John Fredrick Parker
Donor
So let's say, for the PoD, we have Edward IV living a few more months -- just avoiding death in April 1483, then surviving and reigning until October 1487. As a result, Edward V is (more or less) of age when he comes to power, and Richard of Gloucester doesn't overthrow him. (For the purposes of this thread, let's assume this much as a given.) What matters here, for our purposes, is that now all six of Edward IV's children are eligible for royal marriage -- and that has a very notable impact on the web of alliances that is Late Medieval/Renaissance Europe.
Since it happens before our PoD, we can safely say that the Peace of Arras still happens, meaning France has recently broken off the engagement between Charles VIII and Edward's oldest daughter, Elizabeth. To make a long story short, this is how I see the marriage alliances shaping up in response to these events and other events recent to Edward's brush with death:
Because you'll note that France is a lot more diplomatically isolated TTL than OTL, and in a potentially much weaker position; meanwhile, Spain, Burgundy, and Austria haven't all been combined into a single ultimate Plus Ultra Empire, even as they all remain allied to each other, and to England, through marriage (and, in the case of Spain, to Portugal through marriage, then union). England has managed to hold Scotland at bay for the time being with a martial alliance of their own, and the latter's king happens to be the nephew of the King of Denmark (for what that's worth).Really, the only major ally I can see France winning over in Europe is the King of Hungary and Bohemia (who does have his own issues with the Hapsburgs).
What does this potentially mean for the prospect of conflict and/or peace in (Western) Christendom? What would it mean for how the Protestant Reformation begins, particularly in Germany, against this kind of backdrop? Regardless of how this affects things like the New World or the emerging European Colonial Empires,* I have to wonder how states like Spain and the Lowlands would be affected by not being unified, or the Holy Roman Empire from not roped into said colonial conflicts, or even potentially Italy, if they have fewer and/or smaller wars to worry about? And probably a good deal else I'm not thinking of (not even touching upon how England itself is affected).
But what do you guys think? @noturaveragejoe0316 @BlueFlowwer @happy35 @ordinarylittleme @isabella @Kellan Sullivan @VVD0D95
*For the first era, (1490's to 1510's) I don't imagine the Age of Exploration is a huge factor; but as we start getting into the next era (1520's to mid 1540's), I imagine the question of who is getting what kind of riches from overseas plunder and trade will prove at least somewhat relevant, if only to determine the various regimes' finances.
Since it happens before our PoD, we can safely say that the Peace of Arras still happens, meaning France has recently broken off the engagement between Charles VIII and Edward's oldest daughter, Elizabeth. To make a long story short, this is how I see the marriage alliances shaping up in response to these events and other events recent to Edward's brush with death:
Now, all of this being laid out, what I'm particularly interested in for this thread is -- how does this affect the Balance of Power in Europe, for the next generation or so? We can think of subsequent history happening in phases -- first, until the mid 1510's or so; second, we can think of the "next generation" as roughly corresponding to the Protestant Ascendency (or 1518 to 1545).
Because you'll note that France is a lot more diplomatically isolated TTL than OTL, and in a potentially much weaker position; meanwhile, Spain, Burgundy, and Austria haven't all been combined into a single ultimate Plus Ultra Empire, even as they all remain allied to each other, and to England, through marriage (and, in the case of Spain, to Portugal through marriage, then union). England has managed to hold Scotland at bay for the time being with a martial alliance of their own, and the latter's king happens to be the nephew of the King of Denmark (for what that's worth).
What does this potentially mean for the prospect of conflict and/or peace in (Western) Christendom? What would it mean for how the Protestant Reformation begins, particularly in Germany, against this kind of backdrop? Regardless of how this affects things like the New World or the emerging European Colonial Empires,* I have to wonder how states like Spain and the Lowlands would be affected by not being unified, or the Holy Roman Empire from not roped into said colonial conflicts, or even potentially Italy, if they have fewer and/or smaller wars to worry about? And probably a good deal else I'm not thinking of (not even touching upon how England itself is affected).
But what do you guys think? @noturaveragejoe0316 @BlueFlowwer @happy35 @ordinarylittleme @isabella @Kellan Sullivan @VVD0D95
*For the first era, (1490's to 1510's) I don't imagine the Age of Exploration is a huge factor; but as we start getting into the next era (1520's to mid 1540's), I imagine the question of who is getting what kind of riches from overseas plunder and trade will prove at least somewhat relevant, if only to determine the various regimes' finances.
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