United Europe with capital in Brussels?
Let's not forget that Charles V was Dutch.
Precisely. Step 1 of Belgian world conquest is already underway.Isn't that OTL?
During the days of the Hansa, Low Saxon was used as a trade language all the way to the Baltics, and one may argue that the northern coastal plain of Germany and Poland should be defined as 'low country'. It's just as flat as the Netherlands. Considering the vulnerability of a surviving Lotharingia, this kind of thing might be the better way to go: a contry that unites all Low Franconians, Frisians and Saxons (including those speakers of Low Saxon who overwhelmingly settled Pommerania and Prussia during the Ostsiedlung). We'd be talking about the OTL Low Countries, plus roughly everything blue on this map.
Such a country could be economically powerful. Quite possibly powerful enough to enforce its culture on the parts of the Low Countries that remained French(-speaking) in OTL. I think this country could realistically extend from the Somme to the Memel. It would have Calais, Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels, Liege, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Cologne, Münster, Bremen, Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin, Danzig and Königsberg-- and a score of other cities that are economically significant on an international scale. This would be the economic powerhouse of Europe. Potentially moreso than OTL Germany.
The question is why would France, Austria and Denmark let this happen. It only happened in OTL because Prussia had one of Europe's most powerful army and in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, Austria's control over Germany was weakened, nationalism was rising in Germany and Bismark was leading the charge. In fact it was these 3 powers the prussians defeated on the road to unification.Most importantly it will dominate the entire Rhine.Firstly there will not be any disturbance in trade flow, and once the Rhine is exploited for full trade potential to export coal through Antwerp and Rotterdam ports via Essen freely, it will dominate trading markets. Not surprised if they turned the current South Holland and Zeeland provinces all into ports, you could easily build 7. It will also have the ports Germany had aswell on the northern Baltic plain, with this combination it would definitely have the potential to unite Germany and the country will be even more naval orientated.
Assuming the ocean is the Netherlands
Well Karl V was born and raised in Netherlands... I am pretty sure he would consider himself as a DutchI don't know if we can really say that - he was a mix of a lot of ancestries.
The question is why would France, Austria and Denmark let this happen. It only happened in OTL because Prussia had one of Europe's most powerful army and in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars, Austria's control over Germany was weakened, nationalism was rising in Germany and Bismark was leading the charge. In fact it was these 3 powers the prussians defeated on the road to unification.
If this hypothetical Burgundy would be so powerful, why would it lose so much to France? Also, this almost certainly butterflies away Prussia at the very least.This is absolutely ridiculous, but you know, its fun.
This scenario assumes that Charles does not die and marries his daughter to a German duchy, not Austria, or that he has a son and the dynasty eventually become German. It also assumes that Burgundy shakes loose of non-low country lands which put it into different institutions.
This is what I envisage. If Burgundy dominates the Low countries and migrates east gaining land through succession wars, inheritance and picking the correct side on wars. Presuming by 1815 that the Holy Roman Empire or replica of it is still in place, such as the German Confederation, she would have a legitimate claim to what we call today the Prussian provinces of Rhine and Westphalia. What's ironic is that in 1815 and 1945 the Dutch actually wanted a slice of this territory without having owning any territory previously. (Apart from Nassau.) Therefore if you have a state with land in these areas for 50, 100, 150 years, the longer they have these lands in this area the more likely they are to expand and want more. In 1815 the coalition in the Congress of Vienna set up the German Confederation to prevent German unification, therefore if you have a Low Country state that was not excluded from the HRE and was ruled independently by a German dynasty for 300 years one would expect to include it.
The geopolitical crisis is mind-boggling, the contest to unite this country would be split three ways: Austrian Empire, Kingdom of Prussia and the "Germanised Dutch Kingdom".
Just look at that coastline.......
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If this hypothetical Burgundy would be so powerful, why would it lose so much to France? Also, this almost certainly butterflies away Prussia at the very least.
What would be considered the "core" region of this alt-Low Country? Aside from Benelux, what else might be considered an integral part of the country that they would be loathe to lose?