My second attempt at a TL. The first one... never took off, lets say. Hoping this will be better.
Im making a preview thread to test the waters for the demand for such a TL, and also cos I havent thought up a good name yet.
To be brief, the main idea is that the OTL Lombard League that booted the HRE out of Italy around 1183 went a step further and by 1198 created a de facto confederation in Northern Italy.
The main action, apart from a few wars and intros, will take place after 1500 and I think a good part of it (if it hopefully reaches there then I might split the TL into two parts) after the ATL French Revolution. The Butterflies will be immense, but I'll try to appease them somewhat while not letting them influence so much.
The few parts I've prepared serve as an 'introduction' and show just how Italy got into it's situation. As usual, comments critisicm and advice all welcome. Hell, tear it to bits if you have good reason to.
Part 1- The Italian League
At the Peace of Constance, in 1183, the Lombard League of North Italian cities ended their war against the Holy Roman Empire, gaining their independence in nearly all but name. Some in the League saw this as a great step forward, and some even dared to dream of a state similar in structure and concept to the Empire, finally uniting Italy after hundreds of years.
This idea, which evolved and soon became known as the Unionist movement, soon took the initiative, and in 1197 when the HRE was occupied by internal strife, several members of the movement rose to positions of control in the League, partly due to large support among the people themselves. Beginning what would later be known as the ‘Italian Incident’ of the conflict in the Empire, the League invaded Savoy and Genoa to ‘liberate’ them from the Empire, with the sometimes direct support of the Byzantine Empire, the Pope, and Venice.
The Savoyard Count, Thomas I, himself a supporter of the Unionist movement, gave his full support to the League. The Savoys would eventually dominate Italy, but for now they were just a noble family ruling a rather peripheral corner of Italy. Savoy, though, was considered a core part of the Empire and it took some effort for the League to take control of it. By August 1197, most of North Italy was under the control of the League and its allies. It was then that many Italian nobles, now united in their struggle against the Empire, began to think of a real united Italy. An expanded Lombard League, perhaps.
In September, the counts and dukes of northern Italy met together in Milan for a short summit about what to do with the now largely independent north Italy. The Italian cause was championed by several of the representatives including the Savoys and the delle Torre of Milan, and in the end it was decided to create an ‘Italian League’. In essence the League was a confederation of semi-independent counties and small states, a logical successor to the Lombard League. Before the organization of the League could be sorted out, though, there were still some Imperial troops in Italy, who now began thinking of retreating to Germany.
Spotting an opportunity, Count Thomas commanded an army that finally caught up with the remaining Imperial troops at Lake Como in November. The battle did not last long at all and there were only few casualties as the Imperial soldiers only wanted to retreat and join the internal struggle in the Empire, and Thomas wanted a ‘victory’ for publicity purposes. A truce was hastily signed, which soon would be recognized by both the contenders for the Imperial throne as a treaty in which they relinquished all claims to the Kingdom of Italy in order to win support for their cause. The Kingdom of Italy, which had only been a de jure division of the Empire, was finally formally dissolved.
By December, nearly all the Italian leaders and several international representatives gathered in Genoa for a long discussion about the new Italian League. Even Venice and Genoa now asked to join the League. Florence and other Tuscan cities expressed some interest in ‘further association’. After a brief ‘war’ that had hardly involved any aggression, aided by the ongoing struggle in the Empire, Italy had finally gained its independence.
It was going to be a rocky road, full of cunning, deceit, bribery, intrigue, war, and most of all, pure dedication, towards unification.
I have a second part ready and a map too but I'll wait and see the comments first. Thanks to everyone who commented and helped me in various threads where I mentioned my idea and special thanks to Franciscus Ceasar who's already read through what I've written.
Comment away!
Jim
Im making a preview thread to test the waters for the demand for such a TL, and also cos I havent thought up a good name yet.
To be brief, the main idea is that the OTL Lombard League that booted the HRE out of Italy around 1183 went a step further and by 1198 created a de facto confederation in Northern Italy.
The main action, apart from a few wars and intros, will take place after 1500 and I think a good part of it (if it hopefully reaches there then I might split the TL into two parts) after the ATL French Revolution. The Butterflies will be immense, but I'll try to appease them somewhat while not letting them influence so much.
The few parts I've prepared serve as an 'introduction' and show just how Italy got into it's situation. As usual, comments critisicm and advice all welcome. Hell, tear it to bits if you have good reason to.
Part 1- The Italian League
At the Peace of Constance, in 1183, the Lombard League of North Italian cities ended their war against the Holy Roman Empire, gaining their independence in nearly all but name. Some in the League saw this as a great step forward, and some even dared to dream of a state similar in structure and concept to the Empire, finally uniting Italy after hundreds of years.
This idea, which evolved and soon became known as the Unionist movement, soon took the initiative, and in 1197 when the HRE was occupied by internal strife, several members of the movement rose to positions of control in the League, partly due to large support among the people themselves. Beginning what would later be known as the ‘Italian Incident’ of the conflict in the Empire, the League invaded Savoy and Genoa to ‘liberate’ them from the Empire, with the sometimes direct support of the Byzantine Empire, the Pope, and Venice.
The Savoyard Count, Thomas I, himself a supporter of the Unionist movement, gave his full support to the League. The Savoys would eventually dominate Italy, but for now they were just a noble family ruling a rather peripheral corner of Italy. Savoy, though, was considered a core part of the Empire and it took some effort for the League to take control of it. By August 1197, most of North Italy was under the control of the League and its allies. It was then that many Italian nobles, now united in their struggle against the Empire, began to think of a real united Italy. An expanded Lombard League, perhaps.
In September, the counts and dukes of northern Italy met together in Milan for a short summit about what to do with the now largely independent north Italy. The Italian cause was championed by several of the representatives including the Savoys and the delle Torre of Milan, and in the end it was decided to create an ‘Italian League’. In essence the League was a confederation of semi-independent counties and small states, a logical successor to the Lombard League. Before the organization of the League could be sorted out, though, there were still some Imperial troops in Italy, who now began thinking of retreating to Germany.
Spotting an opportunity, Count Thomas commanded an army that finally caught up with the remaining Imperial troops at Lake Como in November. The battle did not last long at all and there were only few casualties as the Imperial soldiers only wanted to retreat and join the internal struggle in the Empire, and Thomas wanted a ‘victory’ for publicity purposes. A truce was hastily signed, which soon would be recognized by both the contenders for the Imperial throne as a treaty in which they relinquished all claims to the Kingdom of Italy in order to win support for their cause. The Kingdom of Italy, which had only been a de jure division of the Empire, was finally formally dissolved.
By December, nearly all the Italian leaders and several international representatives gathered in Genoa for a long discussion about the new Italian League. Even Venice and Genoa now asked to join the League. Florence and other Tuscan cities expressed some interest in ‘further association’. After a brief ‘war’ that had hardly involved any aggression, aided by the ongoing struggle in the Empire, Italy had finally gained its independence.
It was going to be a rocky road, full of cunning, deceit, bribery, intrigue, war, and most of all, pure dedication, towards unification.
I have a second part ready and a map too but I'll wait and see the comments first. Thanks to everyone who commented and helped me in various threads where I mentioned my idea and special thanks to Franciscus Ceasar who's already read through what I've written.
Comment away!
Jim