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alternatehistory.com
Hi, everyone.
Well, this is the second timeline I'm launching, but it will probably my first real try at a timeline considering I never updated the first after my first post...
The idea came to me after a thread I had started. Someone then asked if I would make a timeline on the subject of the thread, and after much thinking I decided to give it a try. I hope the timeline looks plausible and likely. I'm also hoping that you won't have a problem regarding clarity as I'm not a native English speaker and I hope not to make any language mistakes.
Anyway, here goes. Enjoy!
[FONT="]A Happier Wedding, A Greater France[/FONT]
[FONT="] Prologue: An arranged wedding[/FONT]
[FONT="]On November 24, 1615, in the city of Bordeaux, the fourteen year old Louis XIII, King of France and Navarra, was married to Anna of Austria, Infanta of Spain. This wedding had been arranged by the Queen Mother, Marie de Medici, following her pro-Hapsburg policies. This day was also the last day Louis XIII would see his sister Elisabeth, as she would marry Philip, Prince of the Asturias (and later King of Spain as Philip IV) the next day. The double’s marriage goal was to strengthen the ties between the French and Spanish royal families, and was following a tradition dating back to the wedding of King Philip II of Spain with Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of Henri II of France.[/FONT]
[FONT="]However, the marriage was not starting on good bases: his arranged bethroal to the daughter of the King of Spain was humiliating for young Louis XIII. Having idolized his father, the late king Henri IV of France, Louis never saw the Spanish as anything but enemies. Thus, the forced wedding that Marie de Medici, whom the young King hated (despite the fact she was his mother), looked like a betrayal in regards of his father’s memory and policies. The fact Louis XIII was forced to consummate his marriage to prevent any diplomatic incidents (and possible asking of annulment by Spain) also left a heavy trauma on his persona and would keep him away from his wife’s chamber for four years.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Eventually, under the pressure and pleas of his friend and favorite Charles d’Albert, Duc de Luynes, the young Louis XIII shared once again his wife’s bed and soon Anne of Austria became pregnant. On December 1619, she delivered a healthy son to her husband [1]. The boy was named Louis, after his father, who was overjoyed with the birth of an heir. In the following years, Anne of Austria would give her husband five other children: Marie (b. 1622), Elisabeth (b. 1626), Philippe (b. 1631), Henri (b. 1638) and Charles (b. 1640) [2]. The birth of so many children eventually eased the relationship between Louis XIII and his wife, and the couple became pretty close despite the fact they had started on bad terms. Although Louis remained wary of Anne’s Spanish blood and considered women frivolous, he would always treat Anne with respect and never took any mistresses. He tried to find time to take care of his wife and children, although his royal duties often kept them part. He would eventually seek the political support of his wife, although this would be rare and would mostly happen when the King argued with Cardinal Richelieu over certain decisions [3].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Most of Louis XIII’s reign would however be dominated by his co-operation with his chief minister, from the moment Richelieu rose to power in 1624 to his death in 1642. During this time, France followed policies of centralization, which weakened and depleted the powers of the nobility. This angered a great deal of nobles, who rallied around the Queen Mother and her favorite son, Gaston, Duke of Orleans, but opposition became minimal following the Day of the Dupes. Gaston d’Orléans would still remain a nuisance, but only a handful on nobles would rally to his cause: his influence had been severely weakened with the birth of his nephew Louis in 1619 and would take another huge blow with the birth of Prince Phillippe in 1631. Gaston d’Orléans would eventually submit to his brother and remain a lawful servant of the crown until his death [4].[/FONT]
[FONT="]Regarding Religion, Louis XIII’s reign is quite peculiar. In his realm, the King of France and his minister Cardinal Richelieu weakened the position of the Protestants by stripping them of a certain number of rights and privileges which had been granted by Henri IV. The right to practice the religion however remained untouched by the French King, thus keeping the main aspects of the Edit de Nantes.[/FONT] [FONT="]French foreign policies regarding Protestantism however went the opposite way of its inner policies, but that’s because it did not follow Religion. The opposition of the France to Hapsburg hegemony as well as the wish to break Hapsburg encirclement (since the House of Austria was ruling both Spain and the Empire) lead the French to join the side of the main Protestant Nations during the Thirty Years’ War, and that intervention would have a crucial role in the resolution of the conflict.[/FONT]
[FONT="]This conflict would be the cause of a violent dispute between King Louis XIII and his wife, as Anne of Austria was (comprehensively) oppose as to waging War against her brother Philip IV of Spain and cousin Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III. The French King and his wife would eventually reconcile later: Anne remained opposed to the war against her family, but had understood her husband was acting for the good of his kingdom in this situation, not of his family. This probably explains why she raised few objections in regards of the wedding of her two daughters.[/FONT]
[FONT="]As a matter of fact, Cardinal Richelieu’s diplomacy played a heavy role in the weddings of Marie and Elisabeth of France. Since their father and his liege, Louis XIII, had agreed to support those who opposed Hapsburg domination over the Empire, Richelieu had few difficulties in convincing the King that dynastic alliances would help strengthen the ties between France and its allies or to try to gain other allies against the Hapsburg. As such, in 1638, negotiations eventually lead to the wedding of the then sixteen year old Marie of France to Philip William, son of Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg [5]. Richelieu had hoped to drive Wolfgang William to the French camp via this prestigious marriage, but Wolfgang maintained his neutrality during the conflict. This marriage would however prove useful to France years later… [6][/FONT]
[FONT="]By contrast, the wedding of Elisabeth of France proved more complicated. The Netherlands had always been a fiercely opponent of the Hapsburgs. As such, Richelieu negotiated the bethroal of Elisabeth to William II, Prince of Orange-Nassau and Statdholder of the United Provinces, so that they would be tied more closely to France. Religion, however, came in the way: Elisabeth wished to maintain her Catholicism, but the Dutch did not like the idea of the future Princess of Orange being a Catholic. Anne of Austria refused that her daughter was forced to abandon her religion if she didn’t wish to, and manage to convince her husband Louis XIII. The French King then asked for Richelieu to seek a compromise with the Dutch, which required intense negotiations. Finally, in the year 1641, Elisabeth of France married William II of Orange [7]. The Compromise that had been reached was that the new Princess of Orange would be able to keep her religious belief, but would have no word in her son Religious education and, were she to exercise Regency for her son, would have to keep her husband’s councilors. Elisabeth of France accepted them, not knowing the influence it would later have on her son, William III [8], and his policies.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Though the conflict raged for most of the first half of the seventeenth century, neither Louis XIII nor Cardinal Richelieu would see the end of the Thirty Years’ War. The chief minister of France breathed his last in 1642, and his king followed him in the grave barely one year later on May 14, 1643. Thus, the twenty three year old Dauphin ascended the throne of France as Louis XIV. This would be the beginning of a glorious fifty-three year long reign…[/FONT]
[FONT="][1] POD. OTL, Anne’s first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage.[/FONT] [FONT="][2] OTL, Anne suffered four miscarriages before giving birth to two sons. Here, she is luckier and her six pregnancies all go well.[/FONT] [FONT="][3] Anne and Louis XIII are closer ITTL because she never had four miscarriages. As a result, she is a bit more effective in countering Richelieu, although the latter remains pretty powerful.[/FONT] [FONT="][4] OTL, Gaston d’Orléans was a much more effective trouble maker because he was heir to the crown up to 1638. Here, his rebellions and plots are less effective since he is in a weaker position and finds fewer supporters.[/FONT] [FONT="][5] OTL, Philip William married Anne Catherine Vasa of Poland, daughter of Sigismund III, in 1642.[/FONT] [FONT="][6] But that is another story that will be explained later.[/FONT] [FONT="][7] OTL, William II married Mary, Princess Royal and daughter of Charles I of England.[/FONT] [FONT="][8] Not OTL William III of Orange, but his ATL counterpart who is the son of William II of Orange and Elisabeth of France ITTL.[/FONT]