Joséphine not infertile

Let's say she becomes pregnant the night of their marriage (har har) - March 9, 1796, with the future Napoleon II.
 
Well, by 1814, he's already in his majority, which could change how the Congress of Vienna handles things.

Assuming not much else changes and Napoleon I still ends up losing, Napoleon II might get some land in Italy (Probably in the Austrian sphere of influence). This, of course, completely messes up French politics afterward, since Napoleon III no longer has a legitimate claim as the Bonapartist candidate if Napoleon II is still alive.

How things develop though depend entirely on Nappy II's character. If he gets land in Italy, might he take up the mantle and unify Italy instead of Piedmont (unlikely, I know)? Or does he take Nappy III's place in France (equally unlikely)?
 

maverick

Banned
We shouldn't forget the geopolitical thinking behind the marriage with the Austrian Archduchess, but let's assume that Josephine does have Napoleon's child...

Without the Austrian marriage in 1810, how does Napoleon's policy in Europe change from IOTL? Austrian has still be mauled at Wagram and the treaty with Alexander I is still in place, along with half of the army in place in Spain...

Might this change Napoleon's plans regarding Russia and Austria?
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Let's say she becomes pregnant the night of their marriage (har har) - March 9, 1796, with the future Napoleon II.

This changes everything across the board. But it also creates so many butterflies that it is unlikely events would turn out in the manner they did IOTL.

since Napoleon III no longer has a legitimate claim as the Bonapartist candidate if Napoleon II is still alive.

It's probable that Louis Napoleon was no more a Bonaparte than I am a Hapsburg.
 
Napoleon III wouldn't even exist in this TL - not as we know him, anyway. The POD's more than a decade before his birth.
 
Just checking an idea: could Napoleon have adopted the children of Josephine born before their marriage as his heirs? Eugene was born in 1781, and had experience as a military commander.
 
What if Napoleon died just before his Russian invasion in 1812? Napoleon II would be about 15. How would that change things?
 
Top