Seems a bit unfair that Maxie was expected to foot the bill for all the inherited debts (except for Hungary) on his side of the family, and yet his brothers got off scot-free. The silver mines (not the Bohemian ones) I'm thinking of would've been in one of his brothers' territories weren't they?

I remember reading that Matthias sort of turned himself into the family-pariah when he got involved in Dutch affairs, so I don't think his relationships were that good to start with.
From another thread on Ernst surviving I got this:




It would certainly make for interesting times if Ernie does support Maximilian III more. A Habsburg Poland would be an interesting animal to say the least, however, I'm not sure if it would survive long-term.

I would like to add nuance, that with regards to the cost of defending his portion of Hungary-Croatia; the core of the issue apart from his brothers (I think they helped as Turkish raids definitely reached into the lands of the Styrian branch) were the estates themselves. I recall reading that even for Ferdinand I, convincing estates like Tyrol to contribute funds to assist for wars in Hungary was like pulling teeth.

Also mining rights in Tyrol at least had been mortgaged by Sigismund & Maximilian due to Sigismund's debts (Sigismund of empty pockets) to the Fuggers. I think the same ended up happening with the mines of upper Hungary but I'm less certain about that.
 
I would like to add nuance, that with regards to the cost of defending his portion of Hungary-Croatia; the core of the issue apart from his brothers (I think they helped as Turkish raids definitely reached into the lands of the Styrian branch) were the estates themselves. I recall reading that even for Ferdinand I, convincing estates like Tyrol to contribute funds to assist for wars in Hungary was like pulling teeth.

Also mining rights in Tyrol at least had been mortgaged by Sigismund & Maximilian due to Sigismund's debts (Sigismund of empty pockets) to the Fuggers. I think the same ended up happening with the mines of upper Hungary but I'm less certain about that.

I thought the Fuggers got a colony in Venezuela? In addition to the silver mines? Geez. These Habsburgs went for broke.

Although, I do understand why in Tyrol (for instance), it'd be difficult to convince them "I need money to defend Hungary". It's a sort of "what has Athens to do with Jerusalem" request. However, maybe a better system of debt management could be worked out: the German/Austrian crown lands pay for German/Austrian stuff (i.e. debts incurred fighting the Reformation), the Hungarians can hardly refuse to cough up money for their own defense (i.e. debts incurred fighting the Turks), or somethnig like that. But, I guess that's not very likely.
 
I thought the Fuggers got a colony in Venezuela? In addition to the silver mines? Geez. These Habsburgs went for broke.

Although, I do understand why in Tyrol (for instance), it'd be difficult to convince them "I need money to defend Hungary". It's a sort of "what has Athens to do with Jerusalem" request. However, maybe a better system of debt management could be worked out: the German/Austrian crown lands pay for German/Austrian stuff (i.e. debts incurred fighting the Reformation), the Hungarians can hardly refuse to cough up money for their own defense (i.e. debts incurred fighting the Turks), or somethnig like that. But, I guess that's not very likely.

Venezuela actually went to the Weslers the other banking family. As to the Hungarians hardly refusing to pay for defence, I don't know about Maximilian's era but they likely didn't with Leopold during the Turkish war.
After winning the nobility thought they'd just get all the ancestral lands back that were once under Ottoman control. The only reward per se I can find from the war from the nobility was the confirmation of the Hungary as hereditary in the male line to the House of Habsburg.

Leopold in a bid to pay off his debts incurred in the war and reward those who aided/served would charge the nobility to reclaim those lands, if they couldn't; the lands would be given or sold to someone else. This is one of the reasons for Rackozi's revolt.

I don't doubt that members of the Hungarian nobility supported the war effort, but it appears that sharing the burdens of war wasn't necessary on top of their list even with the bulk of the war contributions both in material and personnel came from the Empire and the rest of Europe, not Hungary (not that the resources of Royal Hungary alone could oust the Ottomans). Now, they did have the Habsburgs/Maria Theresia's back with the WoAS though.
 
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Venezuela actually went to the Weslers the other banking family. As to the Hungarians hardly refusing to pay for defence, I don't know about Maximilian's era but they likely didn't with Leopold during the Turkish war.
After winning the nobility thought they'd just get all the ancestral lands back that were once under Ottoman control. Leopold in a bid to pay off his debts incurred in the war and reward those who aided/served would charge the nobility to reclaim those lands, if they couldn't; the lands would be given or sold to someone else. This is one of the reasons for Rackozi's revolt. I don't doubt that members of the Hungarian nobility supported the war effort, but it appears that sharing the burdens of war wasn't necessary on top of their list even with the bulk of the war contributions both in material and personnel came from the Empire and the rest of Europe, not Hungary (not that the resources of Royal Hungary alone could oust the Ottomans). Now, they did have the Habsburgs/Maria Theresia's back with the WoAS though.

Re: Venezuela: Oops, my bad.

I didn't mean that the Hungarians should shoulder the burden for their defense alone, just that they should shoulder the majority of the costs. It seems a bit stupid (to my mind, at least) that they wanted protection from the Turks, but they weren't willing to pay for it, so good on Leopold for making them pay to get their lands back.

But now that we've taken the financial detour - and I'm not sure if this will work but here's my suggestion:
Ernst and his wife (Maximiliana probably, maybe someone else), are funded by the imperial court. The rest of his brothers are only of marriageable age after Maxie dies.
Matthias, the next brother, marries Isabel Clara Eugenia and gets the governorship of the Spanish Netherlands (I'd imagine that Burgundy would be the one to support Matt/Isabel's court here, rather than saying, for instance, that Bohemia needs to foot the bill).
Maximilian III, if his brother can afford it, might get the Polish crown. I'm not sure that the Poles would feel entirely comfortable with King Maksymilian being propped up by Habsburg bayonets, and it would be a drain on the treasury. So, he'd need to make his rule secure. In which case, again, Poland carries the costs for Maxie's court, not Austria.
That leaves Albrecht and Wenzel. If Albrecht still goes into the clergy, as I suspect he would, it stands to reason that if he winds up as Stadtholder of Portugal or Primate of Spain, that his income comes from his clerical benefices. Wenzel might get the Deutscheorder's leadership after Max becomes king of Poland.

Thus, Matthias, Albrecht and possibly Maximilian are all removed from the imperial civil list. Which leaves Ernst's kids and Wenzel and/or Max on his dime.
 
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