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What ho, everyone!

In the Map Thread I asked for map suggestions, since I lacked inspiration at the time, and Ynnead suggested the internal divisions of an America with a strong monarchy.

As with most of my questions I'm going to explain the situation in depth before actually getting round to asking the question, so skip to the end of the post if you don't want to read my ramblings.


I'm just working out how a strong American monarchy could come into place, and I've got most of it worked out. The Cajuns that migrated to Acadiana (southern Louisiana, around New Orleans) during the Seven Years War in the belief that the region would remain a French territory don't migrate there, or migrate to Quebec only to find that, after the Treaty of Paris, they are living in a region under British sovereignty. They later form a rebellion in protest, which spreads to parts of the non-French, colonial population who also have reasons to rebel. The rebellion is still relatively small and is put down, but unrest continues and politicians in Britain begin to get paranoid about foreign sympathisers in the American colonies.

A short age of suppression and small-scale violence occurs in the American colonies, or at least those that took significant part in the previous rebellion. This causes a greater proportion of the colonial population to harbour resentment towards British rule without representation, and sympathy towards the cause of an independent America spreads.

A Continental Congress is called and the delegates unanimously pass a motion calling for autonomy from the British King, but the general feeling is that all-out rebellion and independence would be going too far. King George III ignores the request, and British colonial governors suppress information of the request in the hopes that the population won't have another reason to rebel. The attempt ultimately fails and pamphlets advertising the King's disrespect towards the colonies are circulated. Full-blown revolution breaks out soon after, unpopular Governors are executed or taken prisoner along with significant portions of the loyalist population.

Britain sends troops to take care of the rebellion, but they fail due to the patriots' adoption of unconventional tactics, their lack of knowledge of the local area, and the lack of co-operation and failures in communication between British generals. France joins in the war against the British, and Britain begrudgingly admits defeat and permits the independence of certain American colonies (in addition to more minor terms demanded by France).

The Continental Congress ratifies a new constitution proclaiming their independence and confederation, though many of the provincial and state congresses do not ratify the constitution (they do not reject it either; they juts don't vote on it). The confederation is generally referred to as the Continental Union of America, or the United States of America (both terms are common). The President of the Continental Union is elected by the Continental Congress, and the first President is a controversial figure who was initially loyalist during the Revolutionary War before switching sides later on. He is misliked by some major politicians and large portions of the military.

The first President's rule is marked by the defiance of his actions and demands by others, and his own defiance of others' actions and demands. He is soon deposed by rebelling members of the military, who march into his Presidential residence in New York unopposed and take him captive. The Continental Congress is dismissed and then re-elected. The new members of the Congress are led by a small cadre of powerful men who favour a federation of states under an enlightened monarch, with various checks and balances between the various branches of government and between the state governments and the federal government.

A new, monarchical constitution is written and passed by the Continental Congress before being passed onto the various state and provincial congresses, some of whom are slow to ratify the new constitution, hoping that it might be further refined, but after several state congresses pass the constitution the possibility of minor adjustments disappears, and the remaining congresses ratify the constitution.

After the ratification of the constitution it is left up to the Continental Congress to find a monarch for the newly created Empire of American States (also referred to as the Continental Empire). A German noble proposes himself for the position, and Congress is impressed with his liberal attitude towards powerful elected bodies and anti-British sentiment, so they appoint him Emperor.


Ah, now comes the actual question. The Emperor is meant to be a German noble, but I'm lost as to which German noble family he could have reasonably have come from. It needs to be a family with good anti-British credentials (as this takes place within 20 years after the Seven Years War - in which every German state save for Prussia was at war with Britain and its allies - this shouldn't be too hard of a requirement to fill), but it also has to be a reasonably powerful noble house. The Habsburgs are the obvious candidates, but I think that's a bit too obvious, and a bit too similar to the Mexican Empire from OTL. I was thinking of maybe the House of Wittelsbach (Bavaria), or maybe the House of Wettin (Saxony)?

I was wondering what people more knowledgeable about German nobility in this time period (1770s and 1780s) would think?
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