Last year, I attempted a timeline of an alternative ending to the Thirty Years War: the protestant states split off from the Holy Roman Empire. That eventually leads to the dissolution of the Empire.
The problem was: The more I read about the 17th century, the more I realized it's not realistic:
- Why would the protestant states suddenly say: You guys can keep the imperial crown, we're outta here?
- The protestant states are diverse; they only have their religion in common.
- The protestant kingdom would consist of dozens of exclaves and enclaves.
- What about the imperial cities with their mixed populations?
Before the 30 Years War, there was the 1555 Peace of Augsburg that established the principle
Cuius regio, eius religio.
The religious choices of the empire's princes at that time determined the political geography of 1618 and is still visible on a map of religions in today's Germany.
What made some German rulers decide to turn to Protestantism, while others decided to remain with the Roman-Catholic church?
My rough idea is to scramble the map, maybe create an all-protestant north and an all-catholic south. I also like the idea of 2 official German spellings (OTL
Jesuits' German died out in the late 18th century).