Would a Catholic Prussia be possible?

Prevent or significtanly curtail the Reformation; before the rise of Lutheranism and later Protestanitsm in general all of Christian Europe, including the lands that comprised Prussia were Catholic.

Having said that, changing the Reformation could very likely butterfly the rise of Prussia in the first place.
 
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Quite simple, have the Order of Dobrzyn subjugate the Prussians instead of the Teutons. Sure the Livonians will be right next door, and will probably end up the equivalent of the Prussia you were probably asking about, but Prussia will become integrated into Poland and become, after some gratuitous missionary work, Catholic.
 
Quite simple, have the Order of Dobrzyn subjugate the Prussians instead of the Teutons. Sure the Livonians will be right next door, and will probably end up the equivalent of the Prussia you were probably asking about, but Prussia will become integrated into Poland and become, after some gratuitous missionary work, Catholic.
IIRC the Dobryzn Order consisted of 12 dudes going on a road trip (and of course their retinues). :D

Im assuming you got some kind of plan there?

Livonia could probably be taken care of by the Livonian Order.

edit: Wiki link bumps the number of Dobryzn Lords up to 35. Much better then.
 
Prussia was Catholic. You just have to stop it from becoming Protestant, or if it does, reconvert it. A stronger Poland or an IMperial victorey in the Thirty years' WAr could do it.

But a Catholic Prussia, in the sense of "Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia with ze pickelhaubes and badass stache" is not possible. The identity of Prussia is completely bound up with Protestantism. A Catholic Prussia would never have emerged.
 
IIRC the Dobryzn Order consisted of 12 dudes going on a road trip (and of course their retinues). :D

Im assuming you got some kind of plan there?

Livonia could probably be taken care of by the Livonian Order.

edit: Wiki link bumps the number of Dobryzn Lords up to 35. Much better then.

Despite their small numbers they had a good first outing, and only went down after the death of their leader. Have the leader survive the encounter, rally his men and support from Pomerania and Poland and begin a "partition of Poland.
 

Baphomet

Banned
Prussia was Catholic. You just have to stop it from becoming Protestant, or if it does, reconvert it. A stronger Poland or an IMperial victorey in the Thirty years' WAr could do it.

But a Catholic Prussia, in the sense of "Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia with ze pickelhaubes and badass stache" is not possible. The identity of Prussia is completely bound up with Protestantism. A Catholic Prussia would never have emerged.


Wasn't there a Catholic branch of the Hohenzollerns?
 

Razgriz 2K9

Banned
There was, the House of Hohenzollern's Swabian Branch (which would fit the PoD that would prevent a Protestant Prussia), but I don't know how possible that would be.
 
Brandenburg was not initially accepting of the reformation, so if you can keep them catholic, then have them unite with prusia for political reasons, then you could concievably have something similar to imperial prussia with a Catholic majority.
 
Wasn't there a Catholic branch of the Hohenzollerns?

Yes, but it takes more than a ruling family to make a country. Assuming Brandenburg had stayed Catholic in the sixcteenth century, say under Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, it would have changed the course of the Thirty Years' War. And even if the end was the same, the Alt-Great Elector would not get to marry a Dutchwoman (being Catholic) or get Dutch and Huguenot immigrants to come to his country. Nor is he likely to be able to control the church to the same degree, which played a major role in the institutional history of Prussia. In fact I am not sure whether Prussia proper would have accepted a Catholic ruler. The coronation would have presented additional diplomatic problems, too. And the Jülich-Kleve-Berg inheritance would most likely have been a non-starter, too, without Dutch support.

Down the road, I also can't see the strange culture of the Prussian court under Friedrich Wilhelm developing without significant influence from Sweden and the Netherlands. The education system depends on a structure independent of a strong church, which would otherwise fight its corner, and the officer corps was significantly strengthened by being able to attract German Protestant talent that wouldn't be welcome in the French or Austrian armies. Being Prussian was vbery strongly bound up with being Protestant (in fact, the Prussians more or less created - by necessity - the modern German understanding of "evangelisch"). Without that, whatever state Brandenburg creates is going to look very different.
 
Well, since Brandenburg didn't join Prussia until the 17th century, you could technically meet the challenge by just having that Prussia successfully retaken during the Counter-Reformation along with Poland, even if Brandenburg itself remains Portestant. The consequences could be interesting.
 
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