Austrian Habsburgs die out in 1705

Emperor Leopold I Habsburg (reigned 1655-1705), is childless and with his death in 1705 ends with the Austrian line of the Habsburgs. How will this affect the succession of Spain and the history of the rest of Europe?
 
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Well....That will be a free-for-all and i can see and imagining Borbouns(Spains) Wittelbasch(HRE Throne and Imperial Title) and Hohenzollern(Parts of Austria, Hungary?Belgium?) will be the one will win the Hasburgs Sweepstakes
 
Below is the line of succession to the Spanish Throne in 1705, this is based on male-primogeniture, this list is limited to all living descendants of King Philip II of Spain. The Austrian succession would be slightly different, but not by much as both lines were so heavily intermarried.

Louis, Dauphin of France 1661-1711 (grandson of Philip IV)
Louis, Duke of Burgundy 1682-1712 (great-grandson of Philip IV)
Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou 1683-1746 (great-grandson of Philip IV)
Charles, Duke of Berry 1686-1714 (great-grandson of Philip IV)
King Louis XIV of France 1638-1715 (grandson of Philip III)
Philippe II, Duke of Orleans 1674-1723
Louis d'Orleans 1703-1752
Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans 1695-1719
Louise Adelaide d'Orleans 1698-1743
Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans 1700-1761
Anne Marie d'Orléans 1669-1728 married to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy (great-granddaughter of Philip III)
Victor Amadeus Filippo Giuseppe, Prince of Piedmont (1699-1715)
Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy (1701-1773)
Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy 1685-1712 (Dauphine of france)
Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy 1688-1714 (later consort of Philip V of Spain)
Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans 1676-1744 (Duchess of Lorraine)
Louis, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine 1704-1711
Élisabeth Charlotte of Lorraine 1700-1711
Marie Gabrièle Charlotte of Lorraine 1702-1711
Joséphine Gabrièle of Lorraine 1705-1708
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711)
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1685–1740)
Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1680–1741)
Maria Anna of Austria, future Queen-Consort of Portugal (1683-1754)
Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria (1689–1743)
Victor Amadeus II of Savoy 1666-1732
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria 1662-1726
Charles Albert of Bavaria (1697–1745)
Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria (1699-1738)
Clemens August of Bavaria (1700-1761)
Alois Johann Adolf of Bavaria (1702-1705)
Johann Theodor of Bavaria (1703-1763)
Maria Anna Karoline of Bavaria (1696-1750)
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria, Elector and Archbishop of Cologne (1673-1731)
Violante Beatrix of Bavaria, Grand Princess of Tuscany (1673-1731)
Ferdinand Charles, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (1652-1708)
Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (1679-1729)
Charles Joseph of Lorraine (1680-1715)
Joseph Innocent Emanuel of Lorraine (1685-1705)
Francis Anthony of Lorraine (1689-1715), Abbot
Mary of Modena, Queen of England and Scots (1658-1718)
James of England and Scots Prince of Wales (1688-1766)
Louisa Maria Teresa of England (1692-1712)
Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio (1655-1737)
Francesco d'Este (1698-1780)
Gian Feerico d'Este (1700-1727)
Benedetta Maria Ernesta d'Este (1697-1777)
Amalia Giuseppina d'Este (1699-1778)
Enrichetta d'Este (1702-1777)
Elisabeth Farnese (1692-1766)
Margherita Maria Farnese, Duchess of Modena (1664-1718)
Eleonora d'Este (1643-1722)
Francesco Maria Farnese, Duke of Parma (1678-1727)
Antonio Farnese of Parma (1679-1731)
Isabella Farnese (1668-1718)
Maria Vittoria Gonzaga, Duchess of Guastalla (1659-1707)
Giuseppe Gonzaga (1690-1746)
Antonio Gonzaga (1687-1729)
Eleonora Gonzaga (1686-1742)
Emanuele Filiberto Amedeo) (1628–1709), 2nd prince de Carignan
Victor Amadeus I (1690-1741), Prince of Carignan
Maria Isabella of Savoy (1687-1767)
Maria Vittoria of Savoy (1688-1763)
Prince Thomas Emmanuel of Savoy, Cout of Soissons (1687-1729)
Prince Maurice of Savoy (1690–1710)
Prince Eugene of Savoy (1692–1712)
Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy (1683–1763)
Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736)
Princess Louise Philiberte of Savoy (1667–1726)
Ludwig-Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden (1655-1707)
Ludwig-Georg Simpert von Baden-Baden (1702-1761)
Wilhelm Georg Simpert von Baden-Baden (1703-1709)
August von Baden-Baden (1704-1726)
August Georg Simpert von Baden-Baden (1706-1771)
 
If Leopold is childless (ie no daughters either) then afaics his heir-presumptive is his namesake, the Duke of Lorraine, son of his half-sister Eleanor.

Probably the Emperor does some kind of "Pragmatic Sanction" to try and secure recognition of his nephew's right.
 
Importantly,who will the nobles proclaim the next ruler?Will the Hungarians break free?

There's no obvious reason why the nobles should go for anyone other than Leopold's chosen heir.

What happens to Hungary depends on what's happening internationally. If the War of the Spanish Succession has gone as OTL, then the Battle of Blenheim rules out any French assistance to Hungary, so she is probably defeated. However, it's a big if, as the Archduke Charles, Austria's OTL candidate for
the Spanish throne, will not exist.
 
The heirs of Leopold would be the children of his sisters Eleanor (the Lorraine), then those of his cousin the Elector of Bavaria

  1. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (°1679)
  2. Louis, Duke of Bar (°1704)
  3. Élisabeth Charlotte (1701)
  4. Marie Gabrielle Charlotte (1702)
  5. Charles Joseph, Bishop of Olmutz and Osnabruck (1680)
  6. François, Prince-Abbot of Stavelot (1689)
  7. Maximilian Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria (1662) as his first marriage is butterflied away, difficult to tell how many children he would have.
  8. Joseph Klemens, Arch-Bishop of Koln (1671)
  9. Louis of France, Duke of Burgundy (1682)
  10. Philip, King of Spain (1683)
  11. Charles, Duke of Berry (1686)
  12. Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, Grand-duchess of Tuscany (1673)
  13. Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria-Leuchtenberg (1638)
The Lorraine are a pretty obvious solution, as their legitimacy is strong and they can give up Lorraine to the French in order to have a peaceful accession. For Spain, the French heir is in a much stronger position, as his competitors are very distantly related to Charles II.
 
The Lorraine are a pretty obvious solution, as their legitimacy is strong and they can give up Lorraine to the French in order to have a peaceful accession. For Spain, the French heir is in a much stronger position, as his competitors are very distantly related to Charles II.

Maybe not as good as all that.

OTL, Louis XIV offered far more concessions in 1709/10 than he eventually had to make at Utrecht/Rastadt, but the Allies refused because he wouldn't evict his grandson from Spain. In this situation, with no credible Spanish candidate of their own, they may well accept, in which case France loses Alsace and several places on the Belgian border. And France would not necessarily gt Lorraine.
 
Maybe not as good as all that.

OTL, Louis XIV offered far more concessions in 1709/10 than he eventually had to make at Utrecht/Rastadt, but the Allies refused because he wouldn't evict his grandson from Spain. In this situation, with no credible Spanish candidate of their own, they may well accept, in which case France loses Alsace and several places on the Belgian border. And France would not necessarily gt Lorraine.

I do not think the situation is comparable : ITTL, there are two different successions, one in 1700, the Spanish, which should go without any war, as there are no real opponent to Philip V, then in 1705, the Austrian Succession, where Louis XIV can refuse at first, go into a smaller scale war and finally accept the Lorraine succession while keeping Lorraine itself.
 
I do not think the situation is comparable : ITTL, there are two different successions, one in 1700, the Spanish, which should go without any war, as there are no real opponent to Philip V, then in 1705, the Austrian Succession, where Louis XIV can refuse at first, go into a smaller scale war and finally accept the Lorraine succession while keeping Lorraine itself.
Just because there is no opponent by legitimacy doesn't mean there's none in fact; the war of Spanish succession was far more about countries fearing a French-Spanish (and to a lesser extent Austro-Spanish) block than a real judgement on the legal heir.
 
Just because there is no opponent by legitimacy doesn't mean there's none in fact; the war of Spanish succession was far more about countries fearing a French-Spanish (and to a lesser extent Austro-Spanish) block than a real judgement on the legal heir.

Sure, legitimacy was not central but it was a part of the conflict nonetheless. A claimant must have some rights. I do not recall any succession conflict where a very distant cousin triumphed against a more close one. ITTL, there are two succession issues involving more or less the same group of people. The simpler is to have the heirs with the more rights getting the inheritance : the French nephew of Charles II Spain and the Lorraine nephew of Leopold Austria. Then, some arrangements can made in Italy for rounding the angles of both dominions. The OTL plans for the Spanish succession show a great deal of adaptation from the different powers.
 
Just because there is no opponent by legitimacy doesn't mean there's none in fact; the war of Spanish succession was far more about countries fearing a French-Spanish (and to a lesser extent Austro-Spanish) block than a real judgement on the legal heir.

There will still be war. Austria will want at least some of the Spanish possessions, as a France which controls all of them will overshadow her. And Britain will join in when Louis recognises the Pretender as "James III"
 
I quite like this idea. ere the male line Lorraine dynasts to acquire Austria sooner, would they still become Hapsburg Lorraine or would they remain as the House of Lorraine?
 
There will still be war. Austria will want at least some of the Spanish possessions, as a France which controls all of them will overshadow her. And Britain will join in when Louis recognises the Pretender as "James III"
But with which candidate ? The childless Leopold ?
 
Maybe not as a main Pretender, but more like a more successfull Savoy? Perhaps they can acquire the duchy of Millan and the Southern Netherlands, the latter in part as compensation for the loss of Lorraine & Bar. IMHO anything more unlike OTL seems unlikely.
 
But with which candidate ? The childless Leopold ?

Leopold of Lorraine was married to Elizabeth d'Orleans, a niece of Louis XIV and so great-granddaughter of Philip III of Spain.

Admittedly the Allies wouldn't be keen to see Austria and Spain under one ruler, but iirc the original proposal was to leave Philip V on the throne and just take away Belgium and Italy. "No peace without Spain" was a later modification which might not happen TTL.
 
Leopold of Lorraine was married to Elizabeth d'Orleans, a niece of Louis XIV and so great-granddaughter of Philip III of Spain.

Admittedly the Allies wouldn't be keen to see Austria and Spain under one ruler, but iirc the original proposal was to leave Philip V on the throne and just take away Belgium and Italy. "No peace without Spain" was a later modification which might not happen TTL.

The Orléans match, along with the restitution of Lorraine to Léopold, was part of the efforts of Louis XIV to secure the spanish inheritance for his grandson. If Leopold is the heir presumptive to the Austrian lands, I doubt the Sun King would hand him over a claim on the Spanish throne. If he does, he will claim at least Lorraine and the Spanish Netherlands, otherwise the risk of being surrounding by the Habsburg-Lorraine is way too high.
 
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