European geopolitics in the 19th century without the French Revolution

Mar 2016
Probably quite similar to what the mid-to-late 18th century, and later the mid-to-late 19th century was like: a tense and uneasy co-existence between rival powers that were mostly kept in check by the doctrine of the 'balance of powers'. Revolutionary and Napoleonic France wasn't the first time that the European powers decided to crack down on an aggressive and expansionary power - this happened first with the Habsburg domination of the 16th and 17th centuries, and later with France under Louis XIV. The War of the Spanish Succession was essentially the final push against French hegemony from a huge coalition (many of which powers would reunite a century later). The French Revolution effected the internal sociopolitical environment of countries much more than the interaction of states with each other from a purely political perspective. And much of the opposition to Revolutionary France wasn't strictly ideological, but also realpolitik - Austria, Prussia and Britain simply did not want France to return to its aggressive and expansionary habits that it had had under Louis XIV. Ideological opposition was simply another reason for animosity, rather than the primary driving factor. It's similar in a way to the Thirty Years War - the vast majority of the Emperor's enemies were motivated more by anti-Habsburg sentiment than religious reasons, even though the latter did have an effect to some degree.
Likes: Futurist


Ad Honoris
May 2014
Interesting. What about the geopolitical situation outside of Europe? Would colonialism and imperialism have still gotten as intense as they became in real life?