Alternative History
Alternative History
Grand Duchy of New Tuscany
Granducato della Nuova Toscana
Timeline: Thornton expedition
OTL equivalent: Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Amapá (Brazil), parts of northern Brazil
Flag of New Tuscany (Thornton expedition) Coat of Arms of the Grand duchy of Tuscany
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: 
Festina lente
("Hurry slowly")
Anthem: 
"State Anthem of New Tuscany"
Map of Grand Duchy of New Tuscany (Thornton expedition)
CapitalSan Giovanni
Largest city Firenze sul Rio
Other cities Medici, Carolina, Fort Ferdinando, etc.
Official languages Italian
Other languages Dutch
Spanish
Portuguese
Ethnic groups (2022) Italian (85%)
Other European (6%)
Afro-Neo-Tuscan (5%)
Other (4%)
Religion Roman Catholic (81,6%)
Other Christian (5,4%)
Other religion (8%)
No religion (5%)
Demonym(s) Neo Tuscan
Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
 -  Grand Duke Gian Gastone II de Medici
 -  Prime Minister Giovanni Batista
Legislature National Assembly
Establishment
 -  Colony of New Tuscany August 15, 1609 
 -  Independence from Grand Duchy of Tuscany
(Treaty of Florence)
May 4, 1737 
 -  Constitution adopted March 5, 1832 
Area
 -  Total 1,063,483 km2 
410,613 sq mi 
Population
 -  Estimate 5,974,876 
 -   census 2022 
GDP (PPP)  estimate
 -  Total $659.898 billion 
 -  Per capita $110,445 
GDP (nominal)  estimate
 -  Total $598.454 billion 
 -  Per capita $100.161 
Gini  29.5 (low) 
HDI  0.960 (very high) 
Currency New Tuscan Lira (NTL)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .nt
Calling code +592

New Tuscany, officially the Grand Duchy of New Tuscany, is a sovereign state in South America. Facing the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Amazon River to the south, it borders Venezuela to the west and Brazil to the south and east. Its capital is San Giovanni, and its largest city is Firenze sul Rio.

Alongside Luxembourg, it is one of only two remaining sovereign grand duchies.

The country began as a colonial project of Ferdinando I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who intended to establish and use it in order to establish trade between South America and Italy. The colony was discovered by English captain Robert Thornton, who led the so-called Thornton expedition, funded by Ferdinando. The latter's son Cosimo II eventually sent his younger brother Carlo to govern it in his name. Carlo de Medici established his own branch of the family, which became hereditary governors of the colony and founded its first proper city, Firenze sul Rio. The colony became stable and prosperous over the years and gradually became more and more autonomous, while also receiving many colonists from Italy.

In 1737, Grand Duke Gian Gastone de Medici, having no heirs, was swayed by the Great Powers of Europe to name his more distant relation Francis Stephen of Lorraine (future Holy Roman Emperor Francis I) as his heir, instead of other relations from the extant Medici family, marking the end of the House of Medici's rule of Tuscany. Before dying, Gian Gastone drafted the Treaty of Florence, according to which in return for these concessions, his distant cousin Giovanni de Medici was named Grand Duke of New Tuscany and the colony was recognized as an independent state, thus becoming the first colony to achieve its independence, albeit by diplomatic means.

The Grand Duchy of New Tuscany became a prosperous, albeit somewhat isolated state, which became a haven for political refugees in the Americas. During the Napoleonic Wars, it sided with the Anti-French coalitions and, upon the Dutch Republic's annexation by France, Grand Duke Gian Gastone I annexed Dutch Guiana, and the state reached its present-day borders. A democratic constitution was promogulated by Grand Duke Rafaelo de Medici in 1832.

New Tuscany is parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, headed by the House of Medici. Since 2016, the reigning grand duke has been Gian Gastone II de Medici. The head of government is the prime minister, currently Giovanni Batista.

New Tuscany is a developed welfare state with a high-income economy. It is often ranked as one of the most developed states in the world and is the most developed state in South America. It is a member of the UN, NATO, OAN and WTO.

Etymology[]

The name "New Tuscany" is derived from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, which built it as a colony in the early 17th century. The region of Tuscany in Italy has its name derived in turn from the way the ancient Romans referred to Etruria.

Name in other languages:

Gran Ducado de Nueva Toscana (Spanish);

Groothertogdom Nieuw-Toscane (Dutch);

Grão-Ducado da Nova Toscana (Portuguese).

History[]

Colony[]

New Tuscany started out as a colony in the 17th century. Grand Duke Ferdinando I de Medici of Tuscany commissioned English Captain Robert Thornton to lead an expedition to build a colony in South America for trade with Italy in 1608. Returning to Italy later that year, he brought goods from South America and spoke of a land, rich in mineral wealth. Despite Ferdinando being dead by this point, his son Cosimo II was intrigued and chose to support the colonial ambitions of his father. It was agreed with the King of Portugal, also King of Spain Philip III, that the Tuscans would be allowed to colonize lands only north of the Amazon River.

Mistrustful of others, the grand duke decided that his younger brother, Carlo de Medici would become the governor of the colony and manage it for him. Carlo arrived in New Tuscany in 1618 and heavily invested in the development of towns in the area and building profitable ventures, particularly in mining and trade, for which he eventually became known as the Father of New Tuscany. In 1624, he founded the town of Firenze sul Rio (Florence by the river), which would grow to become the largest city of New Tuscany. The favor he showed the city quickly led it to surpass the original colonial settlement of San Giovanni (OTL: Cayenne) in size. Firenze sul Rio was made the official capital of the colony by his son Allesandro, a state that would be changed only in 1820, when Gian Gastone I returned the capital to San Giovanni, due to the other city being at the border with Brazil.

While originally meant to serve as a base to export Brazilian wood to Italy, New Tuscany became a major trading hub in South America, conducting trade with other colonies in the Americas, with Firenze sul Rio becoming a major port in the area.

The hereditary governors proved themselves capable and heavily invested in the colony, building it from scratch. Pietro de Medici is credited with the founding of the Second Medici Bank, nowadays the National Bank of New Tuscany, in 1689.

The New Tuscan Trading Company was founded by Gian Galeazzo the Rich in 1752 and it conducted trade in the Americas, Europe and India.

Gaining independence[]

Independence was by no means a foregone conclusion as many modern historians believe. The New Tuscan branch of the Medici family, while prosperous and no doubt successful, often had conflicts with their nominal overlords. The Grand Dukes of Tuscany were keenly aware that as their colony became more and more self-sufficient, they also became more autonomous. Pietro de Medici's establishment of the Second Medici Bank was done without Grand Duke Cosimo III's approval. A rift was formed between the two men, but ultimately tensons died down. Cosimo did not have the power to enforce his will in New Tuscany when it came to challenging Pietro and his own state was struggling economically due to economic mismanagement, being forced to rely on loans from the Second Medici Bank, which some believe is what caused the quarrels in the first place. In the end, Pietro reaffirmed his allegiance to his distant cousin and even forgave part of the debt owed. The peace was sealed with the marriage of his daughter Anna Maria Louisa to his son Giovanni.

Independence became a factor however, when Cosimo died, and his younger son Gian Gastone ascended the throne of Tuscany. It became apparent that Gian Gastone would not sire heirs of his own and a dispute arose as to the succession. The great powers demanded that the throne pass to Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a distant relation of the Medici, as part of a deal between the Holy Roman Emperor, Tuscany's nominal suzerain, and the French King. The New Tuscan Medici had no desire to subjugate themselves to him however and it nearly came to war. Gian Gastone and the Pope mediated the conflict, and it resulted in the Treaty of Florence of 1737. In it, all parties agreed to the following: Francis Stephen would become Grand Duke of Tuscany and Giovanni would cede his and his wife's claims to it. In exchange, New Tuscany would be granted independence and recognized as a Grand Duchy, with Giovanni as the first Grand Duke of New Tuscany and the head of the House of Medici.

The treaty marked history as the first time that a colony achieved independence. It would be followed by the United States of America in 1776, albeit not as peacefully.

Expansions[]

Despite independence and the great celebrations held for it, the lives of the people of New Tuscany changed little for it. Despite its status however, many European nations looked down on the grand duchy as a colony and this forced the Medici of New Tuscany into something of an isolation.

After its declaration of Independence, New Tuscany was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of the United States of America.

During the Napoleonic Wars, New Tuscany entered into an alliance with the Coalitions against France. Grand Duke Gian Gastone I de Medici, also known as the Conqueror, annexed the colonies of Dutch Guiana, following the Dutch Republic's fall and annexation to France. These gains were confirmed at the Congress of Vienna, despite Dutch protest. The new Dutch government, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was compensated monetarily by the Grand Duchy.

During the Latin American Wars of Independence, the country served as a refuge for exiled rebels, but it did not involve itself in the war. Nevertheless, New Tuscany was the first country to recognize independent Colombia.

The Grand Dukes of New Tuscany had a tradition to govern benevolently, with a not so rigid social hierarchy as it existed in the European monarchies of the time. Nonetheless, there was vocal agitation for change, particularly among the middle class. To prevent any sort of unrest, Grand Duke Rafaelo drafted and promogulated a democratic constitution in 1832, which defined the limits of authority of each sector of government as well as civil rights for all citizens.

Modern times[]

New Tuscany remained neutral during both world wars but joined NATO in the aftermath of WWII and aligned itself more firmly with the Capitalist west. The country was hit hard by the Great Depression, like most other capitalist countries around the globe, but managed to recover by the late 1930s.

Since 2016, the reigning grand duke has been Gian Gastone II de Medici, who succeeded his father, Lorenzo.

Politics and Government[]

Monarchy[]

Government[]