilian and Vladislaus of Bohemia & Hungary agreed upon the double marriage treaty, Louis of Bohemia & Hungary would marry Mary of Austria and Anna of Bohemia & Hungary was to marry a Habsburg male (either Ferdinand or Charles), there was an inheritance treaty. IOTL securing Bohemia & Hungary for the Habsburg dynasty (again) was a policy priority for Maximilian, ITTL without the Spanish inheritance this will get an even higher priority.
Everything is a matter of perspective. However the outcome certainly didn't go down very well in Vienna and possibly in other parts of the Empire. Firstly Northern Italy, basically everything north of the Papal States, except Venice, was a part of the Empire. More importantly, Milan had a high strategic value, hence why IOTL Charles V and Ferdinand of Austria had a dispute over which branch of the dynasty would get the duchy of Milan; from the duchy of Milan the Austrian Hereditary Lands can be threatened, this was already was a big issue with the Burgundian Inheritance, so France being able to threaten both the Habsburg core territories would be something they want to change.
I'd say, Charles/Karel V thought of himself as a Burgundian (French was his first language, but he also spoke Dutch and learned Spanish), IIRC he even wrote to Philip II Borgoña, la nuestra patria (I hope I didn't butcher the Spanish too much, I know Dutch, English, German and some French, but I never studied the Spanish language; it should say Burgundy, our fatherland). Even IOTL the Burgundian Netherlands were important for the Habsburgs, they were very wealthy and they generated a high structural income for the Habsburgs (in terms of taxes etc.). Charles V, as a native, he was born in Ghent and raised in Mechelen/Malines and the Coudenberg palace in Brussels, Charles had a relative easy job to keep them in line; Philip II, as a foreigner, never had the same level of understanding of the region. In the Low Countries Philip II is remembered much (much) worse than his father Charles V, whereas I know that in Spain Philip II arguably is remembered as the better monarch. Charles V travelled a lot, and IOTL Philip II made a promise to the Estates General of the Burgundian Netherlands, that he would visit from time to time, which he never did after his first visit. Not to mention, that Philip II employed far fewer 'Burgundian' Nobles in the administration of the Burgundian Netherlands. Long story short, IOTL the reign of Philip II marks the point, where the Habsburgs shifted away their interests from the Burgundian Inheritance, while they still wanted to reap the benefits. IMHO the Burgundian Inheritance would have been better off under the Austrian branch of the house of Habsburg; there they would have been relatively more important and their monarch would have been weaker and thus more pragmatic.
So out of this we might actually see Charles V be able to pull the HRE into a more cohesive Empire? I feel like without the Spanish distraction he would be able to tie the various members of the HRE into solidified front. Of course without the Tercios to back him up he'll have to pull out some more of his diplomatic skills.
And moreover we could see a Habsburg dynasty ruling the HRE out of the Burgundian realm rather than focused from Austria
And moreover we could see a Habsburg dynasty ruling the HRE out of the Burgundian realm rather than focused from Austria
3. Austria est imperio optime unita (1499)
~ Austria est imperio optime unita ~
The Swabian War of 1499
Der Kaiser, Maximilian I
The Swabian War of 1499
Der Kaiser, Maximilian I
While Louis XII was commencing his designs on the duchy of Milan, another conflict was brewing to the north. The Hapsburgs were a Swiss family, by origin, and their gradual accession to Archdukes of Austria and eventual Holy Roman Emperors was concurrent with the equally gradual loss of their ancestral Swiss holdings. Since the 13th century, the cantons of the Swiss Confederacy had made a habit of absorbing Hapsburg domains piecemeal, leaving them with territories that existed only on the periphery of the Swiss plateau. This made for an inconvenient situation for the Hapsburgs, who, as Emperors, needed access to as many Alpine passes as was possible for the sake of maintaining a coherent link with Imperial Italy. This constant shuffle over control of the Alps would boil over into open warfare in January of 1499.
(Cream: Hapsburgs, Green: Swiss Confederacy, Red: Three Leagues of Grisons, Yellow: other Swiss cantons)
What began as a local struggle for control over the eastern Umbrail Pass between Austrian forces and the “Three Leagues” of Grisons grew into what would later be named the Swabian War, after both the name of its relative geographic placement and also the involvement of the Swabian League (an alliance system containing the Hapsburgs, Ansbach, Baden, Bavaria, Bayreuth, Hesse, Mainz, the Electorate of the Palatinate, Trier, Tyrol, and Württemberg). The war started out very poorly for the Hapsburgs, with defeats on the Swiss frontier at Hard, Bruderholz, and Schwaderloh. However, the unfolding of the Second Italian War to the south began affecting profound changes in the Hapsburgs’ fortunes.
Der Schwäbische Krieg
Before invading Northern Italy, Louis XII reached an agreement with the Swiss Confederacy for as many mercenaries as he requested in exchange for an annual subsidy of 20,000 francs. Louis XII would overestimate the resistance he would encounter and ended up hiring 8,000 before his invasion was even underway. The number of Swiss troops participating in the Second Italian war (on both sides) would eventually reach as many as 16,000, with Swiss transient workers, merchants, and unaligned sellswords raising that number to 25,000 - a number which, out of an adult male population of around 200,000, the Swiss could not so easily replace, especially in terms of its population of experienced and outfitted troops. With so much real and potential soldiery absent from Switzerland for the foreseeable future, a single devastating defeat was all that it would take for the Hapsburgs to bowl over the Swiss defenses.
The real turn of the tide came on the 20th of April, 1499, near the Tyrolean town of Frastanz. Aware of Frastanz’s strong fortifications, the Swiss commander Heinrich Wolleb sent a 2,000 man detachment from his 9,000 strong army over the Roya mountain to attack the Hapsburg camp from the side, while the remaining contingent, led by Ulrich von Sax, stayed back to prevent the Hapsburgs, led by Burkhard von Knörringen, from advancing.. However, the surprise contingent was tardy in its arrival, and with the Hapsburgs appearing to strike camp, von Sax attempted to drive them into the river Ill. Von Sax was mistaken, however, and the Hapsburg line that was pulling back was really giving way to another, more defensively positioned line of landsknechts, who repulsed the Swiss charge while a company of Tyrolean knights supported with a flanking maneuver, dispersing von Sax’s men. Wolleb arrived while von Sax’s columns were in full rout, and therefore lacked the panned double front. Wolleb’s troops would be forced to retreat as, doing minimal damage, after Wolleb himself was slain by a Hapsburg arquebusier. In total, the Hapsburgs lost close to 800 men, while Swiss casualties were greater than 2,000. Von Knörringen was wary to advance from the safety of Frastanz, but after a week without any nearby Swiss activity, he advanced westwards, securing Thurgau and ensuring the neutrality of Appenzell and St. Gallen.
(1: Wolleb's advance, 2a: von Sax's advance, 2b: von Sax's retreat, 3: Hapsburg encampment)
The surprise Hapsburg victory at Frastanz would be soon be followed by another at the battle of the Thur (also known as the Battle of Weinfelden). On May 1st, with an army supplemented by Hapsburg reinforcements ferried across the Bodensee, von Knörringen and the newly arrived Heinrich von Fürstenberg faced a Swiss army of 3,000, which their army of 6,500 made short work of, killing or capturing 1,500 Swiss troops in a mere forty minute battle - all at the cost of 900 of their own. The battle of Calven (against the forces of the Three Leagues), which occurred 25 days later, would, in contrast, end in victory for the Swiss, but a pyrrhic one - with 2,300 dead against the Hapsburg’s 3,700 dead. The Swiss would also be unable to replicate such a favorable outcome, and the Three Leagues gradually became overrun, with Hapsburg forces occupying the city of Chur on June 29th.
The inevitability of a Hapsburg siege of the major canton cities and the failure of Swiss armies to maintain their initial string of victories caused a great deal of instability and suspicion in the Swiss Confederacy. As the Confederacy (Eidgenossenschaft) was truly only a loose alliance of cities and their rural dependencies, the Confederate bond was one that could be much more easily dissolved than that of, say, one within a traditional feudal monarchy at the time. Consequently, following the battle of the Thur, the Great Council of Zürich began to deliberate on whether or not surrender to the Hapsburgs might be the more prudent course of action. This would be a debate that would last two months, with a significant amount of opposition and democratic chaos. Whatever the case, the Great Council’s mind was made up upon receiving news of the battles of Biederthal (July 10th) - wherein 15,000 Hapsburg troops lured the Swiss onto more even terrain and broke their line, routing their 6,000 man army - and of Kleinhüningen (July 13th) - wherein the Swiss army broken at Biederthal was wiped out to the immediate north of the prominent canton city of Basel. The Great Council of Zürich ordered an envoy to the camp of Heinrich von Fürstenberg, who was now in the process of occupying the Toggenburg region, and presented him with their official terms of surrender on July 21st.
Die Front (c. July 21st 1499)
While Zürich had requested specifically that it be allowed to persist as a full member of the Swiss Confederacy and that no Hapsburg troops be billeted within its walls, Heinrich von Fürstenberg nonetheless ordered the occupation of the city as a springboard into the heart of the Confederacy, thereby hoping to possibly evoke a similar response from Lucerne or Schwyz. The sudden capitulation and occupation of Zürich sent the other members of the Confederacy into a panic. Able bodied Swiss men were leaving for Northern Italy in droves, and the Hapsburgs seemed unfazed by the casualties they had sustained while each fallen Swiss soldier was a blow to the very foundations of each canton - Bern, the Confederacy’s center of gravity, had alone lost 4,000 troops in the battles of Biederthal and Kleinhüningen. The time had come for peace. As the Swiss Confederacy held a prominent position in the Empire and thus never feared that it would be fully dissolved, the worst that could come of surrender would be war reparations. The cantons of Bern, Schwyz, Lucerne, and Fribourg sent an embassy to Maximilian, which arrived on September 2nd.
Die Freie Stadt Zürich
In the consequent Treaty of Konstanz (ratified by all interested parties on October 15th, 1499), Maximilian was thorough in his terms, bordering on vengeful: Zürich and its pale would become an Imperial city separate from the Swiss Confederacy, the remaining Swiss Confederacy (now primarily just Bern, Fribourg, Schwyz and Lucerne) would join the Swabian League, and the Cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell, Schaffhausen and Basel were both formally severed of any ties to the Swiss Confederacy and also placed under Hapsburg hegemony as nominally autonomous dependencies with Imperial immediacy (that is, no hierarchy between them and the Emperor). A great deal of northern Swiss hinterland including Thurgau was also directly requisitioned, establishing a land corridor connecting Hapsburgs’ possessions in Tyrol, Further Austria, and the Free County of Burgundy.
Der Vertrag von Konstanz (October 15th, 1499)
(Cream: Hapsburg possessions and de facto controlled Swiss cantons, Gold: the Imperial City of Zürich, Purple: the remains of the Swiss Confederacy, Pink: the remains of the Three Leagues, Blue: the canton of Basel, Other Colors: associate cantons)
With the Swiss nuisance battered into submission, Maximilian shifted his attention to Imperial reform. In the late 15th century, Christendom had begun to feel in full the exhaustive consequences of its traditional blood feuds. In the eyes of many Europeans, violent quarrels between their princes had brought nothing but butcher and discord, while the demesne of Christ was being chiseled away by heathen and heretic alike. In 1453, the Ottoman Turk had done the unthinkable and wiped out the last vestige of the Roman Empire, and now strode about the Balkans virtually unopposed. Yet the great Christian kings continued to drown their land in Christian blood for the smallest concessions of marches, castles, and titles. Fortunately, not all the potentates of Europe were ignorant of their kingdoms’ fractured state, nor of the dangers posed by encroaching infidels. While centuries of division in the Iberian peninsula and the consequent bloodshed had created a general desire for peace and unity that culminated in the birth of Miguel da Paz, similar developments were taking place in the Holy Roman Empire. At the Diet of Worms in 1495, Maximilian had signed into Imperial law the “Ewiger Landfriede” (“Perpetual Peace”) as an attempt to curb the amount of private feuds in the Empire. While the widespread non observance of this decree was made painfully obvious by the Swabian War, Maximilian would attempt to enforce it with a vengeance in the coming decades.
A.E.I.O.U.
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So that was intended to be a short update, but it kinda got away from me. Sorry for the length
Everything you've said is correct - the Hapsburg marriages are going to proceed similarly to how you predict them. Also the French are still in Milan and (if you noticed) Maximilian was not present for the treaty ending the Second Italian War (he was IOTL, wherein he actually ratified France's conquests in Northern Italy), so there is going to be another Italian War very soon. Lastly, the Hapsburgs are indeed going to be negotiating the German situation with a much smaller power base than in OTL, and therefore will have to be much less heavy-handed - which will actually work out in their favor in the long run, especially when the Reformation rolls around and the Dutch start agitating for freedom.
The Hapsburgs are certainly going to expend a much greater amount of their energy and resources on purely Imperial projects ITTL, albeit the Empire is a playground with a lot of kids, so you're right that the Hapsburg emperors are therefore going to have to be much more conciliatory than OTL.
Also, with Further Austria and the Franche-Comte made a contiguous part of their realm, you are probably right that the Hapsburgs won't be spending as much of their time in Vienna.
I thought about it, actually, and that would definitely make an interesting timeline. However, I feel that, given their position, the Austro-Burgundian Hapsburgs simply have too many powerful people they would upset and incentivize if they were to abandon the Church. Also, while a turn to Protestantism might grant the Hapsburgs carte blanche in confiscating the vast amount of Church land in the Empire, I don't think they would be willing to forsake their electors like that and risk either an enormous loss of prestige and legitimacy or an outright civil war.
Everything you've said is correct - the Hapsburg marriages are going to proceed similarly to how you predict them. Also the French are still in Milan and (if you noticed) Maximilian was not present for the treaty ending the Second Italian War (he was IOTL, wherein he actually ratified France's conquests in Northern Italy), so there is going to be another Italian War very soon. Lastly, the Hapsburgs are indeed going to be negotiating the German situation with a much smaller power base than in OTL, and therefore will have to be much less heavy-handed - which will actually work out in their favor in the long run, especially when the Reformation rolls around and the Dutch start agitating for freedom.
The Hapsburgs are certainly going to expend a much greater amount of their energy and resources on purely Imperial projects ITTL, albeit the Empire is a playground with a lot of kids, so you're right that the Hapsburg emperors are therefore going to have to be much more conciliatory than OTL.
Also, with Further Austria and the Franche-Comte made a contiguous part of their realm, you are probably right that the Hapsburgs won't be spending as much of their time in Vienna.
I thought about it, actually, and that would definitely make an interesting timeline. However, I feel that, given their position, the Austro-Burgundian Hapsburgs simply have too many powerful people they would upset and incentivize if they were to abandon the Church. Also, while a turn to Protestantism might grant the Hapsburgs carte blanche in confiscating the vast amount of Church land in the Empire, I don't think they would be willing to forsake their electors like that and risk either an enormous loss of prestige and legitimacy or an outright civil war.
Oh my in one fell swoop you've cut the head off a painfully annoying snake. I utterly love it
The more diplomatic approach will definitely pay dividends in the long term within the HRE though even without the Spanish possessions the Habsburgs still possess the wealth of the Burgundian lands which will soon enough equal if not surpass Americas gold and silver. Now I'm praying they can hold it.
Question. Since the Habsburgs are now dominating so much of the Swiss could they start employing them as the backbone of their armies?
The more diplomatic approach will definitely pay dividends in the long term within the HRE though even without the Spanish possessions the Habsburgs still possess the wealth of the Burgundian lands which will soon enough equal if not surpass Americas gold and silver. Now I'm praying they can hold it.
Question. Since the Habsburgs are now dominating so much of the Swiss could they start employing them as the backbone of their armies?
Oh my in one fell swoop you've cut the head off a painfully annoying snake. I utterly love it
The more diplomatic approach will definitely pay dividends in the long term within the HRE though even without the Spanish possessions the Habsburgs still possess the wealth of the Burgundian lands which will soon enough equal if not surpass Americas gold and silver. Now I'm praying they can hold it.
Question. Since the Habsburgs are now dominating so much of the Swiss could they start employing them as the backbone of their armies?
You're right about the Burgundian inheritance - even with all of their American possessions in OTL, the Spanish Empire still received most of its revenue from the Netherlands for the longest time!
As for the Swiss, there's probably slightly too much instability and bad blood for the Hapsburgs to start recruiting their mercenaries right away, but with Hapsburg dominance in Switzerland solidifying, the French continuing their aggression, and the Fuggers emerging, we'll see plenty of Swiss on the Imperial payroll in the near future.
Iberian spreading the gospel in africa? Nice.
Question, will Isabella II and Manuel have more children? A second son and a infanta perhaps?
Question, will Isabella II and Manuel have more children? A second son and a infanta perhaps?
4. El Estado del Reino - Part I: Un tiempo de preparación
~ El estado del reino ~
Part I: Un tiempo de preparación
Iberian Peninsula c. 1500-1515
- El acuerdo de Montehermoso y la educación de Miguel I -
Part I: Un tiempo de preparación
Iberian Peninsula c. 1500-1515
- El acuerdo de Montehermoso y la educación de Miguel I -
The Treaty of Montehermoso, signed after a few months of complicated bartering by the Catholic Monarchs and Manuel I, provided the framework for the upbringing of Miguel I and the nature of the union of Portugal, Castile, and Aragon.
- The Treaty of Tordesillas (June 7, 1494) and its Papal supplement, Inter caetera, were to be upheld as they were currently interpreted.
- The respective Cortes of Portugal, Castile, and Aragon shall continue to function separately.
- Military cooperation and freedom of movement between the three kingdoms shall only be allowed under royal prerogative and by direct order.
- Miguel shall reside exclusively in Portugal for the first 13 years of his life, after which he shall reside in Portugal, Castile, and Aragon each for 1/3rd of the year (January-April in Castile, May-August in Aragon, and September-December in Portugal).
The ambitious Manuel and the wily Fernando contended strenuously for the mind of Miguel, but the truly decisive influence in the development of the young Infante’s temperament and conscience was none other than his mother and grandmother. The Infanta Isabel was defined by her religious devotion, indeed, she was hardly ever seen apart from her rosary and prayed the hours diligently every day - both habits that Miguel would follow to the letter. Also, the Infanta possessed a remarkable level of physical courage despite her own frailness - being present for many of her parents military exploits (such as the siege of Granada) - which was a trait which Miguel would mirror (himself also never being very strong in constitution). Isabel of Castile, meanwhile, would raise Miguel with the same unique brand of sternness and affection with which she raised her eldest daughter. Miguel would inherit much of Fernando’s political savviness and Manuel’s sense of thrift and capability for multitasking, but more than either of these would Miguel take to his mother and grandmother's fervent piety, their ardor for law and order, and their belief in Spain’s prophetic role as champion of the cross and a guiding light unto the world.
Miguel "da Paz", Príncipe de Asturias, Gerona y Beira
(La izquierda: c. 1498, La derecha: c. 1515, Un poco antes de su coronación como rey de Castilla)
Miguel’s mother, the Infanta Isabel, bore three more children after him, two daughters and another son - Maria (October 17th, 1500), who died at the age of 4, Beatriz (April 9th, 1502), and Fernando (December 8th, 1504) - the Infanta would never quite recover from the exhaustion of the latter's birth, which, combined with the cold of winter, caused severe complications for the Infanta, who would ultimately die many years later on October 18th, 1511 at the age of 41. Isabel of Castile loved her children dearly, and, just as the death of the Infante Juan had nearly caused her to die of sorrow, the death of her eldest, favorite daughter exhausted what remained of her formerly indefatigable resolve. On December 3rd, 1513, Isabel of Castile passed away at the age of 62, having been struggling with a long, sporadic decline in health since the death of the Infante Juan in 1497. As Isabel had outlived her daughter, Miguel was set to succeed her directly. However, Miguel, being only 15 at the time, was still in his minority, and thus Fernando was named regent of Castile, a position he would hold until Miguel was to accede to the throne two years later, on September 12th 1515.
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So ITTL would Miguel adopt Plus Ultra as his motto like Charles V did in ours? Just asking since the phrase is in the title.
And with the Habsburgs if an alt Charles is born on schedule we could see Ghent becoming the new alt TL Vienna for the now Burgundian based Habsburg dynasty to rule the HRE from. I can definitely see Alt TL Charles putting his brother Ferdinand as King of Hungary while his elder son as ruler of the HRE and all Habsburg lands therein. And moreover will the reformation go as well as it did with the Habsburg not as distracted with such a far flung empire?
More importantly Will we be seeing a possible collaboration between the Habsburgs and the Avis-Trastamara against the Turks? And even the French?
So many questions and overall I'm super happy to be seeing this TL being made
And with the Habsburgs if an alt Charles is born on schedule we could see Ghent becoming the new alt TL Vienna for the now Burgundian based Habsburg dynasty to rule the HRE from. I can definitely see Alt TL Charles putting his brother Ferdinand as King of Hungary while his elder son as ruler of the HRE and all Habsburg lands therein. And moreover will the reformation go as well as it did with the Habsburg not as distracted with such a far flung empire?
More importantly Will we be seeing a possible collaboration between the Habsburgs and the Avis-Trastamara against the Turks? And even the French?
So many questions and overall I'm super happy to be seeing this TL being made
OTL Charles V may have been born in Ghent, the Burgundian Netherlands were governed from Brussels, the Valois-Burgundy ducal court for the Low Countries possessions was there since the reign of Philip the Good. Mechelen/Malines was an important judicial centre for the Burgundian/Habsburg (also Spanish and Austrian) Netherlands until the French Revolution.
If the Habsburgs would manage to gain Bohemia and Hungary (-Croatia) for their main line ITTL, then I do not see them giving away any of those kingdoms to a cadet branch. Not to mention that given the Ottoman threat Hungary might not want to break the union with Bohemia and ITTL Austria-Burgundy.
Ferdinand might end up with the duchy of Württemberg* and Further Austria (the dynastic possessions in Swabia, Alsace & Switzerland) or the duchy of Milan*, if his elder brother marries the heiress of Vladislaus II of Bohemia & Hungary. Or perhaps the most likely outcome ITTL provided the Habsburgs regain Bohemia & Hungary, Ferdinand ends up with Possessions of the old Leopoldian Line of the house of Habsburg, which were Styria, Carinthia and Carniola (AKA Inner Austria) & Tyrol and Further Austria (AKA Upper Austria, not to be confused with the modern Austrian state). Whereas Charles keeps Burgundy, Austria proper and Bohemia & Hungary (the latter three were once held by the Albertian line).
However Maximilian and Vladislaus had already agreed upon an inheritance treaty, when Vladislaus was still childless, so maybe ITTL he remains childless? Maybe unlikely, but that's a possibility too.
(*= IOTL Ferdinand was briefly (1519-1534) also duke of Württemberg, after the Swabian League had sold it to the house of Habsburg, after the league had deposed the previous duke, whereas the history of the house of Habsburg and Milan is rather well known)
If the Habsburgs would manage to gain Bohemia and Hungary (-Croatia) for their main line ITTL, then I do not see them giving away any of those kingdoms to a cadet branch. Not to mention that given the Ottoman threat Hungary might not want to break the union with Bohemia and ITTL Austria-Burgundy.
Ferdinand might end up with the duchy of Württemberg* and Further Austria (the dynastic possessions in Swabia, Alsace & Switzerland) or the duchy of Milan*, if his elder brother marries the heiress of Vladislaus II of Bohemia & Hungary. Or perhaps the most likely outcome ITTL provided the Habsburgs regain Bohemia & Hungary, Ferdinand ends up with Possessions of the old Leopoldian Line of the house of Habsburg, which were Styria, Carinthia and Carniola (AKA Inner Austria) & Tyrol and Further Austria (AKA Upper Austria, not to be confused with the modern Austrian state). Whereas Charles keeps Burgundy, Austria proper and Bohemia & Hungary (the latter three were once held by the Albertian line).
However Maximilian and Vladislaus had already agreed upon an inheritance treaty, when Vladislaus was still childless, so maybe ITTL he remains childless? Maybe unlikely, but that's a possibility too.
(*= IOTL Ferdinand was briefly (1519-1534) also duke of Württemberg, after the Swabian League had sold it to the house of Habsburg, after the league had deposed the previous duke, whereas the history of the house of Habsburg and Milan is rather well known)
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