Glad to see that you are out of your depressed mood and (presumably) done with your exams. 😂
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The Sun of Rocroi TL- A better Grand Condé
- Thread starter Comte de Dordogne
- Start date
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Congratulations for this first year.
I found this timeline recently, and I liked a lot (though it was too late to vote for the Turtledoves...).
Take your time to find inspiration.
#10 Helvetia 1618-1659
The Grisons War and the Great Peasant War: Helvetia 1621-1647
Powerful Confederation at the end of the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, the Helvetic cantons had at that time a very good reputation. Their mercenaries were bought by all the powerful people of the continent and many became involved in the Italian wars between France and the Holy Roman Empire. The Confederation also played an important role in the spread of the Protestant Reformation and the wars that ensued.
However, despite the many successes of this period, the old Confederation should not be seen as anything more than what it was, a loose confederation of varied and far from united political systems. The numerous religious wars and the struggle between Reformation and counter-Reformation between the different cantons during the 16th century did not help to achieve a sense of union.
In the 17th century, most of the cantons were not directly involved in the Twenty-Five Years' War. Moreover, the high demand for military resources made the Swiss economy flourish. Nevertheless, the war did not spare the region. In spite of the conflict approaching Helvetia many times, the different cantons never managed to organize a single common defense.
The upheavals in the Helvetic Confederation will be felt the most after the end of the conflict. Struggles and interests will tear Helvetia apart. Like Wallenstein in Germany, men of power will establish their rule over the various Swiss cantons, like a prey that is being butchered.
1) Georg Jenastsch and the Grisons (1621-1659)
If we can simplify and say that Helvetia was more or less spared by the twenty-five years war, this remark becomes less relevant when we look at the Grisonsregion. At that time partner of the Helvetic Confederation, the three Grisons leagues were shaken during the 16th and 17th centuries. While the Reformation had flourished in a large part of Grisons, the Counter-Reformation accentuated the divisions between the different communities and valleys of the Three Leagues. These divisions were intertwined with the family and dynastic struggles of the region, accentuating the many struggles. In the absence of a centralized political authority, fanatical clashes weakened the region.
To these internal struggles were added the political ambitions of the neighbors of the Grisons lands. The Valtellina valley was of vital importance for the Habsburg clan, allowing them to join the Habsburg lands of the Tyrol to the Duchy of Milan. Conversely, for the Serenissima Republic and France, occupying the Valtellina was also of great importance, the first to defend its economic interests in the region, the second to block the Spanish route and undermine the Habsburg influence in Central Europe.
This struggle between the two sides, already present in the last century, was gaining momentum with the numerous internal disputes in the Three Leagues and the Twenty-Five Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire.
On July 19, 1621, the Valtellina Massacre began. No longer able to bear Protestant rule, the Catholics of Valtellina rose up and massacred the Protestant minority. This allowed the Spanish forces in Milan to take control of the valley and reach the heart of the Holy Roman Empire in the middle of the Twenty-Five Years' War.
The Grisons did not succeed in retaking Valtellina. A certain Georg Jenatsch, a Protestant preacher, failed with his poorly equipped army. It was at this time that the great Catholic families of Grisons fled the country, following the assassination of Pompejus Planta, leader of the Spanish party by Georg Jenatsch.
the Sacro Macello, which saw the massacre of the Protestants of Valtellina.
Despite the will of Pope Gregory XV and his successor Urban VIII to temporize the struggle between Paris and Madrid, France will enter the conflict not accepting the Spanish domination over the north of the Italian peninsula. In spite of the Huguenot distraction in France, its Savoyard, Venetian and Swiss allies (Protestant cantons) succeeded in beating the Spaniards several times without trying to take Genoa.
The treaty of Monzon in 1626 gave the Valtellina back to the Grisons. In exchange, the rights of passage were limited and the Catholic religion was no longer to be persecuted.
In 1629 the war between the French and the Spaniards resumed over the succession of Mantua. Richelieu sent Duke Henri II of Rohan with an army of 3000 men to defend the interests of the Grisons, with Jenatsch as his right-hand man.
It was at this time that Georg Jenatsch earned his reputation as a schemer. Jenatsch considered Richelieu's slowness to intervene to be unacceptable. Moreover the Cardinal seemed to use the Grisons as a pledge for the Peace with the Spanish-Austrians. While apparently still in the pro-French camp, Jenatsch converted to Catholicism in 1635 and entered into relations with the pro-Habsburg camp. His secret negotiations enabled him to turn against the French in 1637. With the help of the Kettenbud (grouping most of the political clans of the country) he succeeded in chasing the Duke of Rohan out of the Grisons lands while obtaining the return of Valtellina from the Habsburgs.
This turnaround allowed him to become the de facto ruler of the Grisons lands and to receive many riches, one of which was to be ennobled by Philip IV of Spain. This success almost cost him his life when in 1639 he was almost murdered in a tavern [1].
Until the end of the Twenty-Five Years' War, Jenatsch remained on the Imperial side. In the Peace of Westphalia, the Grisons confederation remained within the Holy Roman Empire and was elevated to the rank of duchy. With Georg Jenatsch now Duke of Grisons, the Habsburgs' victory in the region was fully assured.
This position destroyed the last ties between the Helvetic Confederation and the former Grisons Confederation.
Georg I, first Duke of Grisons.
Georg I now had to secure his rule within his own duchy. One of his first measures was to marry a member of the Von Salis family. This Graubünden family had remained loyal to the French even after their departure. The marriage had two completely contradictory goals that will be revealed in his correspondence rediscovered two centuries later. The first objective of this marriage was to destroy the last link that united the Graubünden to the French by attaching them to the new regime. The second objective allowed Georg I to keep a possible way to get away from the Habsburgs.
The rapprochement with Vienna as well as the conversion of Georg I to Catholicism was a fertile ground for the Catholic Counter-Reformation. While in the early years some large Protestant families opposed the Catholic settlement, the 17th and 18th centuries gradually turned the region into a Catholic land.
In 1647 Georg I succeeded in inheriting the lordship of Schellenberg and Vaduz [2]. It is not known exactly how Georg I convinced the Count of Hohemens to give them to him, but his suspicious death the following year led to the belief that he had been murdered.
It was at this time that the Great Peasant War began, which destabilized the region. In the cantons of Disentis and Lugnez, the revolt was so strong that it was believed that the regime would be overthrown in its turn. But the revolt was used intelligently by Georg I. It allowed him to unite the recalcitrant nobility against a much more dangerous enemy. The peasant armies that ventured to the Graubünden were methodically crushed. The repression was such that some villages were completely emptied of their inhabitants (and allowed the Duke to seize new lands).
However, it was difficult for the Duke to easily suppress the peasant uprisings on his lands. For a decade spontaneous revolts took place. Georg I had to make tax concessions, reform serfdom in part and recognize peasant representation in some cantons to restore peace. He also allowed rebellious peasants to freely choose exile and to leave with their property, a good way to get rid of the most radical exciters.
When Georg I died in 1659, his 16-year-old son was crowned as Georg II Duke of Graubünden. The young, less experienced and less intriguing duke paled in comparison to his late father. In spite of a certain intelligence he could not help falling very quickly into the orbit of the Habsburgs of Austria, almost transformed into a vassal by Vienna.
Perhaps with age, the young Duke Georg II will take the same path as his father?
Georg Jenatsch, in spite of his many shadows and manipulations, is still considered today by many Grisons citizens as a national hero who freed their country from foreign influences and brought it out of the "Bünder Wirren".
2) The Great Peasant War (1647)
The very relative neutrality of the Helvetic Confederation in the Twenty-Five Years' War was not due to a peaceful political will. It had its origin in the struggle between the Catholic cantons wishing to defend the Imperial cause and the Reformed cantons seeking to support the Protestant princes of the Empire.
The numerous border violations by the moving armies led some cantons to sign defensional agreements with each other to protect themselves from armies that threatened their sovereignty. Despite numerous attempts during the conflict to establish a single defensional for the entire Confederation, it was refused in turn by Protestant and Catholic cantons [3].
At the treaties of Westphalia, the Helvetic Confederation was able to participate in the negotiations thanks to the support of Prince Henri II D'Orléans Longueville, prince of Neuchâtel and fiercely anti-Habsburg. The Helvetic Confederation was able to obtain its complete and recognized independence from the Holy Roman Empire, but this independence came at the price of the loss of the Grisons Confederation.
The devastation of the war throughout the Holy Roman Empire had allowed the Helvetian cantons to export many resources to the regions affected by the conflict. But the end of the conflict and the economic recovery of the Germanic states had killed this prosperous economy by making most prices fall. In addition, the numerous fortifications built during the conflict and the end of pensions for Swiss mercenaries had aggravated the crisis.
The increase in taxes and monetary inflation pushed many people, mostly peasants, into poverty. While there had already been popular revolts at the beginning of the 17th century, the one that was about to take place was of unprecedented magnitude.
For many Helvetian peasants, the control of politics by a few bourgeois and urban families and their one-sided policies were detrimental to their freedom. In 1647 the conflict became inevitable [4].
Walls of the city of Bern (early 17th century).
That year, in February, the city of Bern devalued its currency in a brutal way and offered the possibility to exchange copper money for gold and silver money within three days. These measures were adopted by other cantons, but only for a short period of time, which prevented the rural inhabitants from benefiting from them, thus throwing them further into misery.
In the Lucerne valley, the farmers illegally organized an assembly and a delegation to negotiate with the city of Lucerne. When the city refused to listen to the delegation, the peasants decided to suspend the payment of taxes on agricultural goods and livestock.
The revolt began to spread to neighboring rural cantons. In March the Bernese and Emmental valleys joined the Lucerne farmers in demanding the same conditions. Bern and Lucerne tried to ask for military support from their neighbors, but the armies were routed by strong popular support for the peasant cause.
Despite the mediation of the Catholic cantons of central Switzerland, the leaders of the peasant cause did not want to surrender to the authorities. They even sent a delegation to the Federal Diet in Zurich to present their views [5].
This de facto recognition by Zurich was a serious mistake. It emboldened and pushed many other rural cantons to join the peasant revolt. In Sumiswald, the peasants concluded a great alliance leading to the Sumiswlad Pact [6]. As a result of this meeting Niklaus Leuenberger was elected as the leader of the peasant cause.
In May the peasants renamed themselves the "Sumiswald League" after a new assembly, considering themselves now a fully sovereign state. The support for the peasants' cause was such that similar revolts shook the whole Confederation as well as the Duchy of Grisons and even Württemberg.
Niklaus Leuenberger, first leader of the Sumiswald League.
Religious divisions between Catholic and Protestant peasants were almost non-existent. On the other hand, the cities were not able to form a common front because of the religious dissension. In addition, the cities relied on mercenaries, most of whom came from the countryside and supported the peasant cause.
On May 18, 1647 the peasants sent an ultimatum to Bern and Lucerne. When the two cities refused the ultimatum, Niklaus Leuenberger launched his army towards Bern. Despite the fact that the city was helpless, it decided to resist Leueberger's army [7]. After a siege of several weeks, the city of Bern fell to the insurgents and was terribly plundered by the peasant army. It is not known whether Leuenberger encouraged the looting of the city or whether he tried to stop it or simply let it happen. The sacking was such that some of the great families who had escaped the massacre as well as many refugees fled to Fribourg and asked for help from the Prince of Henry II of Orleans Longueville.
At the same time, the armies of the spanish Milanese set out to repress and contain the revolts of the south of the Confederation.
Having learned of the sacking of Bern by the peasant army, Lucerne and Zürich agreed to negotiate with the Sumiswald League. Leuenberger was able to impose extremely generous conditions to his cause. All the northern cantons of the Confederation as well as the cantons of Central Switzerland agreed to join the Sumiswald League and to lower the numerous taxes in exchange for a return to calm and the protection of the large cities that had accepted these conditions.
The conflict was not over, however. The Duke of Orleans Longueville had assembled a powerful army with the western cantons. Fear of the Sack of Bern had caused the remaining cantons to forget their dissensions and agree to give command to the Prince of Neuchâtel.
With an army of 8000 men, Orleans Longueville wanted to liberate Bern before pushing on to Lucerne and Zürich. Unfortunately for him, his path was slowed down by spontaneous peasant revolts that wore out and slowed down his troops.
Arriving not far from Bern, the army of Orleans Longueville engaged the army of the Sumiswald League at Murifeld on June 15, 1647. The battle on a meadow next to the city walls of Bern was an orgy of terrible violence. At the end of the day, the city was recaptured by the Prince of Neuchâtel but his army was so weakened that he could not continue. In addition, the League of Sumiswald brought back many troops from the canton of Zürich.
Peasants of the Sumiswald League executed by the army of the Duke of Orleans Longueville.
The delegations between the two parties met in Solothurn, a neutral canton spared from the conflict. After a month of negotiations both parties agreed to the status quo. In exchange for the withdrawal of the canton of Bern and the release of the large families, the Sumiswald League would be recognized as fully sovereign and free, while retaining control over the cantons of Lucerne and Zürich as well as the center of Switzerland.
Many did not understand at the time why the Duke of Orleans Longueville agreed to negotiate with rebellious peasants and abandon the conflict. However, it was not on a whim that the Duke agreed.
In addition to the extremely costly price to pay for conducting the conflict, the current situation would allow the Prince of Neuchâtel to establish his power over the remaining cantons by stirring up the fear of peasant revolt. This state of affairs allowed him to impose himself as "Protector" of the Confederation and to impose the integration of the principality of Neuchâtel as well as the episcopal principality of Basel into the Confederation. This policy also allowed to bring the Confederation into the orbit of France. After all the Duke of Orleans Longueville has well for brother-in-law the Grand Condé.
This policy allowed him to establish the beginning of a common army and to at least partially blur the religious divide. He even succeeded in re-establishing a protectorate over the Republic of the Seven Ten after the end of the war, by negotiating with Spain and ceding to them the canton of Ticino that the Milanese armies had occupied since the beginning of the conflict.
After this increased centralization of Helvetia, can we still speak of a Confederation?
In the Sumiswald League the victory was great for the peasants. They were now in a strong position to negotiate with the big cities. Niklaus Leuenberger, remained head of state and reorganized the Federal Diet of the League, allowing to rebalance the power between the urban and the rural cantons. The League abolished serfdom and even obtained a generous immigration from the abused peasants of the Holy Empire or the Helvetic Confederation. Finally the religious divide seemed to have faded between Protestants and Catholics.
Peasants migrating to the Sumiswald League (1668).
However, this did not prevent the Sumiswald League from suffering the consequences of its policies. Many of the merchant classes fled the large cities under their control, impoverishing their urban economic fabric and lowering the standard of living in the League. Moreover, the Sack of Bern and the numerous revolts it provoked in its wake turned the eyes of the neighboring powers towards the League, pejoratively named the "Peasant Kingdom" and seen as a serious danger. The exhaustion of most of the neighbors prevented a strong military intervention against them.
For many this state would not survive very long before being invaded or even collapsing on its own. However, the Sumiswald League remains a real curiosity of the European 17th century, seeming to go against the ambient Absolutism of the time. This peasant experience will inspire many thinkers in the future.
[1] OTL he was murdered that day. His murderers were never found, but it is suspected that the murderers were from the Von Planta family, one of their members having been murdered by Georg Jenatsch. Some say that Spanish agents helped them. For the record, the first assailant who shot him was dressed as a bear.
[2] Corresponds to OTL Lichenstein.
[3]With the war ending in 1643, the Wil Defensional of 1647 did not happen.
[4] OTL the peasant war started in 1652. ITTL with the twenty-five year war ending earlier, the economic disaster loomed sooner.
[5] ITTL there was no tax revolt in Zurich from 1645-46, so that the city authorities instead of directly rejecting the delegation like OTL vaguely listened to them.
[6] OTL they settled in Sumiswald and then in Huttwil.
[7] OTL the city did not resist and surrendered. The rest of the conflict is completely fictitious from this point on.
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Chapter that I hope you will like for the anniversary of the chronology. I wanted to offer something interesting and original by focusing on a country that is not often covered in the Alternative History.
If you notice any mistake or if you want to share your opinion I'm always interested.
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![[totally a legit person]](/forum/data/avatars/m/134/134906.jpg?1617940240){kind=avatar}
You never seem to disappoint, this was a great chapter, focusing on Switzerland was very unexpected, I greatly enjoyed reading this, and I can't wait to see how the new chapters will continue to surprise and captivate me.
My classes end in late March and my tests come in April-May. There are some subjects that I do well in, but others are more complicated. 😅
Thank you for your support.
? 🧐
Thanks for your support and glad you like it.
I'm already glad I got so many votes for my first Turtledoves.
I would be embarrassed to win while I am still at the beginning of my timeline.
I stumbled upon the Swiss History of the time and there are many interesting things about it.
I think it's a pity that few people care about this and imagine Switzerland as an island of perpetual neutrality (although this is a concept that only dates back to the 19th century).
So glad to see this back!
With the way you're setting up, it seems that switzerland is going to end up divided like Poland, be greatly reduced or simply not exist as a concept, I also really like the peasant kingdom, it's not something that you usually see in TLs very much with them having some progressive ideas (economically at least), the name it self is very creative and memorable.
What place are you thinking of focusing on next?
With the way you're setting up, it seems that switzerland is going to end up divided like Poland, be greatly reduced or simply not exist as a concept, I also really like the peasant kingdom, it's not something that you usually see in TLs very much with them having some progressive ideas (economically at least), the name it self is very creative and memorable.
What place are you thinking of focusing on next?
Yes, Switzerland will experience much more instability and division than OTL. However, I don't think that the situation presented in this chapter can be compared to the Polish partitions (the region is not being absorbed by neighboring powers).
The concept of Switzerland does not really exist in my chronology, it is not a coincidence that I use the word "Helvetia" more.
I am glad I had this idea of a political system created by peasants. But I don't know if it would be able to succeed in the 17th century or just protect itself.
It depends on what is meant by economic "progressivism".
At the moment the Sumiswald League is a kind of "Ruralocracy" where the peasant assemblies have an important weight in the political decisions. But I don't think it can be compared to economic liberalism.
There is nevertheless a form of "progressivism" in the sense that the rights of peasants are protected and recognized, which could perhaps influence the peasant condition in the rest of Europe over time.
As for the ideological and political notions, I intend to present some of them in the future, as well as the linked butterflies. I am looking to imagine and develop alternative ideologies in connection with the events of TSOR.
I'm thinking of focusing on the northern part of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Scandinavia. But I don't know if I'm doing separate chapters or if I'm doing it all at once.
Very interesting. Never knew about these events except for the part related to Jenatsch. Pity that you already disposed of him: he was seemingly an interesting and absolutely unscrupulous person.
I would suggest having them at once, both are linked trough Denmark and have a economical relationship with each other, if you're talking about one you might as well talk about the other already, Swedish-Denmark tension will be delicious to read.
Within few years things would become very interesting in the Northern corner. 1632-34 - Smolensk War (the last “European“ war successful for the PLC) and soon afterwards (1654 - 67) the Polish-Cossack-Russian-Swedish (Prussian, Crimean) Wars resulting in the major border changes. An open opportunity to put a French prince on the Polish-Lithuanian throne producing even a greater mess than in OTL. 😜
It was not for pleasure that I got rid of him. I couldn't find any more information about Jenatsch and his scheming life. I had so much trouble doing my research that I couldn't give away the name of the person he married (I chose the Von Salis family for political reasons but couldn't find their family tree).
Indeed, but there is a lot to say about Brandenburg-Prussia, Saxony, the states of Lower Saxony, the duchy of Münster as well as Denmark-Norway and Sweden.
If I cover them in one chapter it will be a big chapter.
I'm going to have to dive back into this. It will take some time but I can't wait to cover this part of Europe.
I'll probably look into it after Scandinavia.
Regarding Jenatsch, there was a novel about him by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1876). The hero looks like extremely “flexible” politician. The main part - him outmaneuvering the Duke of Rohan (a noble idiot). He is being killed (in a novel) by the members of an opposing family, including a women with whom he had some kind of a romance (judging by wiki - this is a BS). The book contains hints to his earlier service in Venice (IIRC) and few examples of him dealing with various opponents (provocations, breaking the word, etc.). Rather entertaining but not too informative. I read some of his historic novels: generally entertaining but now look somewhat outdated.
BTW, if he married to a member of a pro-French family, would not this mean that, while being officially pro-Hapsburg, he leaves a back door for reproaching the French, if a need arises? This would be quite in a character, as far as I can tell. 😉
OTOH, the less information is available the greater freedom of action the author has (how to tell that something did not or could not happen if nobody has a clue?). 😜
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It's okay, you win.
You made me want to write more about Jenatsch. 😛
Part one on the Duchy of Grisons will be a little more developed in the evening or tomorrow.
To put yourself off the potential hook, you can use epigraph from “The Theatre of Clara Gazul”: “This is an end of the comedy, don’t blame an author!” or from “Tartarin in the Alps”: “Switzerland does not exist” (who can blame you for the fictional account about non-existing place?) . Or just blame everything on me (well, you already did). 😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜😜
Under the terrible threat of @alexmilman advice, I decided to write a little more about Georg Jenatsch after the war. 😛
However, the conclusion remains the same, although more thorough and nuanced.
I also added a slight intervention of Spain in the south of the Confederation, which I had forgotten to mention.
However, the conclusion remains the same, although more thorough and nuanced.
I also added a slight intervention of Spain in the south of the Confederation, which I had forgotten to mention.
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As one wise man said, a historic novel (*) should contain “war, love and a little bit of a divine intervention”. Stick to that formula and you may end up as a modern Dumas. 😜😜😜😜😜😜
Of course, the conclusion remains the same: eventually, he dies. But some sinister Spanish and French political intrigues can make the story more entertaining. especially when they are failing due to some idiotic occasion (“divine intervention”). I’ll abstain from giving too explicit advices about the second component of the formula.
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(*) Actually, he was talking about the movies as well but we can ignore that component until you are famous enough to have movies made based on your writings.
It reminds me of the beginning of the play Ubu Roi of Alfred Jarry: "As for the action, it takes place in Poland, that is to say nowhere".
I wonder who should be more flattered between me whom you compare to Dumas and you who compare to a Zeus doing "Deus ex machina"? 😂
But it is true that you often make divine interventions in my chronology since its beginning. 🤔
The death of Georg I does not mean that there will be no more conspiracies in Grisons.
There will even be some often in the chronology if that can reassure you.
“Nowhere” is a popular geographic area in world’s literature and more modern form of art: audience’s assumed unfamiliarity with the area gives author a complete freedom of insanity ( just two examples: “ Tamburlaine the Great” and movie “Genghis Khan” made in 1965). For all practical purposes the Grissons are pretty much fitting into the category.
Now, as far as flattering is going, I was talking about your perspectives, not the present status. Can you state with the 100% certainty that you’ll never ever become a popular writer? 😂 I’m indeed flattered by you defining my advices as “divine intervention”. Use the same terminology with your teachers and then with your bosses and you have nothing to worry about. 😜
With the mutual back-rubbing done, let me explain why I was asking for more on the Grissons. In OTL the whole issue had been to a great degree shaped up by the French military weakness (all the way to impotence): instead of an army and money Richelieu sent .... the Duke of Rohan (not the case when one’s hat can substitute for 30,000 troops). Small wonder that he was outplayed by Jenatsch: who needs a powerless outsider as a boss, especially when that outsider is seemingly a person with the religious convictions? This did not change in your TL but after the dust settles France (which ends up being more powerful than in OTL) still may have interest in the issue even if just to undermine the Hapsburg positions in a future. So there is going to be a diplomatic game with both sides trying to influence Jenatsch. His marriage with a member of the pro-French family is a good opening for him playing both sides, getting money and not giving anything in exchange besides the empty promises.
In Ubu Roi she is all the more cynical because at that time Poland as a state did not exist.
If I avoid writing too much about regions I don't know very well, it's to avoid that more knowledgeable people reverse my work by putting forward elements I didn't know. 😛
Nah indeed I'm not 100% sure. But when I see people with much more talent than me not being popular I don't get my hopes up.
As far as flattery is concerned, we are good in France at giving flattery while talking behind other people's backs (although for you I don't insult you on the sly 😉). 😂
I didn't see it that way at first. Besides, I didn't want to let Georg Jenatsch live too long because of his age.
It seemed to me that France was too far away to have any serious influence on Grisons and Austria too close to let its enemies have fun in the region.
Even though Jenatsch senior is dead, Jenatsch junior could take up this idea.
Judging by the synopsis, the play is quite funny (thanks, for mentioning it: never heard about that play before) but the non-existing countries had been all over the place in world's art even after Nappy's creative work on the map of Germany and then there were always the Balkans. Look, only in "Merry Widow", I recall three versions of a country: Pontevedro, Montevedro and Marshovia (there were probably more). And, IIRC, Conan Doyle was quite free with the German principalities and even had a King of Bohemia.
Well, what you wrote had been formulated by James Morier in "Adventures of Hajji Baba": "Keep your mouth shut and nobody will find out that you are an idiot" (quoted by memory). Which, of course, is a valid approach but, if followed, it would decimate the world's classic literature. How about the different approaches:
1. Write either about the times and places which are far away from a domain of "common knowledge". If, by any chance, somebody comes with a factual objection, he/she/it ends up in a category of an annoying bore (*). Said from a personal experience: "I do not care if they are wearing the wrong orders" is a favorite answer of my wife to my comments on the "historic" Russian movies, especially (pay attention!) when they contain 3 mandatory elements I listed in the previous post.
2. Just keep punching the text. After all Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras knew the XVII century better than Alexander Dumas but "Mémoires de M. d’Artagnan" are boring (with some interesting moments here and there) while "Three Musketeers" are classics. Actually, excessive knowledge often kills the books because authors are trying to demonstrate it by excessive usage of the specific terminology, endless detailed descriptions, etc.
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(*) As a modern option, some authors are putting pieces of their "produce" on publicly-available forums allowing readers to find the inconsistencies and make proposals before the book is finalized and published.
Well, the talent, especially in a literature and cinema, is not something absolute because its definition depends upon a point of view. For example, there is "intellectual cinema" (aka, the movies which are getting awards in Cannes, are lauded by the critics and not attended by a general public because they are extremely boring and, quite often ineptly made) and there is "cinema bis" - movies which are not applauded by the critics but are loved by a public. As Belmondo put it, "I'm making movies for the viewers, not critics". The same goes for the books.
Well, I was not proposing to make George into Wallenstein on steroids (or just simply Wallenstein). But the place is strategically important and the distance from France is not prohibitively great: after all in OTL France was trying to impact events in the Grisons. In your TL France is noticeably more powerful and if Louis XIV (Mazarin, Conde or whoever else is in power when he is still young) decides to replay the Italian Wars by grabbing Milan from Spain, blocking access to Italy from Austria may come handy. Or this can be simply an instrument for preventing excessive Hapsburg influence in Italy and their further expansion into the peninsula. Basically, the Duchy does not have to side openly with France unless and until push comes to shove and, OTOH, France may serve as a guarantor of the Duchy's continued existence: if it strictly Austria-oriented with no additional backing, who can guarantee that at some point the Austrian Hapsburgs are not going to decide to annex it to have a fully guaranteed access to Italy?