AHC: Sobieski Dynasty in Poland

Jan III is arguably one of (if not) the greatest non-dynastic king of Poland. His son lost the royal elections following his death, although Carl XII did make the offer of installing him as a friendly king to replace Augustus II. Jakub refused, and the crown was instead offered/given to Stanislas I.

How can we "rig" the election in Jakub's favor. Since Augustus II was neither the winner nor the favorite, he just got himself to Poland first (ahead of the actual winner, the prince de Conti), the challenge is to make Jakub (who's very well related via his Neuburg wife and Bavarian electress sister), become the next king from the house of Sobieski.
 
I'd say the best chance is to have his entire family support him, from the little I have come across the main issue derailing his candidacy was a lack of uniform support from the Sobieski family, his mother supported her son-in-law the Elector of Bavaria over him.
Diplomatically he had the support of Austria (basically they wanted someone who would keep the PLC in the war) , his father had been waging and wining the Great Turkish War so the family's influence at this point was possibly quite good/high.
France would likely still put forth the Prince of Conti but I doubt they'd be too risk adverse even if Jakub won. His father John Sobieski was quite indepedent minded and had maintained contacts with France seeking for a possible alliance agx Austria early in his reign but the wars with the Ottoman's prevented this; and he was pro-french prior to his election as King of the PLC; if France plays her cards right she could have a potential partner in his son Jakub.
 
Jan III is arguably one of (if not) the greatest non-dynastic king of Poland. His son lost the royal elections following his death, although Carl XII did make the offer of installing him as a friendly king to replace Augustus II. Jakub refused, and the crown was instead offered/given to Stanislas I.

How can we "rig" the election in Jakub's favor. Since Augustus II was neither the winner nor the favorite, he just got himself to Poland first (ahead of the actual winner, the prince de Conti), the challenge is to make Jakub (who's very well related via his Neuburg wife and Bavarian electress sister), become the next king from the house of Sobieski.

Have him implement a heir monarchy, instead an electorate. So his son becomes King after him...
 
I'd say the best chance is to have his entire family support him, from the little I have come across the main issue derailing his candidacy was a lack of uniform support from the Sobieski family, his mother supported her son-in-law the Elector of Bavaria over him.
Diplomatically he had the support of Austria (basically they wanted someone who would keep the PLC in the war) , his father had been waging and wining the Great Turkish War so the family's influence at this point was possibly quite good/high.
France would likely still put forth the Prince of Conti but I doubt they'd be too risk adverse even if Jakub won. His father John Sobieski was quite indepedent minded and had maintained contacts with France seeking for a possible alliance agx Austria early in his reign but the wars with the Ottoman's prevented this; and he was pro-french prior to his election as King of the PLC; if France plays her cards right she could have a potential partner in his son Jakub.

What issues did Jakub have with his mother that she disliked him enough to support her son-in-law's candidacy over his own? I recall someone (Valena I think) wrote that the mother-son conflict was detrimental to his chances of being elected. But I can't seem to find the reason for the conflict beyond the fact that she liked her younger son, Alexander, and her daughter better. (No offense, but royal mothers - Elizabeth Wydeville, Caroline of Ansbach, Maria Theresia, Carlota Joaquina of Spain, Marie-Antoinette, seem to have a tradition of preferring the second/next son, rather than the eldest)
 
Have him implement a heir monarchy, instead an electorate. So his son becomes King after him...

That is the closest thing to ASB you can get in pre-Partition Poland, I'm afraid.

I believe the mother-son dispute was about Jan III's will, so if either of them steps back a bit until the election is over, there's no reason for Jakub to lose his support, apart from his personal arrogance - and arrogance didn't exactly harm August II. Other bonuses that would swing the game would be the Sobieskis bribing a few more of the right people or Teresa Sobieska marrying someone else, marrying Maximilian more than two years later or not marrying at all. If you combine it with Maria Antonia of Austria surviving, you've got massive European ramifications, of course.

Jakub Ludwik would almost certainly continue his father's wars as much as possible, but his lack of charisma would make this a lot less tenable. This would essentially leave him as an August III-style hostage to the Sejm for most of domestic politics. He wasn't a tactical genius according to any contemporaries so he'd be seen as a bit of a step down from his father, which, as he could expect a long reign (up to the 1730s or later, all things being equal) might cause disillusionment with the Sobieski dynasty. Depending on the calibre of any hypothetical sons or nephews, they might not follow him to the throne, though Teresa's children might have a better stab at that point if they aren't butterflied already.
 
I was thinking that if Jakub gets elected, by the time his wife dies, if he needs a new wife, he can perhaps marry one of the daughters of Josef I. Of course, I guess this might hinge on her needing a surviving brother, though.
 
How can we "rig" the election in Jakub's favor. Since Augustus II was neither the winner nor the favorite, he just got himself to Poland first (ahead of the actual winner, the prince de Conti), the challenge is to make Jakub (who's very well related via his Neuburg wife and Bavarian electress sister), become the next king from the house of Sobieski.

Bribes, bribes, more bribes. That's how quite a few of the elective kings got there. :D
 
Top