Francis I is killed during the battle of Pavia

Inspired by this comment from Condottiero:

In Pavia (1525), François I was about to be killed but one spanish soldier realized who he was and he was spared and captured. Just imagine that soldier was not there and the french king was killed...

So, WI the soldier is not there or he doesn't recognize the king and Francis I is killed in that battle? How would it affect France and the Habsburg-Valois wars?
 
Inspired by this comment from Condottiero:



So, WI the soldier is not there or he doesn't recognize the king and Francis I is killed in that battle? How would it affect France and the Habsburg-Valois wars?

Well, Francis' mother Louise of Savoy continues to act as regent, in this case for her orphan grandson, until her death in 1531. At this point Francis II is 13, but I'm not sure if he'd begin to reign or if another regent would be appointed.

Without the years spent as a Spanish hostage, Francis II probably ends up less somber and solitary and (presuming he wasn't poisoned) in good enough health he lasts longer than he did in OTL.
 
Well, Francis' mother Louise of Savoy continues to act as regent, in this case for her orphan grandson, until her death in 1531. At this point Francis II is 13, but I'm not sure if he'd begin to reign or if another regent would be appointed.

Could his aunt Marguerite of Navarre become regent if needed?

Will the regent finance Cartier's travel to Canada a decade later?

I think it depends on the economical conditions of the kingdom. In 1534 France was at peace with the Empire. If there are wars happening the travel might be delayed.

Also, with Francis I killed rather than captured, how would the war have ended? Would Louise accept the same conditions imposed to Francis during his captivity, or could she get some better terms?
 
If Francis is dead, then Charles V is going to make the peace treaty he forced on Francis I in OTL actually stick. The regency of Louise of Savoy is going to want peace at almost any price, since they won't be able to effectively wage war without an adult King. The new regency will probably face domestic unrest, as the nobility use the opportunity to seize more power. This happened in past and future regencies OTL and will likely happen in this one too.

Jacques Lefevre, who had been a favorite of Francis I, translated the New Testament into French in 1523. Lefevre's student, John Calvin (yes, that John Calvin), abandoned Catholicisim in the 1520's. Lefevre's teaching helped to pave the way for the Hugenots in the late 16th century.

So I think that if you combine the civil unrest of Francis II's regency with the emergence of a pro-Lutheran reformist movement, I think you might be able to spread Protestantism faster and wider than OTL. John Calvin ends up being seen as a "French Luther" who preachs and leads the French Reformation?
 
If Francis is dead, then Charles V is going to make the peace treaty he forced on Francis I in OTL actually stick. The regency of Louise of Savoy is going to want peace at almost any price, since they won't be able to effectively wage war without an adult King. The new regency will probably face domestic unrest, as the nobility use the opportunity to seize more power. This happened in past and future regencies OTL and will likely happen in this one too.

Jacques Lefevre, who had been a favorite of Francis I, translated the New Testament into French in 1523. Lefevre's student, John Calvin (yes, that John Calvin), abandoned Catholicisim in the 1520's. Lefevre's teaching helped to pave the way for the Hugenots in the late 16th century.

So I think that if you combine the civil unrest of Francis II's regency with the emergence of a pro-Lutheran reformist movement, I think you might be able to spread Protestantism faster and wider than OTL. John Calvin ends up being seen as a "French Luther" who preachs and leads the French Reformation?

That means probably earlier and bloodier Religion Wars in France.
 
That means probably earlier and bloodier Religion Wars in France.

How would the conflict would be affected by the absence of Catherine de Medicis? Even if she marries Henry as IOTL he wouldn't be the king, and her influence in the court would be much smaller.

A note about the new king's marriage. As probably the young Francis II would need a royal marriage, but probably he wouldn't marry some Italian noble woman as Catherine of Medicis. If the regent decides that Francis II should marry as soon as possible then the daughters of Charles V and Ferdinand I would be too young for him. I think that a good candidate would be Infanta Maria, the youngest daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Eleanor of Austria. She was related to the Habsburgs, was only three years younger than Francis, was rich (and so with a huge downry) and was pretty.
 
I meant it because of the previous post about a more successful reformist movement in France:

Reformed French Church + Child King + Victorious Charles I that has humiliated France by recovering Burgundian fiefdoms = Lots of Problems
 
I meant it because of the previous post about a more successful reformist movement in France:

Reformed French Church + Child King + Victorious Charles I that has humiliated France by recovering Burgundian fiefdoms = Lots of Problems

I'm sorry, I was already thinking about a decade later!

Could a stronger anti-Habsburg feeling due to the harsher defeat lead to more nobles become Protestant?

Also, with Francis I dead, the war of the League of Cognac is butterflied, and so is the sack of Rome by the Imperial troops. Without the fear caused by the invasion, could the Pope had made more actions against Charles' wishes, as the annullment of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catharine of Aragon?
 
How would the conflict would be affected by the absence of Catherine de Medicis? Even if she marries Henry as IOTL he wouldn't be the king, and her influence in the court would be much smaller.

A note about the new king's marriage. As probably the young Francis II would need a royal marriage, but probably he wouldn't marry some Italian noble woman as Catherine of Medicis. If the regent decides that Francis II should marry as soon as possible then the daughters of Charles V and Ferdinand I would be too young for him. I think that a good candidate would be Infanta Maria, the youngest daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Eleanor of Austria. She was related to the Habsburgs, was only three years younger than Francis, was rich (and so with a huge downry) and was pretty.

The Infanta Maria appears to be an excellent potential choice.

With political choas in France for several years and a charismatic preacher in John Calvin I think you could see *Calvinism picked up by nobles and the urban middle class who might seek to use the reformation of the Church to enlarge their own secular powers.

I like the idea of killing Francis II at the same time as he died iOTL. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility, and it would conicide with the *Calvinist movement becoming a major issue in France. If Henry II pursues similar policies as OTL against a larger Hugenot minority, then it could spark an early civil war.

If Henry cracks down on the *Calvinists then I think that some members of the Bourbon family (starting with Charles III) would be willing to try and overthrow the Valois. Unfortunately, with the POD in 1525 the Prince of Conde is butterflied away, but I'm sure the Bourbons can produce some one else.
 
I like the idea of killing Francis II at the same time as he died iOTL. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility, and it would conicide with the *Calvinist movement becoming a major issue in France. If Henry II pursues similar policies as OTL against a larger Hugenot minority, then it could spark an early civil war.

Or he could die just a little later, giving time to his wife give birth to an heir and cause the need of another regency for almost two decades.
 
Top