That's it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you had fun thinking about renaissance politics and I hope you will have even more fun actually playing out such situations in the Italian Wars 4.0.
At the Crossroads (Florence)
You are the Podesta of the Republic of Florence. Elected and assisted by the Signoria of this proud republic you have prevailed in keeping your city's independence. You have fought off French, Imperial and Papal invasions, kept the other Italian powers at bay and finally you have managed to secure all of Tuscany under Florence's rule. From Lucca in the north via your old rival cities Pisa and Siena down to Grosseto in the south flies the red-and-silver banner with the fleur-de-lys. The people and the patricians cheer when they but hear your name, hailing you as the greatest leader Florence has ever elected. Now everything would be perfect if it wasn't for that cursed opportunity:
The Emperor has offered you the title of Duke of Tuscany. Spain and the Pope support his offer and recognition at the high courts of Europe would thus not be a problem. Yet, accepting the title would make you a vassal of the emperor and vassals owe tribute and allegiance to the crown. The French fiercely oppose this plan and try to convince you to preserve the republican constitution, styling themselves your only supporters against the German-Spanish-Papal alliance trying to subdue you with golden chains.
However, neither the French support for your rival Pisa nor their relentless siege of Florence itself during King Charles' campaign have been forgotten, but the same goes for the countless times the Pope tried to occupy southern Tuscany or the Spaniards' attempts to establish a foothold on your coast.
Nobody can tell, how the populace or the Signoria might react and whether their patriotism is stronger than their republicanism. What you can tell, though, is that the Spanish fleet controls the Ligurian Sea and there are Spanish troops ready to strike stationed on Sardegna and Corsica.
Will you accept the Emperor's proposal, gain access to Europe's highest nobility but loose full independence and risk war with France or even a widespread republican uprising, or offend the Emperor by refusing and face a Papal-Spanish invasion ready to install some Medici pretender in Florence who would be more willing to comply with their wishes?
Best Regards
Iskar
PS: If you liked this, it would be awesome if you expressed such by +rep