Franz Joseph I assassinated in 1853, what are the effects?

Hey Guys,

In February, 1853 there was an assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph I's life, it obviously failed and the Emperor would rule for another 63 years. However what if he had been killed?

In 1853 he had no children, thus the Austrian crown would've passed onto his 21 year old brother Ferdinand II (whom IOTL became Emperor of Mexico). Ferdinand (or commonly known as Maximilian IOTL) was Liberal in his views and also well cultured. What would've been the effects of there being a Ferdinand II?

I can think of the repercussions effecting the Polish, Italians, Prussians, French and perhaps even the Hungarians.

What do you think would've happened?
 
Probably Austria will fare much better than OTL. Archduke Ferdinand Max was rather modern and enlightened in his outlook, very different from his much more conservative brother. In my personal opinion, he was also rather more talented, intelligent and charismatic than FJI, who seemed to be dull and lacking the facilities to understand others and, especially, the technological progress that happened during his reign. There were rumours that before FM's birth Archduchess Sophie was very, veeeeeery well-aquainted with the Duke of Reichstadt...
 
The first test comes in the CRIMEAN WAR - if Ferdinand Max is of a different mind than his brother, Austria may enter earlier against Russia, with the potential for massive butterflies which would make most of the rest of the discussion meaningless...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
I could see a Franco-Austrian Alliance in this scenario... After all, Napoleon III befriended Archduke Maximilian OTL. Napoleon III was also one who believed in the rumors saying that Maximilian's father wasn't Archduke Franz Karl but Napoleon II, Duke of Reichstadt.
If Maximilian becomes Emperor of Austria, there is a good chance that an alliance will be possible.
 

Deleted member 1487

At very least expect different reforms instead of the Dual Monarchy. The most likely change would be a Metternich-style parliament where all the ethnic groups got a say, not two ruling ethnic groups.
I could see a Hungarian revolt at some point and/or much earlier universal sufferage, which breaks the power of the Hungarian gentry.
 
Max was also in charge of the Austrian Navy, and Admiral Tegethoff, who defeated the Italians at Lissa in 1866, was his appointee.

As Emperor, he gets to appoint the Army generals as well, which might be good news for the Empire in any war.
 
Top