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France was rather unlucky that, right when it could have really become a hegemon, the Hapsburgs came into a gigantic inheritance in the 16th century, which became even more gigantic when the Spanish part of it conquered a huge empire in the Americas.
So it just occurred to me that in a recent discussion (on the House of York surviving, FWTW), I was forming a rough TL idea that did two other things in the 1470's:
  • Portugal wins the War of Castillian Succession
  • Mary of Burgandy marries someone other than Maximillian I,* possibly a surviving Duke of Berry
This means that not only does Austria not get their hands on the Lowlands, which likely remains in France's sphere, but any children Max has by a different wife are not going to marrying into the Spanish royal family (since there is no "Spain"), meaning no Spanish-Austrian Union in the form of Charles V. And in addition to all that, absent Ferdinand and Isabella Union, and with Portugal looking east, Columbus does not get a backer for his expedition; instead, another European power (England, let's say) backs a later Atlantic expedition that focuses on the Northern route (a la Cabot), meaning that the Caribbean, Mesoamerica, et el remain "undiscovered" for noticeably longer than OTL. So all told, we have no Spanish America, no Austrian/Spanish Lowlands, and no union of all of them plus the title of Holy Roman Emperor into one man -- in other words, nobody can be equivalent to Charles V in TTL.

So what would these particular changes mean for Europe? For example, would we still have the Reformation break out in the Holy Roman Empire and Switzerland in the 1510's and 20's? Would this complicate things for Suleiman the Magnificent? To return to the quote at the start, would this mean that France would have a real shot at dominating the European continent? And what else could be altered?

(PS - paging @Kellan Sullivan)

*As to who Maximilian I marries instead, we may not necessarily have to determine that here, but I had heard he had shown some interest in succeeding Matthias Corvinus as King of Hungary, in addition to his other titles.
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