Aragon-France merger instead of Castille-Aragon merger

What are the consequences of Aragon merging with France instead of Merging with Castille, I was thinking if France gains Aragon's territories how would france look like in the present day?
 
John Fredrick Parker said:
So I take it Ferdinand would die earlier in this scenario?

That's not the only way to obtain an Aragon-France merging.

If the Aragonese Crusade of 1284 is a success, Charles de Valois, the second son of Philippe III of France, will take the crown.
If things go OTL, Philippe III will be succeeded by his son Philippe IV. He, in turn, will be succeeded by his three sons (Louis X, Philippe V and Charles IV) who will die without male issue (John I, Louis X's son, only lived 5 days so he does not really count). The crown will then go to Philippe VI of France, who is Charles de Valois' son.
I don't know how likely this is, but it is another possibility.

If France gets in personnal union with Aragon, the French will have a greater access to the Mediteranean Sea. This could turn their attention soutward, but I'm not sure about this.
 
There are several consequences of this merger.

First, France is much more interested in the Mediterranean. Dependent on when that merger happens, France also gains the Balearics, Sardinia, Sicily and Naples. Therefore, France is the major power in the western Med AND Italy. We'd likely see the French deal early with the Barbary pirates. Furthermore, this strengthens the Southern/Occitan influence, maybe even to a point where Paris is not the capital. This may decrease expansion in the North into the HRE - or, on the other side, strengthening France could increase expansion in the North.

Second, Spain may become the natural enemy of France ad therefore the natural ally of England/Britain or Hapsburg/Germany.
 
There are several consequences of this merger.

First, France is much more interested in the Mediterranean. Dependent on when that merger happens, France also gains the Balearics, Sardinia, Sicily and Naples. Therefore, France is the major power in the western Med AND Italy. We'd likely see the French deal early with the Barbary pirates. Furthermore, this strengthens the Southern/Occitan influence, maybe even to a point where Paris is not the capital. This may decrease expansion in the North into the HRE - or, on the other side, strengthening France could increase expansion in the North.

Second, Spain may become the natural enemy of France ad therefore the natural ally of England/Britain or Hapsburg/Germany.

Would France be a superpower in europe if it acquires aragon?
 
What are the consequences of Aragon merging with France instead of Merging with Castille, I was thinking if France gains Aragon's territories how would france look like in the present day?

Well, since the Aragonese Crown including Majorca, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, such a union would stand a good chance at dominating the fuck out of the Med. Or at least the western part of it. I mean, France did a good job of fucking peoples' shit up in that sea; combine their capabilities with a state covering a large portion of the Western Mediterranean, and they've got a lot to tool around with should the need arise. You'd probably see the French get involved in North Africa a helluva lot earlier.
 
So if the attention of the French-Aragonese kingdom is shifting south; what city would most likely come out as capital? Lyon, Barcelone?

Regards
 
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The Aragonese CROWN did not include Sicily, Naples and Sardinia - these were individual kingdoms held in personal union. That sounds like pedantics but they had their own assemblies, their own nobilities and their own armed units, and they can, and did, throw off rulers who seemed disinterested in favour of others who were focused more on them.

It would seem far more likely to me that a French acquisition of Aragon would lead to a revolt in the Italian lands, and the emergence of a perhaps bastard Aragonese line there (which is after all more or less what happened anyway)

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
So if the attention of the French-Aragonese kingdom is shifting south; what city would most likely come out as capital? Lyon, Barcelone?

Regards

Paris. It's a bit like asking if the Pope acquired Naples would he move his capital south? No, because Rome - or in this case, Paris - is ten times more important. Indeed, Paris was Europe's biggest city by a large margin in this era, save perhaps for Constantinople.

The Aragonese CROWN did not include Sicily, Naples and Sardinia - these were individual kingdoms held in personal union. That sounds like pedantics but they had their own assemblies, their own nobilities and their own armed units, and they can, and did, throw off rulers who seemed disinterested in favour of others who were focused more on them.

It would seem far more likely to me that a French acquisition of Aragon would lead to a revolt in the Italian lands, and the emergence of a perhaps bastard Aragonese line there (which is after all more or less what happened anyway)

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Exactly so, Grey Wolf. And of course, if the Aragonese Crusade were the POD, Aragon had nothing beyond its own shores anyway - even the Balearics were under their own control for a while in that era.

I'd even say that a French acquisition of Aragon would likely lead to a major rebellion in Aragon after a few generations, too, possibly even offering the throne to the King of Castile. The French weren't exactly known for being favourable to non-Parisian cultures, and the Aragonese (and indeed all of Spain) were and are somewhat volatile about repressed ethnic cultures...
 
Paris. It's a bit like asking if the Pope acquired Naples would he move his capital south? No, because Rome - or in this case, Paris - is ten times more important. Indeed, Paris was Europe's biggest city by a large margin in this era, save perhaps for Constantinople.



Exactly so, Grey Wolf. And of course, if the Aragonese Crusade were the POD, Aragon had nothing beyond its own shores anyway - even the Balearics were under their own control for a while in that era.

I'd even say that a French acquisition of Aragon would likely lead to a major rebellion in Aragon after a few generations, too, possibly even offering the throne to the King of Castile. The French weren't exactly known for being favourable to non-Parisian cultures, and the Aragonese (and indeed all of Spain) were and are somewhat volatile about repressed ethnic cultures...

How would the catalans react about the french controling all of catalonia?
 
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