The Nordic Glory

The dynasty of the Habsburgs by the end of the XVth-beginning of the XVIth centuries came close to the unification of Germany, strengthening the power of the emperor and the imperial government, limiting the arbitrariness of the princes. However, their opposition to the Reformation and unwillingness to secularize the church lands led to the fact that Protestantism became the banner of the princely opposition, with the help of foreigners (Swedes and French) who destroyed the imperial unity

But what if the Habsburgs supported Luther? ..

Point of Divergence
In real history, Philippe Habsburg, the son of the Emperor Maximilian I, had from his wife Joanna the Mad, the Queen of Castille, six children, the eldest of whom, Charles V, later became emperor of Germany and the King of Spain. Let's imagine that Juan was never able to give birth to a husband neither male nor female heir

Union between Denmark and Netherlands
After the death of childless Philipp in 1506, the only heir of Maximilian and the ruler of the Netherlands and Franche-Comte was his daughter called Margarita. At that time, the Netherlands were at sea fighting the Hansa, which established a monopoly on trade with the Baltic countries. In this regard, Margarita chose the Danish prince Christian as her husband, since Denmark also fought against the Hansa, who supported the Swedish separatists, who sought to secede from the Kalmar Union.

The combined forces of the Danish-Dutch navy pirated in the Baltic, sinking Hansa's merchant ships and blocking the cities of Hansa (Lübeck, Hamburg, Bremen). This forced the Hanseaticians to go to a series of concessions by 1512; In particular, give traders from the Netherlands the opportunity to trade with Sweden and Livonia (before, in fact, were the raw materials appendages of the Hansa). Also due to participation in this war, Christian gained great authority in Denmark as a winner of the Hanseatic League.

At the same time, while managing the Netherlands together with his wife and the States-General, Christian acquired a great deal of experience in political intrigues and maneuvering between various aristocratic groups. At the same time, as in real history, he sought to introduce in his native Denmark the pattern of the Dutch, eliminating serfdom and weakening the nobility in favor of the burghers, and establish an absolute monarchy.

Reconciliation of Sweden
In 1513, Christian's father, King of Denmark Hans I died, and Christian was elected to the throne by the Danish and Norwegian nobility. However, to know Sweden, de facto independent of Denmark, refused to elect Christian to the throne. However, Christian II, being the ruler of the fabulously wealthy Netherlands, could hire a first-class army, and in 1518 the Danes defeated the Swedish rebels in the battle of Bannkurk, in which the leader of the Swedish separatists, the regent Stan Sture the Younger

Having occupied Uppsala and Stockholm, Christian II declared himself the hereditary king of Sweden, and then expelled the Hanseatic from all three subordinate kingdoms-Denmark, Norway and Sweden, than inflicted a heavy blow to the economy of the Hanseatic League, who profited from the export of Swedish iron, and restored the unity of the Kalmar Union. The monopoly on the export of iron ore was transferred to the traders of the Netherlands