Then I would suggest the year 1516: On the death of Fernando of Aragon, the Spanish Crown goes to (Habsburg) Charles I of Spain and V of Germany, who unites under a single sceptre the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, plus the Italian (Naples, Sicily, Sardinia) and European (Belgium/Holland, Austria- Southern Germany) dominions of the Habsburgs.
Ofcourse, the Dutch will have to fight for their independence. There lay the roots for the linguistic & religious divisions between the low countries. There is also the reformation & counter-reformation, the 30 years religious war in Germany...Till 1700: With the death of Charles II, the dynasty of the Habsburg comes to an end and the War of the Spanish Succession breaks out, Spain collapses and a French puppet is set on the Spanish throne in 1714, when Spain loses Belgium, Luxemburg, Milan, Naples, Sardinia, Minorca and Gibraltar. The Habsburgs retain control of Austria- Hungary however.
Russia establishes itself as a European power during this period, with Ivan the Terrible. The Russians run their own overland colonization of Siberia and Central Asia, which is equally important in terms of landmass, at least.
Ofcourse, the Dutch will have to fight for their independence. There lay the roots for the linguistic & religious divisions between the low countries. There is also the reformation & counter-reformation, the 30 years religious war in Germany...Till 1700: With the death of Charles II, the dynasty of the Habsburg comes to an end and the War of the Spanish Succession breaks out, Spain collapses and a French puppet is set on the Spanish throne in 1714, when Spain loses Belgium, Luxemburg, Milan, Naples, Sardinia, Minorca and Gibraltar. The Habsburgs retain control of Austria- Hungary however.
Russia establishes itself as a European power during this period, with Ivan the Terrible. The Russians run their own overland colonization of Siberia and Central Asia, which is equally important in terms of landmass, at least.
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