Yeah, but Spains Golden Age, would probably not be the same without Philip II he was the first Modern European Monarch, and he established alot of military reformations, etc, literally everyone habsburg after Philip II was a mid tier or bad tier ruler, Philip III was trying but couldnt, Philip IV is just a fraud, and the rest.. you know...
Anno Obumbratio: A 16th Century Alternate History
- Thread starter DrakeRlugia
- Start date
That's definitely true, but certainly part of those issues stemmed from the foreign policies of Philip II, and to an extent, Charles V. Charles V started the habit of using loans from German and Italian banking houses to fund his foreign policy, and Philip II paid the price... Spain had numerous state bankruptcies throughout his reign, and he was also overly reliant on Genoese banking for funding. Most of the specie that was coming into the country from the Indies wasn't going back into the economy, but rather being co-signed over to the Genoese banks... gold and silver deliveries were basically being used before they even came into port, and were going out of the country, not staying within. There's also Spain's foreign policy, which shifted from Charles V's imperial ambitions to a Habsburg based policy, where both Spain and Austria would assist each other in upholding Catholicism in Europe.
The numerous inbreeding didn't help, either... Philip II's living heir was through his niece, Philip III married his first cousin... once again Philip IV had his surviving heir through his niece.
Hopefully here, a little new blood through the Tudors helps things.
The numerous inbreeding didn't help, either... Philip II's living heir was through his niece, Philip III married his first cousin... once again Philip IV had his surviving heir through his niece.
Hopefully here, a little new blood through the Tudors helps things.
Spain with rulers almost as competent as his uncle or cousin and no compromises in Europe outside of the Mediterranean has a good chance of being as great as Philip's OTL Spanish golden age as it lasts much longer, although surely Spain will still have a couple of problems (I imagine Spain ITTL at the end of the century will inevitably go through at least one bankruptcy to suppress the privileges of the courts of Aragon and finally Unify Spain).
Please no, Aviz England sounds like a nightmare
Oh good!
Blessed
Nooooooo
I often roll my eyes at TLs about royal marriages and medieval succession but I am deeply enjoying this
Thank you for putting it out
The thought of a Pro-Spain England is quite fascinating and I wonder how long things will stay this way, Im also loving that the english are getting two queens in a roll, go girls go!
Thank you for putting it out
The thought of a Pro-Spain England is quite fascinating and I wonder how long things will stay this way, Im also loving that the english are getting two queens in a roll, go girls go!
Thank you SO very much!
I'll admit, I'm always intrigued by royal matches and different successions, simply because they can impact things so differently. I always strive to make creative worlds in such stories.
That was of deep interest of me too. I recently finished reading a book about Catherine of Aragon, and I was definitely interested in turning the tropes that exist about her upon their head. Putting her in a position of power as regent for infant child, and cosigning Henry VIII into the history books as a youthful (and foolish...) hero-king. How England develops will definitely be interesting!
I should mention that I had to do a double take when I saw this TL was penned by none other than DrakeRlugia. Your Prince of Peace TL was drawn to my attention after starting my own TL on the subject, and I'll admit I periodically dip into PoP to get ideas on what I should do next . I'm gladdened to see a fellow longtime AH.com user come back with such gusto.
. I'm gladdened to see a fellow longtime AH.com user come back with such gusto.Torbald, that means so much!I should mention that I had to do a double take when I saw this TL was penned by none other than DrakeRlugia. Your Prince of Peace TL was drawn to my attention after starting my own TL on the subject, and I'll admit I periodically dip into PoP to get ideas on what I should do next
I had so much fun writing Prince of Peace, it was my first proper TL. I remembering posting a thread asking for PODs for a potential TL, and Miguel da Paz was one that suggested. I don't know what drew me to it, but it did. There's definitely some things I would've done differently thinking back, but I'm also proud of the work and had so much fun writing it. It was one of the few things that kept me sane during that period of my life. That's so amazing that even now, years and years later, people still remember it and can take inspirations from it!
I think I ended up hitting over 100k words? And I had covered a period from ~1490 to 1580s, covering not only countries in Europe, but also touching upon India, China, and even Japan. I had a lot of plans for the 17th century that I didn't get to bring to fruition, such as France once more taking an interest in Italy, the HRE becoming a more cohesive unit, what the Emperor controlling the Low Countries + Bohemia and Austria. The Ottomans died out, and were going to be replaced by the Crimean Girays, ect.
Unfortunately, in the midst of writing it, the computer I was using went kaput. I lost all my work, including the chapters I'd been working on... which isn't so much of a big deal, the big deal was losing all my family trees, covering all the major royal / noble families within the story and their connections. I was completely gutted, and it was impossible to recreate them. The frustration made my interest fly right out the window. I stepped away from Alt Hist for quite a few years, but definitely glad to be back and writing again! It's amazing to see other people take similar PODs and create stories with them.
If I can ever be of assistance, I'll do my best to help where I can! I accumulated a lot of books during my time writing that TL, including tons on Google Books from the 19th century on all sorts of niche subjects. Even now, I use them when writing TLs because they have information that often isn't available or used these days.
Chapter 9. The Imperial Election of 1519 & A Growing Crisis
Our next chapter! It got a little long too, but things are heating up in Spain.
Chapter 9. The Imperial Election of 1519 – A Growing Crisis
1519-1521 — France, Germany, Italy & Spain
“We, who are each of us as good, and altogether more powerful than you, promise obedience to your government if you maintain our rights and liberties; but if not, not.”
— Traditional Aragonese Investiture Ceremony
Music Accompaniment: Triste España sin ventura
Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope.
Emperor Maximilian’s death set off a contest for the imperial crown—the first real contest to exist in many years, with the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire being a virtually assured monopoly of the House of Habsburg following the demise of Emperor Sigismund and the House of Luxembourg in 1438. Though Charles and his adherents desired to see him ascend to the throne that had been held by his grandfather and his forebears, there remained many obstacles in his way—the primary being his immense holdings outside of the empire and his culturally French upbringing. To the staid and solid German electors, they looked upon the King of Spain as a foreigner just as much as King François of France—Charles’ primary competitor for the imperial crown. The support that France enjoyed in certain quarters also did not help matters; it was believed that some of the electors might be swayed to lean in a direction that would be detrimental to Germany and Italy.
For Charles, the arguments were simple: given the alarm that the German princes had about the growing influence of the Ottomans—their Sultan, Selim, had most recently vanquished the Mameluk Sultanate in Egypt and added those dominions to his already vast empire—it was prudent that the princes should select one who was prepared to defend Europe from such an onslaught and one who had the vast financial resources to do so. François, however, argued that it was time for the Habsburgs to realize that the Imperial crown was not theirs by right and that, being an elective honor, any prince was worthy to aspire to it. The Empire required a prudent monarch, and François saw himself as the one to aspire to such glory—especially given the religious controversies that were beginning to develop due to Martin Luther’s theses that had been published in Wittenburg. What experience did the King of Spain have? François also encouraged his emissaries to pour whatever dirt possible upon the King of Spain’s cause—it was argued that given his possession of the Crown of Naples, he was forbidden from holding the imperial crown, to reignite arguments from the time of the Hohenstaufens; but François, knowing that his position was precarious compared to Charles, chose to answer the best way he could—with money. Funds liberally went outward to the imperial electors to sway them.
The Spanish king’s imperial cause was aided in his cause by the imperial financiers, the Fuggers—who made a loan of ƒ500,000 immediately available for bribes to the imperial electors. Charles also solicited a loan from his aunt Catherine of Aragon—who agreed to supply £100,000 in secrecy from her councilors, with her envoy, Sir Anthony Poyntz, delivering the funds to the English ambassador in the Low Countries, Sir Thomas Boleyn—to be passed onward to Margaret for disbursement. Margaret of Austria, the king’s aunt, had embraced the King of Spain’s cause—lending her own expertise in winning over the electors—along with helping to supply funds from the state treasury and her own privy purse to be used as bribes for the most intransigent. Pope Leo X, an astute politician, had his own concerns: he trembled at the idea of the King of Spain, with the wealth of the Indies at his back, becoming emperor. Nor was he enamored with the idea of the King of France becoming emperor, with his claims to Milan and position as Lord of Genoa. Either man would be fatal to the independence of the Holy See, the fragile peace in Italy, and possibly for Europe as a whole—yet outwardly, for a time, the Pope offered his support to King François, hoping to improve his situation to such an extent that Charles might offer up an alternate candidate to himself.
Jacob Fugger, "the Rich."
Imperial Banker to Maximilian I.
Of the seven electors, Charles could be certain of the vote of the King of Bohemia—Louis Jagiellon, a mere youth who was affianced to Charles’ sister, Mary. Of the remaining electors, perhaps two were honest men—the Archbishop of Triers, who supported François out of personal conviction, and the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise—who resolutely refused to meet with neither the envoys of Charles nor François. The remaining electors—the Margrave of Brandenburg, with his brother the Archbishop of Mainz, and the Elector of the Palatinate—were set on selling their votes to the highest bidder—an intrigue into which they drew the final elector, the Archbishop of Cologne. François had already paid out some ƒ500,000 to the electors and found himself forced to add to that sum, promising an additional ƒ250,000. Pope Leo also came to the King of France’s aid—he promised to raise two of the spiritual electors to the cardinalate, while the third would be given legatine authority in Germany. King François also attempted to appeal to the more patriotic electors by promising, if elected, that he would make war on the Turk, boasting: "I shall either be at Constantinople in three years or dead."
For a time, the situation for Charles seemed so dire that his aunt, Margaret, proposed that Charles withdraw his candidacy and allow his brother Ferdinand to stand for election in his stead. This suggestion was immediately decried by Charles’ closest advisors, and Margaret was forced to withdraw her proposal. Meanwhile, Pope Leo X tried his best to set their electors on a totally different course, proposing that the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise, should be elected. This proposal was dead in the water, with the Elector of Saxony refusing outright. “In times of peace, an emperor who reigns within our empire and possesses a small estate should be worthy of such a crown." The elector wrote in a letter to his fellow electors: "But in times of difficulty, such as now—that is no longer prudent. Turkish armies, led by a gallant and powerful monarch, are assembling as we speak and would pour into Germany with a violence that has never been seen in our times. The Imperial scepter must be handed over to someone more powerful than I or any other German prince—we do not possess the dominions, revenue, or authority to fight against such a powerful enemy. We must look to either France or Spain—both monarchies that possess great armies that can defend us. But the King of Spain—he is of German extraction and a Prince of this Empire by virtue of the territories that come to him through his grandfather—lies on the frontier and would no doubt be the first subject to attack should the Turks come for us. His claim is preferable—and stronger—than the claim of a stranger who does not speak our language, have our blood, or understand our culture.” The elector’s letter served to inflame the electors in favor of Charles and the House of Austria, and when the imperial election opened in June of 1519, it was considered an open and shut case.
Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony.
His support for Charles would turn the tide.
In the end, the electors voted unanimously—the next Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire would be the King of Spain, becoming known by the name that he would be most known by—Charles V. Though Charles would later attempt to reward the Elector of Saxony with a generous subsidy, the elector would refuse, asking only that his new sovereign repay Maximilian’s debt that was owed to Saxony, which dated back to 1497. While Charles had engaged the support of his council in his election as emperor, the news of his election was met dourly in Spain—not only would they lose their sovereign and be forced to endure the odious government of a viceroy, they also feared that they would be relegated to the status of a mere province and that Spanish men and Spanish monies would be spent on wasteful imperial ambitions and incessant troubles in both Germany and Italy. When the embassy of the Elector Frederick of the Palatinate arrived in Barcelona nine days following the election to offer up the imperial title to Charles, he had no hesitation when he accepted it, declaring that he would soon set off for Germany to take possession of his new crown.
The sullen mood had not improved with Charles’ election to the imperial crown and continued to deteriorate. Valencia was in grave upheaval following the visit of Adrian of Utrecht and Prince Ferdinand—both of whom returned to Charles empty-handed. Charles, piqued at the obstinacy of the Valencian Cortes, authorized the Valencian guilds to arm themselves—ostensibly for the protection of that province against Muslim raids from the sea. In Castile, a similar sense of unrest pervaded, and Charles’ farewell tour throughout Castile was noted for its icy reception. "They do not jeer at us," Queen Mary, soon to be empress, wrote privately. "But they stare, with large empty eyes—as if they cannot countenance the fact that we will soon leave. Though the cheers of ¡Viva la Rey! were sparse upon our arrival, they are virtually nonexistent now. I have no friends here, beyond those in my suite who followed me here; I am utterly alone, and I am hated and detested…"
The return of the royal party of Castile was not merely to conduct the emperor to Germany but to raise fresh funds to defray the heavy expenses that the emperor had incurred in securing his election—and to ensure he could depart for Germany in a style suitable to an emperor. As such, Charles issued fresh writs for the Cortes to gather at Compostella in Galicia, a distant province. While Charles and Mary were received without issue in Burgos, the mood in Valladolid was near mutinous when they discovered Charles’ intentions to leave for Germany and to call the Cortes outside of Valladolid, one of the cities where the Cortes were traditionally held. The royal cavalcade was pelted with stones, and an armed escort was required for the royal entourage to pass through the angry mobs unscathed. Deputies of the Cortes signaled their own disquiet to the king through various remonstrances and petitions—all which Charles avoided by refusing to allow the deputies into his presence. This only served to fuel grievances against the king’s regime in Castile, which began to spread throughout the various cities, many of which protested the king. While the royal council attempted to ensure that pliable representatives would be selected for the new Cortes, it was largely a failure, and Charles would soon be faced with a Cortes more intransigent than his last.
Opposition to the royal program was spearheaded by clerics from the city of Salamanca, who wrote their own manifesto in opposition to the imperial policies. The Salamanca Program [1], as it was named, called for the imprecise powers of the deputies of the Cortes to be replaced with more specific powers, namely the ability to force the king to accept petitions placed before him by the deputies before any votes would take place. The program also called for Cortes to always be summoned within central Castile (on flat land) and that money and horses could not be spent abroad. Other clauses concerned the House of Trade, or House of the Indies, which collected colonial taxes and duties, demanding that the House always be kept within Castile and not be transferred to Flanders. Other articles concerned the royal house—the Salamanca Program demanded that not only should the king’s young son, Philip, remain in Castile to be educated, but that Prince Ferdinand be named his guardian in the king’s absence. As Ferdinand had remained in Spain and had been educated in that country, the Salamanca clergy deplored what they termed imperial ambitions for their prince, asking that Ferdinand should remain in Spain during the king’s absence to serve as a representative of the royal house—and that he should marry a Portuguese princess to ensure the royal family’s continued connection within Iberia. Other articles touched upon the possible regency in the king’s absence, asking that the regent be invested with broad powers to avoid creating the situation that existed during Cisnero’s regency, where foreign influence had contributed to Castile’s political issues. Religiously, the Salamanca made one proposal: that the sale of indulgences be limited to prevent abuse by its sellers, and that money obtained from indulgences be used for their exact purpose and no other. Though the Salamanca program was adopted by Salamanca’s deputies, the manifesto spread and encouraged other cities to adopt it for the following Cortes.
Meeting of the Catalan Cort, c. 15th Century.
At length, the new Cortes was opened at Compostella in the presence of the king, with the Bishop of Badajoz offering up a conciliatory speech, intent on mixing the glories of Spain’s history with its future: "Now the glory of Spain is returned to Spain, which in years past was asleep. Those who wrote in praise of her say that when other nations sent tribute to Rome, Spain sent Emperors; she sent Trajan, Hadrian, and Theodosius, who were succeeded by Arcadius and Honorius. Now the empire has once more come to seek its emperor from Spain and Our King of Spain is made… by the grace of God, King of the Romans, and Emperor of the world." The king’s demands were more easily addressed—he asked for the Castilian subsidy levied in 1518, for a term of three years, to be renewed—not only to prevent its lapse, but to ensure that it could be collected in the king’s absence to pay for the cost of his journey to Germany as well as the expenses incurred by his election. Charles’ address to the Cortes was far curter: "I reiterate that my wishes are those expressed by His Grace the Bishop of Badajoz."
Despite the honied words offered up by the king’s representative, the mood of the Cortes was volatile. Though a small portion of the deputies were prepared to accede to Charles’ request, the majority saw Charles’ request for another subsidy as unconstitutional and unrequired. The Salamanca deputies, carrying the petition from their clergy, were disbarred from attending the cortes as their program had not been written by the city aldermen. Wrangling continued for some time at Compostella, but without a satisfactory answer, Charles soon suspended the Cortes—ostensibly for Holy Week but more for the defeat of his policy. Having no answer and knowing he had tarried too long in Spain, Charles and the court soon moved from Compostella to La Coroña. With the Cortes dismissed, the royal court leaned upon the deputies in whatever forms they could—regular and irregular—and used threats, bribes, and various offers to induce the intransigent deputies to agree to the king’s request.
When the Cortes finally reopened at La Coroña, the king reiterated his agreement with some of the deputies—that he would allow no precious metals or horses to leave the kingdom without their permission. This did not mollify the deputies, who pressed that the other proposals be considered and possibly adopted. In time, the agreed that offices in Castile should be held by natives and not foreigners, and he agreed that the regent in his absence should have broad powers to deal with any possible disorder. The name of the king’s regent on this proposal was left blank, and at this time, many were continuing to agitate for Prince Ferdinand to remain within the kingdom as the king’s representative or possibly as regent; if he were named regent, some suitable grandee could assist him in the king’s absence. Despite the king offering some assurances, the Cortes remained deadest against voting for the king’s subsidy, with deputies from seven cities still asking that their petitions be accepted. The king offered further concessions to the Cortes, promising to ensure the coasts and Navarre were well defended and that the Royal Council would administer justice fairly. The king was also forced to give way to the position of his brother—while Charles did not agree to name Ferdinand as regent, he relented that as a native prince of this kingdom, he had a right to remain and would name Ferdinand as guardian of his young son, Philip. The king also announced that he would name Adiran of Utrecht, Bishop of Tortosa, and Cardinal as Regent of Spain—several deputies protested such an appointment as illegal, given Adrian’s connection to the Flemish coterie that surrounded Charles, but the king was adamant in his choice.
At length, the deputies agreed to renew the king’s subsidy for another three years and had great hope that the king would keep to the promises he had made, though given his previous promises, many were unsure he would do so. A growing crisis was now beginning to spread throughout Spain, and its flames would soon be ignited. Once the subsidy was granted, Charles—along with Mary—would set sail for Flanders so that Charles could claim the imperial crown.
[1] This is largely an OTL proposal. Some things are different, concerning Ferdinand—in OTL, they asked that Charles delay his departure until he married and had an heir.
Chapter 9. The Imperial Election of 1519 – A Growing Crisis
1519-1521 — France, Germany, Italy & Spain
“We, who are each of us as good, and altogether more powerful than you, promise obedience to your government if you maintain our rights and liberties; but if not, not.”
— Traditional Aragonese Investiture Ceremony
Music Accompaniment: Triste España sin ventura
Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope.
Emperor Maximilian’s death set off a contest for the imperial crown—the first real contest to exist in many years, with the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire being a virtually assured monopoly of the House of Habsburg following the demise of Emperor Sigismund and the House of Luxembourg in 1438. Though Charles and his adherents desired to see him ascend to the throne that had been held by his grandfather and his forebears, there remained many obstacles in his way—the primary being his immense holdings outside of the empire and his culturally French upbringing. To the staid and solid German electors, they looked upon the King of Spain as a foreigner just as much as King François of France—Charles’ primary competitor for the imperial crown. The support that France enjoyed in certain quarters also did not help matters; it was believed that some of the electors might be swayed to lean in a direction that would be detrimental to Germany and Italy.
For Charles, the arguments were simple: given the alarm that the German princes had about the growing influence of the Ottomans—their Sultan, Selim, had most recently vanquished the Mameluk Sultanate in Egypt and added those dominions to his already vast empire—it was prudent that the princes should select one who was prepared to defend Europe from such an onslaught and one who had the vast financial resources to do so. François, however, argued that it was time for the Habsburgs to realize that the Imperial crown was not theirs by right and that, being an elective honor, any prince was worthy to aspire to it. The Empire required a prudent monarch, and François saw himself as the one to aspire to such glory—especially given the religious controversies that were beginning to develop due to Martin Luther’s theses that had been published in Wittenburg. What experience did the King of Spain have? François also encouraged his emissaries to pour whatever dirt possible upon the King of Spain’s cause—it was argued that given his possession of the Crown of Naples, he was forbidden from holding the imperial crown, to reignite arguments from the time of the Hohenstaufens; but François, knowing that his position was precarious compared to Charles, chose to answer the best way he could—with money. Funds liberally went outward to the imperial electors to sway them.
The Spanish king’s imperial cause was aided in his cause by the imperial financiers, the Fuggers—who made a loan of ƒ500,000 immediately available for bribes to the imperial electors. Charles also solicited a loan from his aunt Catherine of Aragon—who agreed to supply £100,000 in secrecy from her councilors, with her envoy, Sir Anthony Poyntz, delivering the funds to the English ambassador in the Low Countries, Sir Thomas Boleyn—to be passed onward to Margaret for disbursement. Margaret of Austria, the king’s aunt, had embraced the King of Spain’s cause—lending her own expertise in winning over the electors—along with helping to supply funds from the state treasury and her own privy purse to be used as bribes for the most intransigent. Pope Leo X, an astute politician, had his own concerns: he trembled at the idea of the King of Spain, with the wealth of the Indies at his back, becoming emperor. Nor was he enamored with the idea of the King of France becoming emperor, with his claims to Milan and position as Lord of Genoa. Either man would be fatal to the independence of the Holy See, the fragile peace in Italy, and possibly for Europe as a whole—yet outwardly, for a time, the Pope offered his support to King François, hoping to improve his situation to such an extent that Charles might offer up an alternate candidate to himself.
Jacob Fugger, "the Rich."
Imperial Banker to Maximilian I.
Of the seven electors, Charles could be certain of the vote of the King of Bohemia—Louis Jagiellon, a mere youth who was affianced to Charles’ sister, Mary. Of the remaining electors, perhaps two were honest men—the Archbishop of Triers, who supported François out of personal conviction, and the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise—who resolutely refused to meet with neither the envoys of Charles nor François. The remaining electors—the Margrave of Brandenburg, with his brother the Archbishop of Mainz, and the Elector of the Palatinate—were set on selling their votes to the highest bidder—an intrigue into which they drew the final elector, the Archbishop of Cologne. François had already paid out some ƒ500,000 to the electors and found himself forced to add to that sum, promising an additional ƒ250,000. Pope Leo also came to the King of France’s aid—he promised to raise two of the spiritual electors to the cardinalate, while the third would be given legatine authority in Germany. King François also attempted to appeal to the more patriotic electors by promising, if elected, that he would make war on the Turk, boasting: "I shall either be at Constantinople in three years or dead."
For a time, the situation for Charles seemed so dire that his aunt, Margaret, proposed that Charles withdraw his candidacy and allow his brother Ferdinand to stand for election in his stead. This suggestion was immediately decried by Charles’ closest advisors, and Margaret was forced to withdraw her proposal. Meanwhile, Pope Leo X tried his best to set their electors on a totally different course, proposing that the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise, should be elected. This proposal was dead in the water, with the Elector of Saxony refusing outright. “In times of peace, an emperor who reigns within our empire and possesses a small estate should be worthy of such a crown." The elector wrote in a letter to his fellow electors: "But in times of difficulty, such as now—that is no longer prudent. Turkish armies, led by a gallant and powerful monarch, are assembling as we speak and would pour into Germany with a violence that has never been seen in our times. The Imperial scepter must be handed over to someone more powerful than I or any other German prince—we do not possess the dominions, revenue, or authority to fight against such a powerful enemy. We must look to either France or Spain—both monarchies that possess great armies that can defend us. But the King of Spain—he is of German extraction and a Prince of this Empire by virtue of the territories that come to him through his grandfather—lies on the frontier and would no doubt be the first subject to attack should the Turks come for us. His claim is preferable—and stronger—than the claim of a stranger who does not speak our language, have our blood, or understand our culture.” The elector’s letter served to inflame the electors in favor of Charles and the House of Austria, and when the imperial election opened in June of 1519, it was considered an open and shut case.
Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony.
His support for Charles would turn the tide.
In the end, the electors voted unanimously—the next Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire would be the King of Spain, becoming known by the name that he would be most known by—Charles V. Though Charles would later attempt to reward the Elector of Saxony with a generous subsidy, the elector would refuse, asking only that his new sovereign repay Maximilian’s debt that was owed to Saxony, which dated back to 1497. While Charles had engaged the support of his council in his election as emperor, the news of his election was met dourly in Spain—not only would they lose their sovereign and be forced to endure the odious government of a viceroy, they also feared that they would be relegated to the status of a mere province and that Spanish men and Spanish monies would be spent on wasteful imperial ambitions and incessant troubles in both Germany and Italy. When the embassy of the Elector Frederick of the Palatinate arrived in Barcelona nine days following the election to offer up the imperial title to Charles, he had no hesitation when he accepted it, declaring that he would soon set off for Germany to take possession of his new crown.
The sullen mood had not improved with Charles’ election to the imperial crown and continued to deteriorate. Valencia was in grave upheaval following the visit of Adrian of Utrecht and Prince Ferdinand—both of whom returned to Charles empty-handed. Charles, piqued at the obstinacy of the Valencian Cortes, authorized the Valencian guilds to arm themselves—ostensibly for the protection of that province against Muslim raids from the sea. In Castile, a similar sense of unrest pervaded, and Charles’ farewell tour throughout Castile was noted for its icy reception. "They do not jeer at us," Queen Mary, soon to be empress, wrote privately. "But they stare, with large empty eyes—as if they cannot countenance the fact that we will soon leave. Though the cheers of ¡Viva la Rey! were sparse upon our arrival, they are virtually nonexistent now. I have no friends here, beyond those in my suite who followed me here; I am utterly alone, and I am hated and detested…"
The return of the royal party of Castile was not merely to conduct the emperor to Germany but to raise fresh funds to defray the heavy expenses that the emperor had incurred in securing his election—and to ensure he could depart for Germany in a style suitable to an emperor. As such, Charles issued fresh writs for the Cortes to gather at Compostella in Galicia, a distant province. While Charles and Mary were received without issue in Burgos, the mood in Valladolid was near mutinous when they discovered Charles’ intentions to leave for Germany and to call the Cortes outside of Valladolid, one of the cities where the Cortes were traditionally held. The royal cavalcade was pelted with stones, and an armed escort was required for the royal entourage to pass through the angry mobs unscathed. Deputies of the Cortes signaled their own disquiet to the king through various remonstrances and petitions—all which Charles avoided by refusing to allow the deputies into his presence. This only served to fuel grievances against the king’s regime in Castile, which began to spread throughout the various cities, many of which protested the king. While the royal council attempted to ensure that pliable representatives would be selected for the new Cortes, it was largely a failure, and Charles would soon be faced with a Cortes more intransigent than his last.
Opposition to the royal program was spearheaded by clerics from the city of Salamanca, who wrote their own manifesto in opposition to the imperial policies. The Salamanca Program [1], as it was named, called for the imprecise powers of the deputies of the Cortes to be replaced with more specific powers, namely the ability to force the king to accept petitions placed before him by the deputies before any votes would take place. The program also called for Cortes to always be summoned within central Castile (on flat land) and that money and horses could not be spent abroad. Other clauses concerned the House of Trade, or House of the Indies, which collected colonial taxes and duties, demanding that the House always be kept within Castile and not be transferred to Flanders. Other articles concerned the royal house—the Salamanca Program demanded that not only should the king’s young son, Philip, remain in Castile to be educated, but that Prince Ferdinand be named his guardian in the king’s absence. As Ferdinand had remained in Spain and had been educated in that country, the Salamanca clergy deplored what they termed imperial ambitions for their prince, asking that Ferdinand should remain in Spain during the king’s absence to serve as a representative of the royal house—and that he should marry a Portuguese princess to ensure the royal family’s continued connection within Iberia. Other articles touched upon the possible regency in the king’s absence, asking that the regent be invested with broad powers to avoid creating the situation that existed during Cisnero’s regency, where foreign influence had contributed to Castile’s political issues. Religiously, the Salamanca made one proposal: that the sale of indulgences be limited to prevent abuse by its sellers, and that money obtained from indulgences be used for their exact purpose and no other. Though the Salamanca program was adopted by Salamanca’s deputies, the manifesto spread and encouraged other cities to adopt it for the following Cortes.
Meeting of the Catalan Cort, c. 15th Century.
At length, the new Cortes was opened at Compostella in the presence of the king, with the Bishop of Badajoz offering up a conciliatory speech, intent on mixing the glories of Spain’s history with its future: "Now the glory of Spain is returned to Spain, which in years past was asleep. Those who wrote in praise of her say that when other nations sent tribute to Rome, Spain sent Emperors; she sent Trajan, Hadrian, and Theodosius, who were succeeded by Arcadius and Honorius. Now the empire has once more come to seek its emperor from Spain and Our King of Spain is made… by the grace of God, King of the Romans, and Emperor of the world." The king’s demands were more easily addressed—he asked for the Castilian subsidy levied in 1518, for a term of three years, to be renewed—not only to prevent its lapse, but to ensure that it could be collected in the king’s absence to pay for the cost of his journey to Germany as well as the expenses incurred by his election. Charles’ address to the Cortes was far curter: "I reiterate that my wishes are those expressed by His Grace the Bishop of Badajoz."
Despite the honied words offered up by the king’s representative, the mood of the Cortes was volatile. Though a small portion of the deputies were prepared to accede to Charles’ request, the majority saw Charles’ request for another subsidy as unconstitutional and unrequired. The Salamanca deputies, carrying the petition from their clergy, were disbarred from attending the cortes as their program had not been written by the city aldermen. Wrangling continued for some time at Compostella, but without a satisfactory answer, Charles soon suspended the Cortes—ostensibly for Holy Week but more for the defeat of his policy. Having no answer and knowing he had tarried too long in Spain, Charles and the court soon moved from Compostella to La Coroña. With the Cortes dismissed, the royal court leaned upon the deputies in whatever forms they could—regular and irregular—and used threats, bribes, and various offers to induce the intransigent deputies to agree to the king’s request.
When the Cortes finally reopened at La Coroña, the king reiterated his agreement with some of the deputies—that he would allow no precious metals or horses to leave the kingdom without their permission. This did not mollify the deputies, who pressed that the other proposals be considered and possibly adopted. In time, the agreed that offices in Castile should be held by natives and not foreigners, and he agreed that the regent in his absence should have broad powers to deal with any possible disorder. The name of the king’s regent on this proposal was left blank, and at this time, many were continuing to agitate for Prince Ferdinand to remain within the kingdom as the king’s representative or possibly as regent; if he were named regent, some suitable grandee could assist him in the king’s absence. Despite the king offering some assurances, the Cortes remained deadest against voting for the king’s subsidy, with deputies from seven cities still asking that their petitions be accepted. The king offered further concessions to the Cortes, promising to ensure the coasts and Navarre were well defended and that the Royal Council would administer justice fairly. The king was also forced to give way to the position of his brother—while Charles did not agree to name Ferdinand as regent, he relented that as a native prince of this kingdom, he had a right to remain and would name Ferdinand as guardian of his young son, Philip. The king also announced that he would name Adiran of Utrecht, Bishop of Tortosa, and Cardinal as Regent of Spain—several deputies protested such an appointment as illegal, given Adrian’s connection to the Flemish coterie that surrounded Charles, but the king was adamant in his choice.
At length, the deputies agreed to renew the king’s subsidy for another three years and had great hope that the king would keep to the promises he had made, though given his previous promises, many were unsure he would do so. A growing crisis was now beginning to spread throughout Spain, and its flames would soon be ignited. Once the subsidy was granted, Charles—along with Mary—would set sail for Flanders so that Charles could claim the imperial crown.
[1] This is largely an OTL proposal. Some things are different, concerning Ferdinand—in OTL, they asked that Charles delay his departure until he married and had an heir.
Last edited:
wipes tears
Why must you hurt me so?
Great chapter, though. But I'm gonna go stuff my face with ice cream and cry over my favorite Emperor ever.
If little Philip dies in infancy then Ferdinand has a straight shot towards the crown and Isabella of Portugal waiting for him as well.
You are exactly right, though I'd say Ferdinand has a good shot regardless: the Spaniards do not have much fondness for Philip's parents at this point, and the little child certainly isn't seen with any circumstance by the grandees, except that they'd like him to grow up a Spaniard. Some clearly also have plans for Ferdinand that conflict with the plans laid out by Maximilian.
Regardless, being a prince is tricky business, especially in the 16th century: little Philip could easily sicken, or end up shut up in some tower, and never heard from again.
Better if an infancy illness takes him away. That way Ferdinand don't have to deal with pretenders or false claimants popping up or being seen as a nephew murderer by his brothers supporters (even if they aren't many of them in Spain).
It pains me to say it ( because I adore Charles, my triple sovereign ) but it seems like an interesting idea as well as partly romantically beautiful, I just have a small doubt, who will have the archducal territories and Burgundy once Carletto/ Charles dies ?
Charles can have more children then Philip if the baby dies in infancy (someone thing I'm ardently praying for in this TL, even if it's a horrible thing to wish in real life).
It would certainly have consequences for the empire, that's for sure. And not an unlikely outcome: most of the electors were up for grabs, it was merely who could pay the biggest sum. The German princes were definitely looking for a stronger monarch in this instance, of which either Charles or Francis could fulfill that.
Things are definitely heading towards an implosion in Iberia, not unlike OTL. Charles remained in Spain for a little over two years, and the people are sick of him already. Ferdinand occupies an interesting position, it just remains to be seen: will he play Judas to a brother he hardly knows, or will he try to temporize for the family sake?
Certainly, Ferdinand holding Spain would not be an awful outcome (awful for Charles maybe), though it would certainly preclude any Habsburg alliances... at least for the current generation. And with Charles accepting the Imperial honor and having more compact territories might do him so good, though he would lose the massive wealth of the Indies.
Whatever the outcome for little Philip, him and Mary are still young: they can still have more children. Though her OTL track record with Brandon wasn't the best.
Should Charles die without any issue, well... that would chaos, indeed. Burgundy could theoretically pass to any female issue that he had, as that is how those territories came into the Habsburg's hands in the first place. The Archducal territory would be a little more significant... going further back, I believe Frederick III's daughter, Kunigunde, wed the Duke of Bavaria. Her sons William and Louis would likely be the most viable successors; though the Wittelsbach territories at this present time are still divided amongst the different sons, so it's likely Austria might be partitioned in such a manner, too. A very sad fate.
However, luckily for us, the emperor is young, and so is the empress. Young Philip is okay, for now! They can still have more children, and I plan for them too. I'm very interested in seeing how any future children might be raised in Flanders, for another generation of Habsburgs to grow up culturally Burgundian / French, vs. OTL, where Charles' children adopted Spanish culture, and Ferdinand's children were Germanized. Empress Mary had little joy going to Spain, and it's unlikely she will return, as she feels she has done her duty re: giving birth to Philip and essentially allowing them to keep him.
Indeed, more children is most definitely likely. And besides, if Charles and Mary don't strike 'true' so to speak... Charles wasn't necessarily known for his fidelity to his wife IOTL.
Charles V was EXACTLY know for being fully faithful to his wife while he was married and his mistresses were either before his marriage or after he was widowedIndeed, more children is most definitely likely. And besides, if Charles and Mary don't strike 'true' so to speak... Charles wasn't necessarily known for his fidelity to his wife IOTL.