Frankie Goes to the Hofburg, or Napoléon II, Regent of Austria?
What more can I say, for this masterpiece of a chapter ? , moreover dedicated to my Sardinia, it is simply wonderful, now obviously VE II is quite dejected to notice the difference between his life now and what he could have hoped for / aspired to in the past ( he went from being among the most important families in Europe, to becoming a social pariah and now having to deal with local "clans" to end the wars within the kingdom, knowing that they would be on the verge of truces, extremely very fragile moreover, especially if third parties decide to carry out false flag actions in order to gain an advantage against their rivals ) but perhaps he has not yet realized that with his current policies he is playing for the favor of the Sardinian people in a way that is clearly superior to his hated predecessors ( among the Savoyard monarchs ) If I were him I would start to embrace a little more popular sentiment, trying to include some typical traditions and names of the island in customs of the dynasty, certainly it is strange to see Henry and Elizabeth being present in Cagliari for the wedding, but it was a welcome surprise, I hope that Sardinia made a good impression on him ( such as atmosphere and breathtaking landscapes ) finally Sanna becoming prime minister is truly fantastic, now I'll try to find if there is any Portotorresse from this era who could make a career ( technically there would be a famous OTL bandit, but what could he ever do ?, the super consultant of the Code Barbaricino ?, although there would be many candidates suitable for this crazy role 😜😂😅 )
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I think that Henri's put in an appearance is an indication of thawing Franco-Sardinian relations. That William of Weimar and his Marie of Baden are there is potentially as a sort of unofficial British ambassador. Since Tommaso's wife is the daughter of the Minister-Präsident of Germany, the Grand Duke of Baden, (not to mention the gaggle of Mecklenburgs) it carries tacit German recognition as well. In short...he knows how badly this can backfire if things go wrong. However, with Britain, France and Germany even bothering to attend (rather than just send an ambassador), the rest of Europe doesn't really have an excuse.
I'll admit I wanted an Italian composer, but the only "wedding music" that I could find on youtube when typing in Musica Spoziale/Nuziale was either Mendelssohn or Wagner's marches. And since I feel like I've made no disguise of my dislike/hatred for Wagner, Mendelssohn it is.
He is a rather "pathetic" character, I'll admit. The loss of his patrimony in Savoy and the steady loss of his hearing have both done a number on him by shrinking the circle around him (literally and figuratively). He's likely- due to his increasing deafness- far more withdrawn than OTL, mainly due to, as Beethoven himself put it, the humiliation of having to say to people "speak louder, I am deaf". I wouldn't be surprised if, like Beethoven, Vittorio Emanuele wanted to put a pistol in his mouth once or twice out of despair (Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament tells of his feelings of isolation and thoughts of suicide). Like Beethoven, it wasn't the fact that he's a Catholic and it's a sin, but rather the acknowledgement that doing so would prove everyone right.
As said before, thanks to Frankie having a hand in her and her sister (Henri's OTL wife)'s education, Beatrice is far-less hyperstrict and conservative (although she's likely not a fan of her brother-in-law marrying a born Protestant), but she's still got the strong personality of OTL. Where she is able to serve as Vittorio Emanuele's mainstay of support (her experiences with her own sister's handicaps) by making herself "useful" to him. After all, if she finds his use of conversation booklets acceptable, who else at court is going to object?
thank you
I think that, thanks to Beatrice (and the general Italian Habsburg policy of "going native"), Vittorio Emanuele is trying to embrace local customs and rely more on native Sardinians (like Sanna or La Marmora) than Piemontese supporters. For instance, his willingness to use a local paghe-type setup to ensure that nobody leaves him with egg on his face, rather than say, wasting an entire regiment or two attempting to root them out. And perhaps he can play the various factions off against one another to his benefit.
However, the muted response (originally) from the crowd perhaps signifies the mood of the island towards the Savoies as a whole. While they might like/appreciate what he is doing, there'd likely be a nagging worry to those who can still remember how "quickly" the Savoies got out in 1815, so it's more of an attitude of "how long is it for this time?"
figured they probably stopped in Genoa as their first "port of call" on their Italian tour. My plan was originally for them to only attend the "proxy wedding" in Genoa before going on to Milan or Florence. But then I figured they can hit Sardinia, then Florence by way of Livorno. After all, the Livorno docks are where Henri met Sebastiao II, King of Portugal and his Brasilian sisters-in-law for the first time back in the day (Chapter Anchor's Aweigh!)
imagine him taking on a Cavour-like role in the government. Although I suspect Sanna's liberalism and Beatrice's conservatism (just because Frankie had an input in her education doesn't make her liberal. In fact, Frankie seems to be "too liberal for a Habsburg, too conservative for a Bonaparte") would probably put Vittorio squarely in the moderate camp.
was that an actual post?
Yeas you are actually right, I think I mentioned it previously in our discussion, but I'm not so sure, otherwise you rightly point out that VE II can use as a threat/deterrent the fact of being able to put the various families in conflict with each other if necessary ( but it would not be the case considering that most of them have been at war for years and then subsequently entire cities will end up clashing with each other in the following decades ) but we must not forget the risk that some minor rivals of the Delitala, try to exploit this truce to weaken them further, provoking a new conflict under a false flag, making a sensational gesture ( considering who is currently in Cagliari, I couldn't rule out the possibility that some madman might think of trying a large-scale Bardana )
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that could turn into a nasty Red Wedding type shindig, I imagine
probably, even if I don't think there was the capacity among the various minor factions to gather a necessary number of bandits to carry out such an action, at least more than 200 men would be needed, a figure that only the largest families or entire cities ( like Orgosolo ) can afford, it is more likely that they will attempt a more targeted and above all rapid action, such as a kidnapping
probably one of the "VIP" participants at the wedding or the newlyweds themselves, all to obtain prestige and an expensive ransom ( as well as weakening rivals by placing the blame on them )
Great foolishness. It would greatly embarrass Vittorio Emanuele, but it would provoke outrage among the royalty of Europe (and royalists) - even more than an assassination. The latter could be seen as madness, misguided idealism, or response to "tyranny". This would be crime, pure and simple, and extreme lese-majesté. If the target was one of the foreign guests, there could be offers of military or constabulary assistance.
The "false flag" element would be impossible due to the ransom demand. In any case the "blamed" clan would loudly and vehemently deny any involvement - and such action would be very embarrassing to the Sardinian community in general. The clans would be terrified of the probable reaction by the crown and any foreign governments affected.
I feel like Henri and Élisabeth Mikhailovna would probably be keeping their fingers crossed that it's Helene of Mecklembourg. And she ends up following in Jane Digby's footsteps and becoming queen of the banditti
Certainly it would be an extremely crazy action, as I have already said, but I don't think that VE II will want it to come to that, because unlike foreign sovereigns, he knows what it means to actually have to deal with the phenomenon of Sardinian banditry on a daily basis, therefore it will not certainly be a deployment of military units that will stem the phenomenon, indeed it would create more problems than anything else ( considering that foreign aid would be easy victims of local guerrilla strategies, furthermore it would mean breaking the tiring Paghes that the government has achieved with the various families, in addition to the international scandal associated with it, finally there is the very small problem that the figure of the bandit had the unconditional support of the population in Otl ( because they were usually people from the poorest environments of society and therefore more in tune with the problems perceived by the vast majority of Sardinians ) , therefore even imagining a crazy scenario like the one hypothesized, one can imagine that the possible organizers could count on a local assistance network and the knowledge of the area that will allow him to get away with it easily )
although I can actually see that Helene of Mecklembourg could write a best seller about his experience with the bandits, as happened in Otl with other people who found themselves in the same situation
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furthermore it is not unthinkable that a woman could be at the head of this operation, there are numerous female bandits who have become famous in Sardinia, starting from Madonna Lucia Delitala onwards, which might only add to the exotic appeal of the story, should Helene write a book about it ( like the historical novel by Enrico Costa called "The Mute of Gallura" in Otl ) , it also allows you to use figures truly bordering on the absurd who in OTL had become "Stars" in Sardinia and also in the rest of Italy ( 1 ) , suffice it to say that the only one who could be considered safe in Sardinia from having to deal with bandits was Garibaldi because he had come into contact with them by pure chance, during his work in the countryside, becoming friends with some of the most famous among themselves
1 ) characters of the caliber of Paska Devaddis, Giovanni Tolu and companions, Pietro Mamia, Bastianu Addis Tansu ( on whom Costa based his novel ), Francesco Derosas known as Cicciu , Mariantonia Serra-Sanna, Lussorio Cau and Giovanni Corbeddu
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Out of curiosity, would it be possible for some country (whether it be France, the German Confederation or perhaps Spain or Portugal) to introduce a species of "cursus honorem" of positions that a politician MUST'VE held (and demonstrated competency while holding that position) in order to be nominates for a government posting/government minister/PM/chancellor?
On the one hand, I could see the liberals in sackcloth and ashes about it being a throwback to the ancien regime (keeping the public from government). On the other hand, I feel like it is in the average joe's interests since it keeps out the inexperienced and incompetent persons.
On the one hand, I could see the liberals in sackcloth and ashes about it being a throwback to the ancien regime (keeping the public from government). On the other hand, I feel like it is in the average joe's interests since it keeps out the inexperienced and incompetent persons.
I would say that the place where it would have the greatest possibility of being implemented as a reform would be in Italy, both because it would have clear references to the Roman Age ( in a period where the peninsula is being once again flooded by a romantic feeling towards ancient Rome ( both for the new archaeological studies that were spreading like wildfire in Italy ) , see the Mazzinian experiment of the Roman Republic in Otl ) but also because in the history of the region many ruling and non-reigning families rose to power in that way ( such as the Medici, Sforza, Visconti, the various Doges of the maritime republics, etc ) following political stages in a previously """ similar republican and meritocratic system """
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@unprincipled peter @Awkwardvulture @pandizzy @eliamartin65
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...-sao-francisco-river-hydraulic-empire.553675/
out of curiosity, it took until 1865 for a British explorer to reach the heights of this river, but is it possible TTL that Pedro II oversees [earlier/more] development of this river as a potential artery into the country? Or is 1865 sort of the earliest that can be hoped for?
https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...-sao-francisco-river-hydraulic-empire.553675/
out of curiosity, it took until 1865 for a British explorer to reach the heights of this river, but is it possible TTL that Pedro II oversees [earlier/more] development of this river as a potential artery into the country? Or is 1865 sort of the earliest that can be hoped for?
unprincipled peter
Donor
I assume the Bandeirantes used the river, or at least know of it.
There's no reason the river can't be utilized. That said, early development of Brazil concentrated mainly on the coast, so there has to be a push to create infrastructure into the interior. I believe there are limited easy routes from the coast to the interior, so that is a factor as well. Terrain was a big factor in the development of Brazil.
During the time of Joao, Pedro I, the Regency, first half of Pedro II, the emphasis was on securing, and settling southward, to fill in an empty (of Europeans) space, and secure the far south from Spanish encroachment. When Joao transferred to Brazil, he was busy building a backwoods colony into a kingdom. Pedro I had to deal with the Cisplatine War, and political insurrection. the Regency period nearly ended the country, and Pedro II was busy trying to get things going again, so there's little resources available for the interior adventure.
I assume natives might have some resistance to overcome.
calling @holycookie
If youre talking about fluvial transport, it makes more sense to start in the state of São Paulo that has a lot more rivers. A lot of them have been hidden away by streets, especially in the city of São Paulo, but they are still here.