In my previous thread "Napoleon does not Turn on Spain" (https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=369636), user Dathi THorfinnsson suggests that Napoleon's biggest mistake was deposing the Spanish king and installing Joseph. What I'm hoping to establish is a situation like that of Julius Caesar with Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII. Napoleon will either choose ruling Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma or their son Ferdinand VII but will not install Joseph. Whichever contesting side to the Spanish throne he chooses also gets to rule over Portugal and suppress Portuguese resistance themselves. Without Joseph Bonaparte and the French occupation of Iberia, France and Spain remain allies against Great Britain. Without having to suppress Portuguese resistance, Napoleon can focus elsewhere and prepare better for either the ongoing naval war against Great Britain or the eventual land war against Russia. Civil War between conservatives and liberals are destined to occur but, that would be enough to distract Spain and keep them from turning on France. What would be the alternate outcomes of him choosing either side?
Last edited: