John Fredrick Parker
Donor
What if one of Emperor Napoleon I’s adjutants or bodyguards had managed to stop Friedrich Staps from shooting him [in October 1809]?
We could start with short term effects - like, would the terms to defeated Austria be different? Would Britain still agree to peace negotiations in 1810? Would Bernadotte have still left Rome to accept the Swedish regency and throne,* and if not, how would that have changed things on the Italian Peninsula? Or, for that matter, delaying the ascension of Eugene I [as King of Italy]?
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this PoD is the fate of Josephine herself - as regent for her grandson in France, she had an enormous impact on the 1810’s, and thus, subsequent history, OTL; which is why it’s so fascinating to consider that Napoleon I was widely believed to be planning on divorcing the Empress at the time of his assassination in order to marry an Austrian Archduchess. That alone is such a massive turn of fate that it’s mind boggling to think about.
But what do you guys think?
*OOC: Note: this part is exactly as OTL
EDIT NOTE (also OOC): Blue added for clarification.
We could start with short term effects - like, would the terms to defeated Austria be different? Would Britain still agree to peace negotiations in 1810? Would Bernadotte have still left Rome to accept the Swedish regency and throne,* and if not, how would that have changed things on the Italian Peninsula? Or, for that matter, delaying the ascension of Eugene I [as King of Italy]?
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this PoD is the fate of Josephine herself - as regent for her grandson in France, she had an enormous impact on the 1810’s, and thus, subsequent history, OTL; which is why it’s so fascinating to consider that Napoleon I was widely believed to be planning on divorcing the Empress at the time of his assassination in order to marry an Austrian Archduchess. That alone is such a massive turn of fate that it’s mind boggling to think about.
But what do you guys think?
*OOC: Note: this part is exactly as OTL
EDIT NOTE (also OOC): Blue added for clarification.
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