One Man's Greed

One Man's Greed



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Louis XIV was not a man one should keep waiting. However this wait did have merit, very important news was brought before the king. The French foreign minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert was found dead.

While normally Louis could simply replace him, this day was perhaps one of the worst days an event like this could have unfolded. He was supposed to have a meeting with the English ambassador about the unfolding Spanish crisis. Charles II of Spain was soon going to die. That in and of itself was not a problem however; the problem was that there was no one to succeed him. This crisis in particular left England scared. The nine years war had just ended less than five years ago and England, along with the majority of Europe, was drowning with debt and coping with a missing generation. They did not want another war. Because of this in 1700 France and England agreed to the treaty of London (also known as the second partion treaty) which stipulated that France would accept Archduke Charles of Austria as the ruler of Spain. However France would be compensated with the Spanish possessions and Italy and an assurance that Archduke Charles would not be able to inherit the position of the Holy Roman Emperor. England was willing to give France a lot to ensure they would never get Spain. Now France had to decide whether it would accept the treaty it had already signed, or would it take the risk and go all in, trying to guarantee the Spanish throne for a Frenchman. Louis received conflicting messages from his court. The majority the royal court wanted Louis to accept the treaty, however Jean-Baptiste Colbert and a few others argued that there would be a war regardless of what happened. They said that France should try to reap the maximum rewards.

Louis thought long and hard about his options. Eventually he made his decision, he was going to respect the terms of the treaty. However solving one problem often creates another.

Charles II of Spain died on November 1st 1700. In his will he left the Spanish throne to the Duke of Anjou, a Frenchman. However Louis XIV persuaded him and his younger brother Duc de Berry to say no, he was going to follow the treaty to the letter. Thus Archduke Charles of Austrian became the next king of Spain. However there was a disagreement. Only the treaty between France and England said France could keep the Spanish possessions in Italy. Archduke Charles wanted all of the Spanish Empire. War was a serious possibility, just as Jean-Baptiste Colbert warned before his death.

Thankfully there was no war. Neither country wanted to fight; both had suffered from a half century of near constant war. The treaty of Paris put an end to the issue. However France would have to give some concessions. Milan and the surrounding area would be given Austria and Sardinia would be given to Spain. France would be allowed to keep Naples and Sicily. A period of great tension had ended.

From 1700 to 1711 there was peace throughout Europe. Nations were finally able to lick their wounds from the near constant warfare the seventeenth century brought. However peace cannot last forever. Joseph I, the Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of Austria, was dying of smallpox without an heir. This led to another crisis because the only other person that could succeed him was the old Archduke (now king Charles III of Spain). However the Archduke, just as he promised to France, renounced his right to the throne. Realizing that there would be no heirs to his throne Joseph I did the unthinkable on his deathbed. In his will he left Austria to Charles III of Spain. This simple action left the entire world looking at Charles III, wondering what his reaction would be.

Charles III was left with an incredibly hard position. He could say no guarantee that he would remain the leader of one of the most powerful countries on the planet, Spain. Or he could be bold. He could be in control of country that no other could rival. In the end greed consumed him. The Hapsburgs once again controlled the Spanish Empire and Austria under one ruler. A war was sure to come.



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Interesting but INCREDIBLY unlikely. Louis XIV would never let such an opportunity slip through his fingers, let alone give the vast majority of the Spanish monarchy to the Habsburgs when there's a will leaving the whole thing to his grandson.
 
Interesting but INCREDIBLY unlikely. Louis XIV would never let such an opportunity slip through his fingers, let alone give the vast majority of the Spanish monarchy to the Habsburgs when there's a will leaving the whole thing to his grandson.

Actually OTL he really wanted to accept the second partion plan. Sure he did not want the Hapsburgs to surround him, but you must realize the situation that France is in. France is horribly in debt and realistically unable to launch another war. In addition the country has been having a massive famine since the earlier 1690's. Sure France wants to fight, but it cannot. OTL the war of Spanish Succsession showed just how not prepared France was to fight. In TL we kill off the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who was the man who convinced Louis XIV to fight. In reality most people did not want to fight. Louis is not dumb realizes that is not a fight France can win (France and half of Spain vs. the rest of Western and Central Europe.)
 
I am going to explain what happened in my first post as it could be complicated what there OTL and what is not. The POD is the French Foreign Minister's death. He is the man that modern historians credit for Louis XIV deciding not to accept the second partition treaty (the treaty of London). The treaty of London was agreed upon by England and France OTL. It stipulated that France would be could have the Spanish possessions in Italy as long as it did not try to acquire the Spanish throne and acquiesced to Archduke Charles of Austria having the throne. However Austria was not included in the treaty of London are were unhappy with results. War was averted through diplomacy, France could keep Naples and Sicily, but was forced to compensate by letting Sardinia remain a part of the Spanish Empire and giving Milan to Austria. That is part one of the first post. Part two is when Joseph I dies without an heir in 1711. That is OTL. However OTL Archduke Charles was able to take the throne, but now he is the king of Spain. This leaves an exact replication situation leading up to the OTL war of Austrian Succession, just 30 years earlier. Without any heirs as a dying wish Joseph I states that Charles III of Spain (the previous Austrian Archduke) should take his place. Greedily Charles accepts. This is surely going to lead to a war because the balance of power in Europe has just been smashed into a thousand pieces.

I hope this made things more understandable.
 
If I was France I would demand the Spanish Netherland in exchange of the reconition of Charles III rule on Spain. War would still happen but it would be delayed a few years leaving France time to recover and prepare for war.
 
If I was France I would demand the Spanish Netherland in exchange of the reconition of Charles III rule on Spain. War would still happen but it would be delayed a few years leaving France time to recover and prepare for war.

The big issue about this is that the British would most likely join the war against France. If France doesn't accept the treaty the British are likely jump aboard any war with France in it. Also keep in mind that the Netherlands were in personal union with England (and Scotland) and any French grabbing of the low counties would be threatening.
 
The big issue about this is that the British would most likely join the war against France. If France doesn't accept the treaty the British are likely jump aboard any war with France in it. Also keep in mind that the Netherlands were in personal union with England (and Scotland) and any French grabbing of the low counties would be threatening.
The Hapsburg owning half the world is less threatening then France with the spanish netherlands?
 
I hope that at least once Poland won't get partitioned :p

About England- it's quite interesting situation, really. After all if France wins, it'll surely want some lands- apart from breaking newly created union. On the other hand, if Austria wins, it's not like balance of power will be restored. I guess that best thing that GB (well- it'll be GB in future I guess) can do is staying out of this mess, allowing them to sort it out. Of course supporting losing side. Finally both sides will be too exhausted.
 
The Hapsburg owning half the world is less threatening then France with the spanish netherlands?

Keep in mind in the situation you just outlined the hasburgs would own half the world. Britain thought however it would be split between two thrones. Think about it, in OTL the British were OK with the Bourbons controlling half the world, as long as it wasn't ruled by one man.
 
Keep in mind in the situation you just outlined the hasburgs would own half the world. Britain thought however it would be split between two thrones. Think about it, in OTL the British were OK with the Bourbons controlling half the world, as long as it wasn't ruled by one man.
But it is the case here Charles III get both crown. Not two separate men.
 
This situation does not look good for the various peoples of Europe, especially not with how bad things are already. Damn you, Charles, you greedy idiot. Why couldn't you be content with Spain?
 
The next update is in production. I can't give you a when, but soon. Also if anyone is knowledgeable about the Great Northern War, please contact me. Thanks.
 
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