Mary the Rich and Anne of Brittany

IOTL, Mary the Rich married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria. Suppose, ITTL, Mary instead married Charles VIII of France. If she married Charles, her hunting accident (and consequent death) can be butterflied away. Let us say she lives longer.

But then, what happens to Brittany? Obviously, if Charles is married to Mary, he cannot marry Anne of Brittany. If Anne marries her Habsburg heir (was it not Maximilian himself?), what happens then? Can Brittany be held as an independent country in face of mounting tensions between the Habsburgs and France? Or will there be far fewer tensions ITTL, since without the great wealth of Burgundy, the Habsburgs are much weaker. Can Brittany remain Habsburg, while Netherlands remain in the hands of the Burgundians (and her French allies)?
 
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In OTL, Edward V of England was betrothed to Anne of Brittany. The two were to be married upon their majority with Brittany being inherited by a second son of their union (their first born son would inherit England). If Edward IV were to somehow live long enough to pass the throne to his son, then Brittany would be in a personal union with England, and of course France would seek to break such a union.
 
She's not going to marry Charles. Why submerge her lands in another?

I assume you mean Mary. What are the huge disadvantages of marrying Charles as opposed to marrying Maximilian? Whether they are amalgamated into the Habsburg empire or into the French kingdom, they were going to be incorporated into another country. And could Mary not get a marriage contract that allowed one of her sons to inherit France and another to inherit Burgundy, with a perpetual alliance between them? Also, in such a case, having an allied France on one side would be advantageous to Burgundy.
 
In OTL, Edward V of England was betrothed to Anne of Brittany. The two were to be married upon their majority with Brittany being inherited by a second son of their union (their first born son would inherit England). If Edward IV were to somehow live long enough to pass the throne to his son, then Brittany would be in a personal union with England, and of course France would seek to break such a union.

Well, Britain at this time was in a Civil War, and her finances were in ruins. Can she hope to defend Brittany against France? But yes, if Edward lives long enough, then it becomes interesting.
 
I assume you mean Mary. What are the huge disadvantages of marrying Charles as opposed to marrying Maximilian? Whether they are amalgamated into the Habsburg empire or into the French kingdom, they were going to be incorporated into another country. And could Mary not get a marriage contract that allowed one of her sons to inherit France and another to inherit Burgundy, with a perpetual alliance between them? Also, in such a case, having an allied France on one side would be advantageous to Burgundy.

Because Max gave her sime kind of independence. Marrying Charles means immediately subsuming the Lowlands into France.
 
Mary was 13 yrs older than Charles VIII. If Mary wants multiple sons in an age when many children did not survive into adulthood, she's best off not waiting for Charles to grow up.
 
Because Max gave her sime kind of independence. Marrying Charles means immediately subsuming the Lowlands into France.

Hmm. That's not what I have read. According to my source (Habsburg and Bourbon Europe - 1470 - 1720 by Roger Lockyer), the real kicker was that Louis XI made a major error in trying to take over some Burgundian lands over which France had claims by military force (Franche Comte, Artois, and others). Louis would later tell his confessor that it had been his greatest error in life. And also, IIRC, Charles the Bold was treaty bound to marry a French princess (which he did not). By a self-serving and cynical reading of that treaty, Mary would be compelled by the same treaty to marry a French prince. So, I can easily see France moving, not to secure lands over which France had a claim, but to secure the hand of Mary, with both carrot and stick.
 
Mary was 13 yrs older than Charles VIII. If Mary wants multiple sons in an age when many children did not survive into adulthood, she's best off not waiting for Charles to grow up.

This is very true. But, on the other hand, there was a treaty which compelled the dukes of Burgundy to marry French princesses (which is why Charles the Bold's first two wives were French princesses). Could Mary be compelled to similarly marry a French prince? What princes other than Charles VIII were available?
 
In OTL, Charles, Count of Angouleme, and father of Francis I of France was offered by Louis XI as a groom, but Louis decided against. I suspect Louis was uncomfortable at the thought of any of his vassals having their power increased with the acquisition of the entire Burgundian inheritance. He was the same age as her eventual husband Maximilian so that solves any problems concerning having children. Perhaps having one of Louis’s astrologers forecast that the stars demanded a marriage between the Dauphin and Mary could have somehow convinced Louis XI to handle Mary with a more diplomatic response after her father’s death.
 
In OTL, Charles, Count of Angouleme, and father of Francis I of France was offered by Louis XI as a groom, but Louis decided against. I suspect Louis was uncomfortable at the thought of any of his vassals having their power increased with the acquisition of the entire Burgundian inheritance. He was the same age as her eventual husband Maximilian so that solves any problems concerning having children. Perhaps having one of Louis’s astrologers forecast that the stars demanded a marriage between the Dauphin and Mary could have somehow convinced Louis XI to handle Mary with a more diplomatic response after her father’s death.

This is a fantastic idea. If you permit, I will try to run with it for my planned timeline which involved Burgundy in French influence. I will give you full credit for the idea, of course.

Would it not be easier to do it before the death of Charles, i.e., during the treaty of Peronne? After all, Charles had every hope of producing a male heir. Marrying Mary to a French prince would not be such a bad thing without the benefit of hindsight. And Charles was the sort who took terrible risks (his whole life was filled with inordinate risks and diplomatic gambles and bluffs). Can a marriage of Mary with Charles of Angouleme be arranged? Also, if Charles of Angouleme is married (betrothed) to Mary, it might clear up the problems for Charles after the expiry of the year long truce. Louis might not be so inclined to accuse Charles of treason.

Assuming a betrothal of Mary and Charles at Peronne, tbis sets off major butterflies. Does this mean a more stable relationship for Charles with Louis? Also, what are the effects on the treaty of Picquigny? The English were able to extract a lot of money from Louis. But with a stable eastern flank, will Louis be so inclined to pay off Edward?

Interestingly, if both Brittany and the entire Burgundy are within French influence, it changes the entire reformation and the story of the low countries, and north and west Germany. Will we even have a strong Protestant presence in this corner of the world?
 
Maidros, I thank you praising my idea and certainly permit you to use it in a timeline. However, I must take issue with the idea that Charles the Bold would except any French prince offered up by Louis XI.

In OTL, Charles the Bold used his daughter’s hand in marriage as a diplomatic weapon on countless occasions in return for an alliance. All of these offers were proven to be insincere because he could not bring himself to have a son in law prepared to rule over his vast realm unless his personal power was increased significantly. Nicholas of Lorraine, George, Duke of Clarence, Ferdinand of Aragon, and Louis XI’s brother Charles of Berry were all among the rejected suitors for Mary’s hand. All of the aforementioned princes were all more powerful than Charles of Angouleme and if Charles the Bold did finally relent and allow Mary to get married, he would want to have a powerful son in law as an ally.

Louis XI and Charles the Bold had a strained relationship that dated back to the 1450s. I can’t see Charles agreeing to ever having Mary betrothed to a groom of Louis’s choosing. However, let us say that after the signing of the treaty of Peronne in 1468, Charles the Bold were to fall victim to a fatal fever. Before his death, he makes his mother Isabella regent and guardian of Mary. Louis XI and Isabella sign a treaty that allows Mary to inherit her father’s French fiefs in return for granting Louis the right to nominate a groom for Mary. After rejecting Isabella’s initial candidates for her granddaughter’s hand in marriage, Louis remembers his astrologer’s forecast, and nominates Charles of Angouleme whom Isabella accepts.
 
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