[December 30] Ferdinand Charles, archduke of Further Austria

Parents: Leopold V, archduke of Further Austria, and Claudia de' Medici
Date of Birth: 17 May 1628
House: Habsburg
Spouse(s): Anna de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo II, grand duke of Tuscany, and Maria Magdalena of Austria
Predecessor: Leopold V
Reign: 1630 – 1662
Brief: During the 16th and 17th centuries, the archduchy of Austria was divided up among rival cadet branches of the family. Ferdinand Charles was delegated ruler of Further Austria based out of Tyrol near the Italian border. For the first sixteen years of his rule, he was a minor and his mother, Claudia de' Medici, ruled in his name until 1646. Once he became archduke, Ferdinand Charles ruled with an iron fist. He dissolved the Tyrolian Diet in 1648 and executed his chancellor in 1651, ruling alone afterwards. He enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and paid for it by selling titles of nobility and family heirlooms under his care. He was paid a portion of gold from France for lands ceded to France in a previous war—he wasted all of this on luxuries. For all his greed, Ferdinand Charles was a lover of Italian opera and had an opera house at his court for performances. When he died in 1662, few mourned his passing and his brother, Sigismund Francis, bishop of Augsburg, Gurk, and Trent, inherited Further Austria.

Date of Death: 30 December 1662

Successor: Sigismund Francis

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Felix I, pope of Rome (274)
• Richard II, pretender to England (1460)
• Innocent IV, pope of Rome (1591)

[November 29] Maria Theresa, queen of Bohemia

Full Name: Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina
Parents: Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth Christina of Burnswick-Wolfenbüttel
Date of Birth: 13 May 1717
House: Habsburg
Spouse(s): François, duke of Lorraine, son of Leopold, duke of Lorraine, and Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
Predecessor: Charles VI

Reign: 1740 – 1780
Brief: The resultant final heir of the House of Habsburg, Maria Theresa was destined to be queen of Bohemia and archduchess of Austria from at least 1713, when her father passed his Pragmatic Sanction. Most of the rest of his reign was spent securing the law that would allow his daughter to succeed to the throne, but it was all for nothing. This was partially because Emperor Charles VI had already signed a Mutual Pact of Succession with his elder brother that ensured that the daughters of Emperor Joseph I would supersede any daughters of Charles. But by the time Charles died, little mattered to the land-hungry magnates of Europe who only wished to dissect Austria for themselves. Raised by Jesuits and kept under harsh security, Maria Theresa was not a great student and her father did not teach her how to rule his empire. At the age of nineteen, Maria Theresa married the duke of Lorraine, who lost Lorraine the next year but gained the Grand Duchy of Tuscany as compensation. When Charles finally died in 1740 of mushroom poisoning, he left Austria in financial bankruptcy and a small unprepared army. Maria Theresa did not have a clue how to run her new government.

Taking her father's advice, Maria Theresa campaigned to have her husband elected Holy Roman Emperor, since she could not gain the title herself. To give him a free vote from Bohemia, the queen made him joint-ruler of Austria and Bohemia, though Hungary waited a year before approving the joint leadership. Despite his joint role, Maria Theresa did not trust her husband and did not allow him to make decisions within her empire. Outside of Austria, the queen's neighbors began banging swords in a move that would prompt the War of the Austrian Succession. Charles Albert, duke of Bavaria, was married to the senior Habsburg heiress and wanted a piece of Austria. Frederick II, king of Prussia, wanted Silesia and took it from her through force after negotiations failed. The Bavarian duke invaded Bohemia in 1741 while Maria Theresa was pregnant with her second child. She threw everything into the war effort to keep Charles Albert from succeeding, but the Bavarian duke was nominated Holy Roman Emperor in early 1742. On the same day, Austrian troops occupied his Bavarian capital of Munich, sullying the coronation. In 1745, Charles Albert died, ending the Bavarian fight. François was elected Holy Roman Emperor Franz I later that year and the war ended in 1748 with the cession of Parma to Spain. For ten years, Maria Theresa had peace until Prussia invaded Saxony in 1756 sparking the Seven Years' War. Luckily, the war ended with little changed for Austria, though the queen desperately wanted Silesia back from Prussia. Domestically, Maria Theresa modernized much of the Austrian military, creating a standing army and unifying Bohemia and Austria more closely. She ended capital punishment and outlawed witch burning and torture. When Franz I died in 1765, Maria Theresa removed herself from government, leaving the management to her eldest son, Joseph II. She died in 1780, probably after a prolonged smallpox attack that left her sick with pneumonia. She was the last direct Habsburg descendant on record, her cousin having predecesed her, and her successors would be known as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Date of Death: 29 November 1780
Successor: Joseph II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Chlothar I, king of the Franks (561)
• Gregory III, pope of Rome (741)
• Otto II, duke of Bavaria (1253)
• Clement IV, pope of Rome (1268)
• Philippe IV, king of France (1314)
• Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1378)
• Nanda, king of Burma (1600)
• Frederick V, count palatine of the Rhine (1632)

[October 4] Herman VI, margrave of Baden-Baden

Parents: Herman V, margrave of Baden, and Irmengard of the Palatinate
Date of Birth: 11 July 1238
House: Zähringen
Spouse(s): Gertrude, daughter of Henry, duke of Mödling, and Agnes of Thuringia
Predecessor: Hermann V

Reign: 1243 – 1250
Brief: Although ruling over a relatively marginal German marcher county, Herman rose to prominence in 1248 when he married Gertrude, the niece of the last member of the Babenberg dynasty which had ruled over Austria for the past four centuries. He claimed the duchies immediately on behalf of his wife and allowed his younger brother, Rudolf, to rule them in his name. A rival, Ottokar II, king of Bohemia, claimed the duchy in 1252 on behalf of his own wife, Margaret, sister of the last Babenburg duke, and things became complicated. Unfortunately for Herman's family, the aristocracy of Austria favored Ottokar over the margraves of Baden, despite the fact that the Baden margraves had papal approval of his titles. Ottokar kept them until 1278 when they were reverted by Imperial decree to the House of Habsburg, which now ruled the Holy Roman Empire. Little mattered to Herman, however, as he died quietly in 1250 and his son, Frederick, succeeded him in his claims to Austria.

Date of Death: 4 October 1250

Successor: Frederick I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Vladimir, prince of Novgorod (1052)
• William III, count of Ponthieu (1221)
• Kameyama, emperor of Japan (1305)
• Sarsa Dengel, emperor of Ethiopia (1597)

[June 3] Leopold IV, duke of Further Austria

Habsburg family coat of arms

Parents: Leopold III, duke of Austria, and Viridis Visconti

Date of Birth: 1371

House: Habsburg
Spouse: Catherine, daughter of Philip II, duke of Burgundy, and Margaret III, countess of Flanders

Predecessor: Leopold III

Reign: 1386 – 1411

Summary: At only the age of fifteen, Leopold's brother, Duke William of Inner Austria, enlisted him to rule Further Austria. The region of Further Austria included the Habsburg hereditary lands in Swiss Aargau as well as various lands in the west of Austria. Throughout his reign, Leopold would face opposition from the Swiss over which he ruled. In 1391, he was granted sole administration over Further Austria, and in 1396 he added the management of Tyrol in northern Italy to his dossier. By 1393, he was involved in a dynastic marriage that could have had far-reaching consequences if it had produced any heirs. His new wife, Catherine, was a member of the Burgundian royal family and her mother, Margaret, was the countess of Flanders in her own right. Although no heirs were produced, this marriage was an interesting foreshadowing of an actual dynastic alliance that would form about eighty years later.

Ernest and Frederick, two younger brothers of Leopold's, were left in Austria where they earned their own titles as Austrian dukes in 1402. When William, the eldest, died in 1406, Leopold IV became the effective ruler of all the Austrian lands and the head of the family. With no children, Ernest and Frederick began partitioning up Austria for when they succeeded to the throne. Leopold allowed them their game and remained the ruler of Further Austria, granting administration of the eastern lands to his power-hungry younger brothers. Leopold also began to mentor Albert V, the senior member of the junior cadet line of the Habsburgs and the future king of Hungary and Germany. The younger brothers fought Leopold over this move to consolidate Habsburg control, but both brothers in turn later acted as guardians for Albert as well. Leopold died in 1411 and was succeeded by Frederick in Further Austria, with Ernest already ruling Inner Austria.

Date of Death: 3 June 1411

Successor: Frederick IV

Other Monarch Deaths:

Ivan, tsar of Bulgaria (1395)

John XXIII, pope of Rome (1963)

[March 2] Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor

Parents: Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Luisa of Spain

Date of Birth: 12 February 1768

House: Habsburg-Lorraine

Spouse: Elisabeth of Württemberg, then Maria Theresa of Naples, then Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, then Caroline Augusta of Bavaria

Reign: 1792 – 1806

Predecessor: Leopold II

Summary: Few monarchs in history can say that they were the last ruler of an empire, yet Francis II was precisely that man. Ruling the Holy Roman Empire during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, he saw the 1,000-year empire finally come to an end. The emperor was born in Tuscany, the son of the grand duke but was raised in Vienna with his uncle in preparation for his eventually succession to the imperial throne. The boy was isolated from most people during his childhood to better enable him to lead without advisors. To give him martial experience, he joined the Hungarian regiment of the army and became a soldier. Emperor Joseph II died in 1790 and Francis's father, Leopold, became the new emperor. Francis served as deputy governor of Austria while his father tried to rally support for the Empire. But after only two years in office, Leopold died, leaving Austria and the Empire to the young Francis. 


Francis became emperor during the years of the French Revolutionary Wars. His aunt, Marie Antoinette, was executed in 1792 and Austria maintained strained relations with France from that point forward. During the war, he constantly switched sides and profited greatly from it. Austria annexed Venice and Dalmatia, even while losing lands west of the Rhine. After the defeat at Austerlitz, Francis agreed to the Treaty of Pressurg that basically ended the Holy Roman Empire as Napoleon took over governance of Germany. With no further purpose for the title, Francis abdicated the Holy Roman Imperial throne and declared himself to be Francis I, emperor of Austria. Little else changed, though. He attacked France in 1809 but was forced to ally with France the next year, wedding his daughter Marie-Louise to him. Austria had become a vassal state of France. In 1813, Austria switched sides again and led the Allies toward France's defeat. Francis was nominated president of the Congress of Vienna and he also became leader f the German Confederation, a successor state to Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine. Following the war, Francis downsized the Austrian army and made his government more transparent and accessible to the people. The emperor died in 1835, one of the best remembered of the Holy Roman Empire's many monarchs.

Date of Death: 2 March 1835

Successor: Ferdinand I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Lothair I, emperor of Rome (855)
• Nicholas I, emperor of Russia (1855)

[January 12] Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Parents: Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal

Date of Birth: 22 March 1459

Royal House: Habsburg

Spouse: Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, then Anne of Brittany, then Bianca Maria Sforza
Predecessor: Frederick III as Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund as Archduke of Austria

Reign: 1486 – 1519 (Co-emperor until 1493)

Summary: Maximilian was a lucky man. He was born to the politically powerful Habsburg family and he married into the incredibly wealthy House of Valois-Burgundy. Indeed, his only misfortune in youth was the loss of the Habsburg's ancestral lands to the Swiss Confederacy. In 1477, his wife's father, Charles the Bold, died leaving the entire Burgundian inheritance to her. This land included all of the Low Countries (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) as well as vast territories in France and modern-day Germany, as well as a few scraps in Italy and Switzerland. As husband, Maximilian took on the job of administering the land in the name of his wife. Mary died in 1482 and their son, Philip, became the official duke but was far too young to rule. After negotiations with France, Burgundy became a crown possession of the Habsburg monarchy and by far the wealthiest component.

As Emperor, Maximilian had a more shaky reign. War between Austrian counties caused the Holy Roman Empire to recognize the secession of the Swiss Confederation from the Empire in 1499. War in Italy forced the HRE and France to bump heads again. And worst of all, the other German magnates felt that the Habsburgs were using too many Imperial resources to fight what they viewed as dynastic warfare. To fund all his enterprises, Maximilian went into deep debt, an amount that would not be paid off for nearly 100 years. Maximilian died in 1519, his son Philip predeceasing him by some 13 years. He was, therefore, succeeded by his grandson, Charles, who became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, upon the latter's death. Perhaps Maximilian's greatest legacy to history was the marriage of his son, Philip, to the heiress of Castile and Aragon, thereby giving the Habsburg dynasty the largest—at least on paper—empire that ever spanned the world: the Spanish Empire.

Date of Death: 12 January 1519

Successor: Charles V

Two States, One King (Divided Rule)

Two years ago last December, I completed my master's dissertation on the topic of dynastic unions. Specifically, I focused on the dynastic union of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands under King William III and the union of Great Britain (later the United Kingdom) and the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later Kingdom of Hanover) under Kings George I-IV and William IV. It was a daunting task with a strong emphasis on ruling two states at the same time. Yet these individuals were only the last British monarchs in a long series of rulers to preside over multiple states simultaneously. Indeed, for a while it was vogue for monarchs to try and collect states, as it were, in order to expand their empire. Some they would fold into their own "mother" state while others would remain under outside control.


England's Bouts of Duality
Let's start this little survey with a look at what Britain has controlled off-and-on throughout its existence. I've already mentioned two so let's chalk them up:

William III, King of England
& Stadtholder of the Netherlands

• The Kingdoms of England, Scotland & Ireland, et al. with The United Provinces of the Netherlands (1689 – 1702)
• Ruler: King William III who was also Stadtholder of the Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders & Overijssel (most of the Netherlands)
• The Dutch Estates General ruled the Netherlands in his stead
• The English Privy Council ruled Britain in his stead
• How'd it start: William III conquered England (sort of) and deposed his father-in-law, thereby taking the crown. He was already stadtholder at the time.
• Fate: Died leaving England in the hands of his sister-in-law Anne and Netherlands in the hands of nobody in particular

• The Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland, et al. with The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Electorate of Brunswick (1714 – 1803, 1813 – 1832)
• Rulers: Kings George I, George II, George III, George IV, and William IV who were also hereditary rulers of the region immediately around Hanover in Germany
• The English Privy Council, the Queen, and/or the Prince of Wales ruled Britain in their stead
• The Hanoverian Regency and/or the Prince of Wales ruled Hanover in their stead
• Communication was via a special agency unaffiliated with the British government
• How'd it start: To avoid another Catholic monarch, the British monarchy went to their 52nd choice in the line of succession: an elderly granddaughter of James I. She died and her German son inherited Britain.
• The Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland became the United Kingdom in 1801
• The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg became the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814
• Fate: Separate succession laws left Britain in the hands of Queen Victoria and Hanover in the hands of King Ernest Augustus



Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Note: Bremen, Verden, Osnabrück, and
Lauenburg were also all dynastic unions. Brunswick -Wolfenbüttel was
a separate possession of a younger branch of the House of Este-Welf.

These are rather late additions, so let's step back into time and see what other dynastic unions existed. Two have already been implied though not mentioned:

• The Kingdom of England with The Kingdom of Ireland (1542 – 1651, 1659 – 1801)
• Rulers: All English monarchs from Henry VIII onwards until 1801
• The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ruled in their stead
• How'd it start: The Kingdom of Ireland replaced the semi-sovereign and often autonomous Lordship of Ireland which was also presided over by the Lord Lieutenant. Ireland had been partially conquered by Normans in the 12th century and Henry VIII finished the job...mostly.
• Fate: Ireland had little independence in the union and Great Britain and Ireland finally formed a constitutional union in 1801

The Royal Standard of the United Kingdom
(Note: First and Fourth quarters represent England, the
second represents Scotland, and the third Ireland.)

• The Kingdoms of England & Ireland with The Kingdom of Scotland (1603 – 1651, 1660 – 1707)
• Rulers: All English monarchs from James I onwards until 1707
• The Scottish Parliament and Privy Council ruled in their stead
• How'd it start: Elizabeth I died leaving three possible heirs: the most senior—the Scottish king—or one of two squabbling heiresses who broke the queen's rules. She went with the Scotsman.
• Fate: Scotland attempted to end the union but failed and were forced to enter into a constitutional union in 1707

There are dozens of other unions England had with other states throughout its medieval history. Most of these territories were in France. While England very briefly claimed true control over the French throne in the 15th century, I will gloss over that to focus on two other historically more important territories that England once controlled:

Map of France in 1154. Normandy is the pink bit in
the north. Aquitaine is the large peach part in the
middle and south. Note: Brittany (orange on left)
and Anjou (center red) were also dynastic unions.

• The Kingdom of England with The Duchy of Normandy (1066 – 1087, 1106 – 1144, 1150 – 1204 [– Present])
• Rulers: William I, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I and John
• A regent and/or Lord Lieutenant ruled Normandy in their stead
• How'd it start: William I of Normandy invaded England and killed his predecessor, Harold II, and deposed the upstart, Edgar II.
• Fate: Conflict with France over sovereignty in Normandy resulted in the French confiscation of Normandy in 1204.
• Today: The Channel Islands, primarily Guernsey and Jersey, remain Crown Dependencies under the name "Duchy of Normandy" and are the last remnant of the once-great duchy. These islands are not a part of the United Kingdom though are administered by it. The Lieutenant Governor of each set of islands rules in the monarch's stead.

• The Kingdom of England with The Duchy of Aquitaine ([1152] 1204 – 1362)
• Rulers: Technically, Eleanor of Aquitaine ruled until 1204, but her husband, Henry II, and sons, Richard I and John, both ruled in her stead many times. Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III also ruled.
• A Regent ruled in their stead.
• How'd it start: Henry II married the Aquaitaine duchess, Eleanor, and took her lands for his own.
• Fate: The French got fed up with England not respecting them, so reclaimed their fief. England countered by claiming the French crown. So began the Hundred Years' War. Neither side really could claim the title after that.

Finally, just as a fun aside, the British monarch is still technically in one last dynastic union (not counting the Commonwealth countries) with a tiny little island sitting in the Irish Sea:

The Kingdom of Mann was
once much larger and included
the Western Isles of Scotland

• The Kingdom of England with The Lordship of Mann (1765 – Present)
• Rulers: Every British monarch since George III
• A Lieutenant Governor rules in their stead
• How'd it start: In 1399, Henry IV conquered the Kingdom of Mann from its hereditary ruler. It had previously alternated between Norwegian, Scottish, and English control for centuries. It fell into the Stanley family and, in 1504, they renounced the title "King" in favor of "Lord". In 1765, the Baroness Strange sold the title back to the English crown.
• Fate: Today, the monarch of the United Kingdom is also, separately, the Lord of Mann. It is administered separately as with the Channel Islands (see Duchy of Normandy).

More Problems than an Oversized Chin

The Habsburgs of Austria had their own divided monarchy that, at times, remained divided for long periods of time, but every once in a while, they would recombined to become truly behemoth political entities that would span the breath of Europe. Three long-term unions and one amazingly brief union created a Habsburg empire that still boggles modern minds.

• The Archduchy of Austria with The Kingdoms of Bohemia & Hungary (1438 – 1918)
• Rulers: Various Habsburg monarchs until 1918
• The Habsburg monarchs ruled Bohemia through various means, but rarely directly
• How'd it start: Albert married the daughter of the previous king of both Bohemia and Hungary. He was crowned king of Hungary in 1438 and Bohemia six months later, but never ruled in the latter. The Habsburgs did not firmly establish themselves in either until 1526.
• Fate: Hungary remained a part of Austria-Hungary until 1918 and the monarchy was officially ended on 1921. Bohemia was incorporated into the Austrian Empire in 1806 and became crown land in 1867. It later became half of Czechoslovakia after World War I.

Map of the Ethnic Composition of Austria-Hungary in 1910. Note: Only Austria, Hungary and Bohemia were legal
dynastic unions. Bosnia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Transylvania, Galicia, and Moravia were all artificial monarchies.

Map of the Iberian Peninsula, 1570. Note: Galicia (top left),
Aragon (top right), and Cordoba (bottom center) were all
in dynastic unions with Castile (Spain) during this period.

• The Kingdom of Spain with The Kingdom of Portugal (1560 – 1640)
• Rulers: Philip II of Spain, Philip III and Philip IV
• A Viceroy of Portugal ruled in their stead
• How'd it start: The last obvious heir to the Portuguese throne died leaving it vacant with the Spanish monarch, Philip II, in a prime dynastic, political, and military position to claim it.
• Fate: Fed up with Spanish domination of politics and an obvious loss of their overseas empire, Portuguese revolutionaries deposed Philip IV and installed a native king.

A Map of the Burgundian Inheritance. The lands
dynastically unified to Spain in the Low Countries
were vast and spanned seven modern countries.

• The Kingdom of Spain with The Duchy of Burgundy (1516 – 1555)
• Ruler: Charles I of Spain, also known as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
• Many different methods were used to rule his empire
• How'd it start: First off, this dynastic union appears very mediocre for all the hype, so let's explain. The Kingdom of Spain at this time did not just include what we think of today as Spain. It also included all of Italy south of Rome and Sicily. He inherited all of this from his mom, though technically she was still alive until 1555. Next, Burgundy refers to a large area that today includes Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of Germany and France. It was on par in side to Portugal but with much more valuable land. He inherited this lot from his dad, Philip the Handsome, in 1506. In addition, Charles was also an Archduke of Austria, was elected Holy Roman Emperor (which technically means he was King of Italy and Germany), and he also ruled over all the new Spanish possessions overseas. So in literal size, his empire was quite large for a European monarch.
• Fate: Inevitably, he tired of ruling such a large empire. He actually abdicated two years before his death. Spain, Italy, and Burgundy he left to his son, Philip II. The Holy Roman Empire he left to his brother, Ferdinand I.

Danes Among Us

Denmark has led a long history of dual monarchy. Stationed on the small peninsula that divides the North Sea from the Baltic Sea, it is in prime position to claim both the fjords of Norway and Sweden and the flats of Germany. And claim them it did, though not without significant resistance. Two long dynastic unions proved that a small country could still play it large.

• The Kingdom of Denmark with The Kingdoms of Sweden & Norway (1397 – 1523)
• Rulers: Margaret, Erik, Christopher III, Christian I, John and Christian II
• Sweden and Norway maintained regencies in their stead (and sometimes against them)
• How'd it start: Queen Margaret I of Denmark married King Haakon VI of Norway and their son, Olaf III, became king of both in 1380. In 1389, Margaret united Sweden to Denmark and in 1396, Erik of Pomerania was elected the first king of all three realms. The union was formalized the next year via the Treaty of Kalmar.
• Fate: Almost immediately, the Swedes came into conflict with the Danes over Danish wars in northern Germany. Sweden elected an anti-king, Charles VIII, who was deposed and restored numerous times. Eventually Sweden would elect Gustav Vasa as king and secede from the union permanently, only to become involved in their own German wars.

The Kalmar Union. Note: Lower Finland was a dependency of Sweden while
Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, and the Orkneys
were dependencies of Norway. Schleswig-Holstein in Germany was in a
dynastic union with Denmark throughout this time.

• The Kingdom of Denmark with The Kingdom of Norway (1536 – 1816)
• Rulers: All kings of Denmark until 1816
• Norway maintained a regency in their stead
• How'd it start: With the fall of the Kalmar Union (see above), Denmark retained Norway, though not without a fight. Denmark's dynastic claim over Norway was stronger, and Norway was unable to resist Danish domination to the same degree as Sweden.
• Fate: Norway was traded to Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars and, after a brief war between Norway and Sweden, the two countries entered into their own dynastic union that lasted until 1905, when Norway finally became an sovereign kingdom once more.

Poling your Weight Around

Poland, too, was the senior partner in a long dynastic union. While Poland jumped in and out of other unions throughout its history, it's union with one partner withstood the test of time.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1618. The sheer size of this dynastic
union is unbelievable. Livonia (gray), Courland (greenish), and Prussia (peach)
were vassal states of Poland-Lithuania but not in dynastic union with it.

• The Kingdom of Poland with The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1382 – 1795)
• Rulers: All kings of Poland until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1795
• It is unknown how these monarchs ruled both realms
• How'd it start: Grand Duke Ladislas II of Lithuania married "King" Hedwig of Poland. When she died, Ladislas became ruler of both. 
• Fate: Sigismund II constitutionally unified the two lands in 1572, though both retained autonomy. The monarchy became elective after that date, though it stayed in the Vasa family of Sweden for many generations. The entire monarchy fell apart in the French Revolutionary Wars and its fractions were given to Russia, Prussia and Austria.

Conclusion

Almost every monarchic state in Europe at one time or another controlled another state. France was often the largest player, but its attachments were almost always geographically close to France and also geographically smaller. Spain ruled vast lands around the Mediterranean for many years, including much of southern Italy. Sweden and Denmark both had their hands on significant lands in Northern Germany for awhile. In the end, most dynastic unions have to come to an end. The junior partner either joins the senior partner in a constitutional union or the two separate permanently. Today, quasi-states such as Mann and the Channel Islands are exceptions rather than the rule.

Attempts to force dynastic unions, such as that of the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) and United Provinces (Netherlands) after the Napoleonic Wars, generally fail. The Prussian and Sardinian technique of blatant conquest and monarchic overthrow, such as in the unifications of Germany and Italy, seem to work better. The other technique, largely used by France and Spain, of slowly marrying into title-holding families and inheriting the titles also works better.

Nonetheless, throughout history most monarchies have experienced periods of dynastic union and it is an interesting, albeit often overlooked, aspect of nation-building that I find absolutely riveting.