Possibility Check: Austria Holds Onto Naples in the War of the Polish Succession?

So back in 1733 when Augustus II of Poland snuffed it a nice little civil war kicked off over who got to be the new king which managed to drag in a number of the surrounding countries and European powers. This eventually devolved into a tussle between Russia, Austria and Saxony backing the man who would become Augustus III and the French, Spanish and Savoyard supporting Stanislaw Leszczynski. But enough of that.

What I really wanted to try and figure out was is there any way to let Austria keep the Kingdom of Naples with as few butterflies as possible? Is it feasible at all for them to win militarily in the south, I don't mind them losing Sicily, or are we talking ASB time? The other main question was if they can't win militarily is there any way to rejig the peace settlement so they don't end up trading away Naples, or some combination of the two? I've got a general idea for an unification timeline where Italy unites under a Habsburg monarch instead of a Savoy one. Something along the lines of after a while the Habsburgs realise that their Italian holdings could become restive and a problem so do a Charles III and spin them off as an inheritance for a second son. So you've then got a Habsburg cadet branch as monarch of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia in the north and the Kingdom of Naples in the south giving you a bit of a head start on unification, although what the Catholic Church thinks about this - being surrounded on two sides - could be less than positive. Thanks for any help, as I said it's just a general idea so I need to do a fair bit of reading first.
 
You need to give them an interest in actually holding it. The Habsburgs were pretty much absentee monarchs, reigning through a Viceroy and leaving Naples to it's own devices. They simply didn't have the troops to hold it down, more concerned with the theaters in Lombardy and Germany. During this war, Austria was practically isolated: both Britain and the Dutch remained neutral, while Russia and Saxony were busy in Poland. So Austria can't do much when the Spanish take Naples with a larger army; it's just too hard for the Habsburgs to reinforce it, and they didn't care enough to actually fight over it.

Still, despite the loss of Naples, the Austrians still managed to do quite good: Francis Stephen inherited Tuscany from the Medici, leading to their second son becoming Grand Duke of Tuscany, one of their sons married the d'Este heiress and would take Modena after the Napoleonic wars, and they ruled the Duchy of Milan (Venice didn't come until later, during the French Revolutionary Wars, but definitely confirmed in 1815 -- The Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia is a creation of the Vienna Congress).
 
You need to give them an interest in actually holding it. The Habsburgs were pretty much absentee monarchs, reigning through a Viceroy and leaving Naples to it's own devices.
Yes, most the local nobility and councillors seem to have gone over to the Franco-Spanish-Savoyard side straight away. The Austrians don't seem to have been all that popular with the general public either. :)


They simply didn't have the troops to hold it down, more concerned with the theaters in Lombardy and Germany. During this war, Austria was practically isolated: both Britain and the Dutch remained neutral, while Russia and Saxony were busy in Poland. So Austria can't do much when the Spanish take Naples with a larger army; it's just too hard for the Habsburgs to reinforce it, and they didn't care enough to actually fight over it.
Bugger, that's pretty much what it looked like from my initial reading and was hoping it wasn't.


Still, despite the loss of Naples, the Austrians still managed to do quite good: Francis Stephen inherited Tuscany from the Medici, leading to their second son becoming Grand Duke of Tuscany, one of their sons married the d'Este heiress and would take Modena after the Napoleonic wars, and they ruled the Duchy of Milan (Venice didn't come until later, during the French Revolutionary Wars, but definitely confirmed in 1815 -- The Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia is a creation of the Vienna Congress).
True, they did pretty well out of things. It's just that Naples and Sicily would have been even better in terms of size so I was probably just getting a bit greedy. :) As for Venice yeah sorry for being a bit unclear, I knew they didn't fully pick it up until after the Napoleonic wars. I didn't think Italian sentiment for unification would really kick off until after then so the general idea was to beep bumbling along with Naples and Lombardy under viceroys until after the Congress of Vienna when at some point Lombardy-Venetia and Naples are joined together and hived off. But since this seems unfortunately to be a bit undoable may have to look instead at their starting in the north instead, ah well back to the drawing board.
 
Another possibility. The Peace of Utrecht had split Naples and Sicily apart, giving Naples (and Sardinia) to Austria and Sicily to Savoy. However, after a brief war with Spain about 1718, the islands were swapped over.

Suppose they'd sone the swap the other way, exchanging the mainland territories instead of the islands. The Duke of Savoy then becomes King of Naples and Sicily, while Savoy and Piedmont becomes a western province of Austria. Could be a god dela for the Habsburgs, as it gives them a strong frontier against France. Not sure if Savoy would fancy it though.
 
Yes, most the local nobility and councillors seem to have gone over to the Franco-Spanish-Savoyard side straight away. The Austrians don't seem to have been all that popular with the general public either. :)

If I recall, the Austrians were rather unpopular in Naples proper, but were actually fairly popular on the island of Sicily: Austrian taxation was much less than the taxes extracted during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs, and the fact they left the kingdom to do as it pleased, it allowed the Sicilians to do as they wished without any interference. You could maybe play with that, perhaps a Sicilian rising against the Spanish... if the Austrian general in Naples isn't so cautious and doesn't retreat immediately to a fortified area, perhaps the Habsburgs might be able offer enough resistance that the Spanish decide to abandon the attempt, and the Austrians would maintain the kingdom. Assuming the Polish war goes as OTL, Francis Stephen will still lose Lorraine: Charles VI will simply compensate him with Naples and Sicily. If the Spanish don't gain Naples, they will certainly take the Medici inheritance (that was the plan in the 1720s anyways, and for a time there was a Spanish garrison in Florence). You might also see the Spanish Bourbons pluck down in Modena later on, although the Habsburgs would probably maintain Parma.


True, they did pretty well out of things. It's just that Naples and Sicily would have been even better in terms of size so I was probably just getting a bit greedy. :) As for Venice yeah sorry for being a bit unclear, I knew they didn't fully pick it up until after the Napoleonic wars. I didn't think Italian sentiment for unification would really kick off until after then so the general idea was to beep bumbling along with Naples and Lombardy under viceroys until after the Congress of Vienna when at some point Lombardy-Venetia and Naples are joined together and hived off. But since this seems unfortunately to be a bit undoable may have to look instead at their starting in the north instead, ah well back to the drawing board.

Possibly, but I think Lombardy and Naples would be spun off as separate kingdoms, not stuck together. Butterflies from this event, who knows what will happen down the line, but you could certainly get the Habsburgs on the throne of some unified Italy with this POD. To be honest, the north is in a much better position to dominate the pennisula. The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily is much larger than the state-lets in the north, but is much more backwards; the best bet for a Habsburg unified Italy would be for something comprising the north and central Italy. You can probably get the Austrians themselves out of Italy if Maria Theresa has enough sons: she had one in Tuscany and one in Modena in OTL, so you could see Habsburg rulers in Naples and Sicily, Parma, maybe Modena, or in Milan too.
 
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