Even though I'm not fully finished with my current alternate timeline Finis Austria, in doing research for the construction of the alternate timeline, I discovered that I had yet another potential alternate timeline involving the young heir who died young, before he could consolidate his claim to the Spanish Hapsburg* inheritance. The question which had been on my mind was "what if Joseph Ferdinand had survived to adulthood and gathered all the lands of the Spanish Hapsburgs under the Wittelsbach dynasty?" This brought about additional questions such as "Would the Wittelsbachs replace the Hapsburgs as Holy Roman Emperors?" "Would Prussia still reach for great power status in this new environment and further weaken the Hapsburgs?" "Would the Saxon Wettins try harder to gain the Polish Crown now that their Wittelsbach rivals have the Spanish Crown?", and "How would all this affect the expansionist policy of France?" Even before I finish the first timeline, I wish to explore this second timeline diverging from our actual timeline in which Joseph Ferdinand survives to adulthood, fathering many children, and acquiring the Spanish Crown and possibly in future the Imperial title. Keep in mind that I'm still learning all there is to know about constructing alternate timelines so I will likely make mistakes-much as I'm sure I've already done in the current alt-timeline. I can only ask that you the reader bear with me on this. I may create a separate thread solely for the purpose of allowing for comment, corrections-if any are needed, and sage advice on timeline construction, but if I don't, don't hold it against me. I do appreciate the likes my current timeline has received so far as that helps build my confidence. As I've done in my other timeline, if I have to stop because of happenings in life, I will mark the current post appropriately. I will also asterick any individual or event that is different from OTL and explain how its different.
Though I have thus far failed to address the Scientific Age and the Philosophes in my Austria timeline (which i will address very soon), I will likely not mention such periods in this timeline except as the locations of the events will be different. It can therefore be assumed that the events themselves will remain more or less the same as IOTL. Also, as I'm no expert on economics or military matters, I can only try to stay within plausible realms when using numbers in both areas, but again I will likely make mistakes, so please just bear with me. Lastly, I have yet to determine where I will end my Austria timeline, so for now i will leave it open-ended as to when this one will end. Thank you for reading my Austria timeline and giving likes on it and I hope you will enjoy this second venture into alternate timeline construction.
This is a general list and summary of the 'mini-butterflies' or smaller PODs that will be included in this timeline. i will also name the main POD
- Mini POD # 1: John Sobieski III feted as victor of the Relief of Vienna and uses Papal subsidies to expand the Polish-Lithuania state into Ruthenia and Moldavia
Let's be realistic, this scenario would likely still have turned out as it did IOTL, but perhaps because of Sobieski's heroic victory against the Ottomans at Vienna, he attracts many knights and mercenary troops from across Europe, earns the respect of the Hapsburgs and enough Papal subsidies to continue his campaign, first expanding to Moldavia (with his son Jakub gaining merits and more importantly military experience), then joining in an alliance with Charles XII to invade Russia in 1700 and conquer Ruthenia (Ukraine). Whether this delays the later Partitions, results in no Partitions, or keeps the outcome the same as IOTL remains to be seen.
- Mini POD #2: France forced for the time being to renounce Strasbourg, which remains in the HRE another decade
As a result of the War of the Peace of Ryswick, France had been forced to restore the lands seized through the Reunions, but was allowed to keep Strassburg/Strasbourg. ITTL, France would be pressured by the Emperor Leopold I and the Spanish king Charles II to restore Strassburg to the Empire, which would make it a Free City as a gesture toward Louis XIV. The Sun King would not renounce his claim to the territory, however, and in a future conflict with the Empire, could again seize the city and all of Alsace
- Mini POD #3: Jacobite Succession in England delays the Glorious Revolution by Years
In the Glorious Revolution of 1688-9 IOTL, William of Orange (William III of Great Britain) drove out James II (VII) and defeated his Irish-French army at the Battle of the Boyne, and while the Jacobites would attempt risings in 1715 (The Fifteen) and later in 1745 (The Forty-Five) would fail to overturn the coronation of William and Mary as king and queen of Great Britain. ITTL, the succession of James III(VIII) as king following the death of his father in 1701 and the defeat of William at the Boyne in 1690 would bring England and France together for a time, as James III would, like his father, be a client ruler of Louis XIV. William, surviving the Boyne and returning to Holland, would simply bide his time and wait for the moment to make another effort at driving James III from the English throne.
On 11 October 1698, in The Hague in the United Provinces of the Northern Netherlands - also known as the Dutch Republic, representatives from England, the Republic and France met to discuss the succession to the Spanish Empire. While the French representative, the Duc de Tallard favored a French succession due to the marriage link between Louis XIV and Maria Teresa (not to be confused with Queen-Empress Maria Theresa of the Hapsburg Monarchy or Austria). Anthonie Heinsius, Grand Pensionary of the Dutch Republic opposed the idea on the grounds of the recent French invasion of Holland during the Nine Years War. James II (and VII of Scotland) was considered a client of Louis XIV and thus also supported the French candidacy. None of the parties involved in the talks took into consideration the other two powers interested in the succession, the Hapsburg Monarchy and Spain. Charles II defied expectations by continuing to live despite suffering the genetic maladies associated with the inbreeding of which the Hapsburgs were most famous for. Heinsius was joined in his opposition by the one man who had recently fought against Louis XIV and was opposed to James, William of Orange. He urged the other powers that a suitable treaty would need to lay down the terms of the partition so both Austria and France gained equally. Maximilian of Bavaria's son, Joseph Ferdinand was chosen to become King of Spain solely because the Wittelsbach dynasty was not considered to be a threat to the stability of Europe as the Hapsburg and Bourbon houses were. In this partition treaty, France would acquire the Italian kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and the Spanish Basque province of Gipuzkoa, while Austria would acquire the Duchy of Milan. The Spanish were so opposed to the partition treaty that on 14 November the Spanish Cortes or Diet forced Charles iI to sign his will giving the entirety of the Spanish Empire to joseph Ferdinand, as the son of the war-hero Maximilian. Maria Anna, Charles II's second wife would serve as a regent as Joseph Ferdinand had not come of age yet. The announcemeny of the succession treaty was received with at best a lukewarm response and at worst outright hostility. Four months later the succession was thrown into doubt again as Joseph Ferdinand contracted smallpox, and it was expected that he would likely not survive. But like the monarch he would ultimately succeed, Joseph Ferdinand astounded everyone by recovering from smallpox, When Charles II finally died on 1 November 1700, Joseph Ferdinand was offered the throne with his mother, Maria Anna serving as regent. Acting in the dual role of queen and regent, Maria Anna immediately began to reform the Spanish military, rightly sensing that both Austria and France would likely declare war in order to carve off pieces of the Spanish Empire in Europe, William of Orange became fearful of potential English intervention in the conflict aligned with France and now reached out to Emoeror Leopold I to contract an alliamce between the Republic and the Holy Roman Empire not just against Louis XIV but also James II.
Though I have thus far failed to address the Scientific Age and the Philosophes in my Austria timeline (which i will address very soon), I will likely not mention such periods in this timeline except as the locations of the events will be different. It can therefore be assumed that the events themselves will remain more or less the same as IOTL. Also, as I'm no expert on economics or military matters, I can only try to stay within plausible realms when using numbers in both areas, but again I will likely make mistakes, so please just bear with me. Lastly, I have yet to determine where I will end my Austria timeline, so for now i will leave it open-ended as to when this one will end. Thank you for reading my Austria timeline and giving likes on it and I hope you will enjoy this second venture into alternate timeline construction.
This is a general list and summary of the 'mini-butterflies' or smaller PODs that will be included in this timeline. i will also name the main POD
- Mini POD # 1: John Sobieski III feted as victor of the Relief of Vienna and uses Papal subsidies to expand the Polish-Lithuania state into Ruthenia and Moldavia
Let's be realistic, this scenario would likely still have turned out as it did IOTL, but perhaps because of Sobieski's heroic victory against the Ottomans at Vienna, he attracts many knights and mercenary troops from across Europe, earns the respect of the Hapsburgs and enough Papal subsidies to continue his campaign, first expanding to Moldavia (with his son Jakub gaining merits and more importantly military experience), then joining in an alliance with Charles XII to invade Russia in 1700 and conquer Ruthenia (Ukraine). Whether this delays the later Partitions, results in no Partitions, or keeps the outcome the same as IOTL remains to be seen.
- Mini POD #2: France forced for the time being to renounce Strasbourg, which remains in the HRE another decade
As a result of the War of the Peace of Ryswick, France had been forced to restore the lands seized through the Reunions, but was allowed to keep Strassburg/Strasbourg. ITTL, France would be pressured by the Emperor Leopold I and the Spanish king Charles II to restore Strassburg to the Empire, which would make it a Free City as a gesture toward Louis XIV. The Sun King would not renounce his claim to the territory, however, and in a future conflict with the Empire, could again seize the city and all of Alsace
- Mini POD #3: Jacobite Succession in England delays the Glorious Revolution by Years
In the Glorious Revolution of 1688-9 IOTL, William of Orange (William III of Great Britain) drove out James II (VII) and defeated his Irish-French army at the Battle of the Boyne, and while the Jacobites would attempt risings in 1715 (The Fifteen) and later in 1745 (The Forty-Five) would fail to overturn the coronation of William and Mary as king and queen of Great Britain. ITTL, the succession of James III(VIII) as king following the death of his father in 1701 and the defeat of William at the Boyne in 1690 would bring England and France together for a time, as James III would, like his father, be a client ruler of Louis XIV. William, surviving the Boyne and returning to Holland, would simply bide his time and wait for the moment to make another effort at driving James III from the English throne.
On 11 October 1698, in The Hague in the United Provinces of the Northern Netherlands - also known as the Dutch Republic, representatives from England, the Republic and France met to discuss the succession to the Spanish Empire. While the French representative, the Duc de Tallard favored a French succession due to the marriage link between Louis XIV and Maria Teresa (not to be confused with Queen-Empress Maria Theresa of the Hapsburg Monarchy or Austria). Anthonie Heinsius, Grand Pensionary of the Dutch Republic opposed the idea on the grounds of the recent French invasion of Holland during the Nine Years War. James II (and VII of Scotland) was considered a client of Louis XIV and thus also supported the French candidacy. None of the parties involved in the talks took into consideration the other two powers interested in the succession, the Hapsburg Monarchy and Spain. Charles II defied expectations by continuing to live despite suffering the genetic maladies associated with the inbreeding of which the Hapsburgs were most famous for. Heinsius was joined in his opposition by the one man who had recently fought against Louis XIV and was opposed to James, William of Orange. He urged the other powers that a suitable treaty would need to lay down the terms of the partition so both Austria and France gained equally. Maximilian of Bavaria's son, Joseph Ferdinand was chosen to become King of Spain solely because the Wittelsbach dynasty was not considered to be a threat to the stability of Europe as the Hapsburg and Bourbon houses were. In this partition treaty, France would acquire the Italian kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and the Spanish Basque province of Gipuzkoa, while Austria would acquire the Duchy of Milan. The Spanish were so opposed to the partition treaty that on 14 November the Spanish Cortes or Diet forced Charles iI to sign his will giving the entirety of the Spanish Empire to joseph Ferdinand, as the son of the war-hero Maximilian. Maria Anna, Charles II's second wife would serve as a regent as Joseph Ferdinand had not come of age yet. The announcemeny of the succession treaty was received with at best a lukewarm response and at worst outright hostility. Four months later the succession was thrown into doubt again as Joseph Ferdinand contracted smallpox, and it was expected that he would likely not survive. But like the monarch he would ultimately succeed, Joseph Ferdinand astounded everyone by recovering from smallpox, When Charles II finally died on 1 November 1700, Joseph Ferdinand was offered the throne with his mother, Maria Anna serving as regent. Acting in the dual role of queen and regent, Maria Anna immediately began to reform the Spanish military, rightly sensing that both Austria and France would likely declare war in order to carve off pieces of the Spanish Empire in Europe, William of Orange became fearful of potential English intervention in the conflict aligned with France and now reached out to Emoeror Leopold I to contract an alliamce between the Republic and the Holy Roman Empire not just against Louis XIV but also James II.
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