History

[Borys]

The Habsburg timeline is almost identical to OTL. The sole major departure is that in 1867 Maximillian III (Franz Joseph) stood up to the Hungarians and threatened to once again call in the Russians.
Some resentment against this long reigning and otherwise popular monarch stemmed from his passivity during the Franch-Prussian wars. Quite a few aristocrats and politicians (including his nephew (brother-son), Stefan) considered and still consider those events to be a Golden Opportunity lost.
Riding the way of interest in colonialism, the Monarchy set up the colony of West Afrika. Like so many Austrian enterprises, it was half-hearted and underfunded. After the inexplicable involvement of the underfunded brown water KKK (Kaiserlich-Koeniglich Kriegsmarine) in some Far Eastern big stick waving, the Republic of Orange overran the colony.
This led to elements of the political establishment, with resentment going back to the 1870s and 80s, to explode and topple the old Emperor. The putsch was led by Erzherzog Stefan, who then claimed the throne for himself. Maximillian was forced to abdicate and join a monastery, while Stefan's two older brothers - Franz Ferdinand and Otto - were coerced to relinquish their claims to the throne in his favor. Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife Sophie were exiled to Peking, while Otto was sent to Paris to dedicate his life to funding of loose women.
The new emperor has to play out a balancing act between land-owning aristocrats, noveax riche industralists, and a powerful peasant movement. The situation is further complicated by nationalist movements, the strongest being that of the Hungarians (when truces are arranged between the aristocrats and peasants), who demand a "dual monarchy".
The new emperor is brutal and boorish. A staunch believer in Divine Right to Rule, he supports royalist movements in other countries. Hence the intervention in the Spanish War, which resulted in partial success, with the ultramontagne Carlist branch regaining Aragon and Navarra.
He wishes to reinforce the Habsburg Monarchy by substituting the old aristocracy with a new meritocracy, of those who - like early medieval warriors - had first PROVEN their dedication to the monarch and country. Inherited titles mean nothing to him. This process has just began.
He also believes in laisses fair, and strives to sign free trade and Most Favored Nation trade agreements with other countries. This is to modernize the country and reinforce the industrialists, his largest backers.