Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand IV

As it says on the tin:

Ferdinand IV, was king of Hungary & Bohemia and probable future Holy Roman Emperor died at the age of 20 in 1654 of smallpox. Because of this Leopold I was pulled from his destiny in the church and became HRE Ferdinand III's heir apparent.

One of the few effects I could see of Ferdinand IV surviving is that Maria Teresa of Spain would marry that cousin and thus be rendered unavailable for Louis XIV, who'll marry either Minette or Margherita Violante of Savoy instead.

Also, Leopold was said to be bigoted/overly pious due to his being raised for the church. For instance, he'd sign death warrants, and then go to mass to pray for the souls of those he'd just condemned.

Thoughts?
 
Sorry, I'm nitpicking but Leopold I was also not blessed with the best health - indeed AFAIK there were several scares of him dying at varying points during his reign. Not to mention his chin that earned him the nickname of 'Leopold the Hogmouth' due to his depictions on coins.

But, as to the marriage of Le Roi Soleil, IIRC Antonia Fraser says in her biography on Louis XIV that "if the Spanish infanta had in some way been unavailable, Anne [of Austria] would've naturally turned to her other niece [Minette]". No one was in favor of Margherita Violante becoming queen of France due to the fact that she was the daughter of a mere duke. Also, Marie Mancini derided her to Louis XIV, which seems to also have played a role, since Margherita was presented with a pair of black lacquer earrings and a diamond necklace when told that the marriage would not be happening.

Mazarin had really just opened negotiations with Savoy in order to scare Felipe IV into surrendering the infanta, with whom at that stage he was involved in negotiations to marry her to her cousin in Vienna. When he heard of the French court's progress south to Lyon, he tore up the marriage contract with Austria, exclaiming "this cannot and will not be!" and then sent for the French ambassador.
 
Sorry, I'm nitpicking but Leopold I was also not blessed with the best health - indeed AFAIK there were several scares of him dying at varying points during his reign. Not to mention his chin that earned him the nickname of 'Leopold the Hogmouth' due to his depictions on coins.

But, as to the marriage of Le Roi Soleil, IIRC Antonia Fraser says in her biography on Louis XIV that "if the Spanish infanta had in some way been unavailable, Anne [of Austria] would've naturally turned to her other niece [Minette]". No one was in favor of Margherita Violante becoming queen of France due to the fact that she was the daughter of a mere duke. Also, Marie Mancini derided her to Louis XIV, which seems to also have played a role, since Margherita was presented with a pair of black lacquer earrings and a diamond necklace when told that the marriage would not be happening.

Mazarin had really just opened negotiations with Savoy in order to scare Felipe IV into surrendering the infanta, with whom at that stage he was involved in negotiations to marry her to her cousin in Vienna. When he heard of the French court's progress south to Lyon, he tore up the marriage contract with Austria, exclaiming "this cannot and will not be!" and then sent for the French ambassador.

Okay, so no Queen Marguerite-Yolande for France then. But I think Minette would definitely be happier married to Louis XIV than to Monsieur.

As for Vienna, I remember reading somewhere that while Maria Teresa would've made a very good queen in/for Spain she cut a very poor figure as queen of France - with her dwarves etc - so it's possible that as an Empress she might do very well.

As to Ferdinand IV, he strikes me as though he could be Austria's answer to Louis XIV. And maybe more than a match for Louis than Leopold was (politically).
 
You have a remarkably positive view of Ferdinand (as we always tend to of those who die before their time, I suppose). Conversely, I always figured the Empire dodged a bullet with him.

Leopold was able to identify the best men for the job and appoint them upon his succession, precisely because he hadn't had a swarm of flattering sycophants around him since he could walk. He was very bad at dismissing a person who had outlived their usefulness - loyalty was perhaps a bit overdeveloped in him - but he arranged his government much better, especially at first, than could possibly be expected of Ferdinand, whose early courts would have been composed almost entirely of flattering embezzlers.

The Hungarian revolts would still happen, still easily be put down, and instead of showing mercy to the point of unreason, Ferdinand could reasonably be expected to engage in reprisals, "reforming" the privileges of the Hungarian nobility, townships and churches. A more centralized and egalitarian state might be good for Hungary in the long run, but in the short term, it will piss off enough of his subjects (and possibly scare his non-Hungarian subjects) at a time when he desperately needs their goodwill.

While he was even more averse to change than most of his family, Leopold came to one very important new conclusion: strong as it was, the Empire could not fight France and the Ottomans both and win. France was Spain's problem, and despite the close ties of kinship, spending Imperial resources to back Spain against France was foolhardy and dangerous. I suspect Ferdinand - raised to believe he would be the most powerful man in Christendom (and that Christendom naturally was the most powerful civilization on earth) - and surrounded by flattering yes-men, will keep throwing men and money at France until the Empire is hollow and easy pickings. He'll be the best Emperor Spain ever had, and the very least it will cost him is Hungary.
 
@ Shawn Endresen & Kellan Sullivan: I tend to agree, that Leopold wasn't that bad, however I also believe that Ferdinand might have learned a thing or two as he got older.
 
Yes. Leopold wasn't perfect, but he was tough, surprisingly clever, and, oh, yes, he wound up getting the Habsburgs most of the Hungarian lands they'd been lusting after for over a century.

That's a long way from being a busted flush.
 
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