Someone talked about Denmark holding Germany and that got me thinking on something related.
Suppose that we have King A of a stable Kalmar Union. Christian I is a good start, let's say he manages to find some funds while paving way for his successors for a stable union.
Suppose he has a line of family that rules for some time. His son, grandson, and two great grandsons rule and their reigns are prosperous.
Then the Danish King dies without close relatives. The male-preference primogeniture heir is... a young countess, great-granddaughter of King A (Christian I) and second cousin of the previous two kings.
The countess is betrothed the House of Hapsburg, an Austrian Archduke. The Hapsburgs have maintained good ties with the House of Lancaster, or Tudor depending on which one you want to hold the throne of England. I'll go with Tudor since I don't see Danish stabilization of Kalmar affecting the War of the Roses if the Danes do nothing to intervene. The Hapsburgs have also maintained good relation with the Stuarts and Venice. They established an elaborate system of castles that the Ottomans cracked their teeth on, suffering three humiliating campaign defeats.
The new Queen's father (not royal line) and mother (royal line and descendant of Christian I) are prestigious, hold a large estate, have plenty of support in Norway and Denmark. Sweden is ambivalent.
The families future Holy Roman Emperor and Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden discuss about the prospects of a personal union. Both families have a stable base of support within their own lands. The Hapsburgs are greatly prestigious. They defended Europe from the scourge of the Ottomans, while extracting huge sums of payment in reparations from them. They also are on good relations with many of the major powers in Europe, although not the Valois.
Now, what to do about the Sound Tolls Øresundstolden in TTL? Russia really doesn't want the tolls to exist. England and Scotland's royal families were on good terms with the Hapsburgs, they might not want to cause new tensions. Sweden doesn't care since they are exempt in TTL (Kalmar Union). Could the new Queen offer a 70% discount on English merchants without making the Danish treasury in the red?
From my understanding, in OTL all foreign ships paid a toll. Danish and Norwegian registered ships were exempt. This applied to Swedish ships until the breakup of the Kalmar Union. Swedish ships got an exemption between the Torstenton War and the Great Northern War. Everyone else was considered foreign and subject to tax.
Actually, is it even in the interests to maintain a high toll? Wouldn't lowering it across the board be favorable, because it might stimulate trade in the Holy Roman Empire, which could be taxable? What should the new couple's approach to the Sound Tolls be if their goal is to stabilize the situation for their unborn children?
Suppose that we have King A of a stable Kalmar Union. Christian I is a good start, let's say he manages to find some funds while paving way for his successors for a stable union.
Suppose he has a line of family that rules for some time. His son, grandson, and two great grandsons rule and their reigns are prosperous.
Then the Danish King dies without close relatives. The male-preference primogeniture heir is... a young countess, great-granddaughter of King A (Christian I) and second cousin of the previous two kings.
The countess is betrothed the House of Hapsburg, an Austrian Archduke. The Hapsburgs have maintained good ties with the House of Lancaster, or Tudor depending on which one you want to hold the throne of England. I'll go with Tudor since I don't see Danish stabilization of Kalmar affecting the War of the Roses if the Danes do nothing to intervene. The Hapsburgs have also maintained good relation with the Stuarts and Venice. They established an elaborate system of castles that the Ottomans cracked their teeth on, suffering three humiliating campaign defeats.
The new Queen's father (not royal line) and mother (royal line and descendant of Christian I) are prestigious, hold a large estate, have plenty of support in Norway and Denmark. Sweden is ambivalent.
The families future Holy Roman Emperor and Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden discuss about the prospects of a personal union. Both families have a stable base of support within their own lands. The Hapsburgs are greatly prestigious. They defended Europe from the scourge of the Ottomans, while extracting huge sums of payment in reparations from them. They also are on good relations with many of the major powers in Europe, although not the Valois.
Now, what to do about the Sound Tolls Øresundstolden in TTL? Russia really doesn't want the tolls to exist. England and Scotland's royal families were on good terms with the Hapsburgs, they might not want to cause new tensions. Sweden doesn't care since they are exempt in TTL (Kalmar Union). Could the new Queen offer a 70% discount on English merchants without making the Danish treasury in the red?
From my understanding, in OTL all foreign ships paid a toll. Danish and Norwegian registered ships were exempt. This applied to Swedish ships until the breakup of the Kalmar Union. Swedish ships got an exemption between the Torstenton War and the Great Northern War. Everyone else was considered foreign and subject to tax.
Actually, is it even in the interests to maintain a high toll? Wouldn't lowering it across the board be favorable, because it might stimulate trade in the Holy Roman Empire, which could be taxable? What should the new couple's approach to the Sound Tolls be if their goal is to stabilize the situation for their unborn children?