Disclaimer regarding title - no, it's not about ALL Christian states, there will obviously be exceptions
With that out of the way...
As John Greene humorously puts it, Charles V was pretty much a genetic engineering job designed to produce a ruler of Spain and Germany, cooked up in the Duchy of Burgundy's "laboratory of alchemical research"
His heritage meant that large parts of Spain, Italy and Germany either belonged to him directly or were closely tied to him:
Some of the main problems he faced in his rule though were his precarious financial position (which came about due to having to cough up enough doe to secure his election as Holy Roman Emperor and because he could't really tax his new German feudal subjects), the beginning of the Protestant Reformation or the threat of Suleiman in the east.
The biggest problem by far though was his struggle against France's King Francis I, which consumed way, waaaay too much of his time, strength and money.
So, the point of this thread - how can we make Charles as powerful as possible?
The solution is pretty simple ... roll drums.... have him become King of France as well! (that or at least his son)
Whilst young and still in Burgundy, he was engaged to two of Francis I's daughters, who however both died young. Suppose one of them doesn't, and they marry and produce a viable son, whom he calls Philip (like OTL with Isabella of Portugal).
Then, should Francisc fail to produce a male heir that survives into late adulthood, this should give Charles' son a pretty strong claim. So, at an ATL Battle of Pavia analogue, Francisc is wounded and killed instead of captured as OTL, and Charles then marches into France to install his son as King. Sure, there would be resistance, probably prolonged, but Charles would have the advantage of being more-or-less culturally French and of having a powerful army at his back.
As fortune has it, either Isabella of Portugal or Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (and their respective lands) are eligible around this time, both of which would make a perfect match for his brother Ferdinand.
With the British on the other side of the Channel and Suleiman smart enough to realize a lost cause when he sees it, there isn't really anyone who could challenge Charles. Throw in some sort of averted Reformation, or keep it within the Church and have Charles be its Champion (and him getting his very own puppet Pope and all), and hey presto - western Europe is reunited and at peace.
Charles's son Philip would inherit ALL of his father's titles, and he would pass ALL of them down to his son and so on, with Ferdinand and his many offspring providing enough family members which can be sent to govern various duchies/areas etc.
What might this re-united "Roman Empire" look like in the short, medium and long run?
Might somewhere in Switzerland make an optimal 'eastern' capital for the Emperor? (with Valladolid in Spain being the 'western' one)
Is there any chance we might see some convergence of languages?
What about technological progress, now that cities aren't getting periodically sacked any more?
How might a reformed Catholicism look like and develop? Would Britain and Scandinavia again opt to separate themselves from Rome in order to secure their independence?
And finally, would TTL be 'better' than ours wrt development of human civilization ?
With that out of the way...
As John Greene humorously puts it, Charles V was pretty much a genetic engineering job designed to produce a ruler of Spain and Germany, cooked up in the Duchy of Burgundy's "laboratory of alchemical research"
His heritage meant that large parts of Spain, Italy and Germany either belonged to him directly or were closely tied to him:
Some of the main problems he faced in his rule though were his precarious financial position (which came about due to having to cough up enough doe to secure his election as Holy Roman Emperor and because he could't really tax his new German feudal subjects), the beginning of the Protestant Reformation or the threat of Suleiman in the east.
The biggest problem by far though was his struggle against France's King Francis I, which consumed way, waaaay too much of his time, strength and money.
So, the point of this thread - how can we make Charles as powerful as possible?
The solution is pretty simple ... roll drums.... have him become King of France as well! (that or at least his son)
Whilst young and still in Burgundy, he was engaged to two of Francis I's daughters, who however both died young. Suppose one of them doesn't, and they marry and produce a viable son, whom he calls Philip (like OTL with Isabella of Portugal).
Then, should Francisc fail to produce a male heir that survives into late adulthood, this should give Charles' son a pretty strong claim. So, at an ATL Battle of Pavia analogue, Francisc is wounded and killed instead of captured as OTL, and Charles then marches into France to install his son as King. Sure, there would be resistance, probably prolonged, but Charles would have the advantage of being more-or-less culturally French and of having a powerful army at his back.
As fortune has it, either Isabella of Portugal or Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (and their respective lands) are eligible around this time, both of which would make a perfect match for his brother Ferdinand.
With the British on the other side of the Channel and Suleiman smart enough to realize a lost cause when he sees it, there isn't really anyone who could challenge Charles. Throw in some sort of averted Reformation, or keep it within the Church and have Charles be its Champion (and him getting his very own puppet Pope and all), and hey presto - western Europe is reunited and at peace.
Charles's son Philip would inherit ALL of his father's titles, and he would pass ALL of them down to his son and so on, with Ferdinand and his many offspring providing enough family members which can be sent to govern various duchies/areas etc.
What might this re-united "Roman Empire" look like in the short, medium and long run?
Might somewhere in Switzerland make an optimal 'eastern' capital for the Emperor? (with Valladolid in Spain being the 'western' one)
Is there any chance we might see some convergence of languages?
What about technological progress, now that cities aren't getting periodically sacked any more?
How might a reformed Catholicism look like and develop? Would Britain and Scandinavia again opt to separate themselves from Rome in order to secure their independence?
And finally, would TTL be 'better' than ours wrt development of human civilization ?
