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So, lately I've been having an idea for an ATL: what if there had been no war of Spanish succession?
For my POD I offer this: WI Baltasar Carlos (1629-1646), prince of the Asturias and eldest surviving son of King Philip IV by his first marriage to Elisabeth of France, had not died of smallpox at the age of 16? By all accounts, the prince of the Asturias was a healthy child, and at the time of his death he had been betrothed to his first cousin, Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, who later would marry her intended groom's father, Philip IV (the archduchess's uncle).
The ATL Habsburg kings of Spain in the latter part of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries would have had their work cut out for them of course: the Spanish state was in heavy debt and greatly in need of centralization.
Further, if the dynasty survived in Spain but failed in Austria, I think the war of Austrian Succession would have gone much differently, and been much more bloody, as many European powers (i.e. France) would have been quick to act to prevent the Spanish from extending their power east.
While the Habsburgs were monstrously inbred, I think one of the major genetic problems was the uncle-niece match of Philip IV and Maria Anna. So, suppose she would have married her cousin as intended? The risks of genetic disorder are much less with cousin marriage, as modern science has shown. And, assuming they'd managed to have a healthy son, given the politics of the time, I don't think it'd be that much of a stretch to think that the infante would have married a French bride, considering the pattern of Carlos II's first marriage. So assuming he had, the infusion of more Bourbon blood into the family might have had a mitigating effect on the gene pool and allowed the dynasty to continue, for at least a bit longer.
Europe would obviously look much different, especially during the nineteenth century.

What does everyone think? Suggestions, comments, ideas and opinions are all welcome :)
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