AHC: France the dominant power of the 19th century

[katchen]

The French could have gotten more territory in the Gulf Coast after the War of the Spanish Succession truncating Spanish Florida and Spanish Texas in the Peace of Utrecht. And/or France Antarctique territory south of the 31st Parallel on the Argentine Coast as a way station to the East Indies. Perhaps a few better Atlantic harbors from Spain adjacent to France as well, such as San Sebastian, Bilbao and Oviedo in Guizpicoa (the Basque Provinces) for which France might be willing to trade something less useful, such as Rousillon (Perpignan) or even Corsica...

 

[chr92]

I think it might have been done if Louis XIV had been a little less hasty, which united the other powers against him.

Britain would still have had naval dominance, in the Atlantic. (France's good relations with the Ottoman Empire might have given them superior accesss to Asia) But - perhaps - France might have been considered the natural hegemon of Europe at least to the nineteenth century.

Britain and Spain's American settlements should keep them fairly rich and independent, but second and third. But if a France with an Asian empire wanted to police the Americas, it might have the resources to succeed.

 

[Imladrik]

It's mysterious because nobody know the cause of france popullation decline. I don't see how the french were more developed then anyone else.

Population density was more important in France than anywhere else in Europe before the 19th century. French soil is just better for agriculture, as it isn't as rocky as the southern european countries nor as marshy as the northern european country. The population expansion that other european countries saw in the 19th century due to the amelioration of the farming techniques had happenned in the earlier centuries in France, but more progressively as more land began to be used as agricultural land thus expanding France population capacity. But France didn't really saw an expansion of production (and thus an expansion of the population) due to technology that the other country saw, as those only catched up with France, and you couldn't at the time increase that much the output of an already very fertile land (that would have to wait for the 20th century).

Louis XIV establishes primogeniture, preventing the fragmentation of agricultural holdings and the overpopulation of farming areas as population grows. Nouvelle France, both Canada and Louisiana opened up to unrestricted French settlement (though this leads to disproportionate settlement of the New World by French from Langdeoc,particularly in Louisiana, much as Scots-Irish settle the English South disproportionately since THEiR land is less productive). Nouvelle France's coast settled from Appalachicola River to Corpus Christi Bay by 1760.

Primogeniture existed until the revolution in France. And it don't explain the lower french birthrate (production per surface was more or less the same IIRC as in Europe), as there is no problem of rentability of a smaller land at this time, and even if it was people would sell their land to another farmer and go to the city. The gap between the production of holdings in France and in other european countries happenned in the 20th century when you needed bigger land to support the mecanisation of agriculture.

The biggest reason why France population stalled in the 19th century (especially the first part) was the Napoleonic Wars. Remove these wars that butchered french youth and you have france with 45-50 million inhabitants at the end of the century. Not much of a growth but still more impressive and more competitive against Germany and Britain.

 

[unprincipled peter]

weren't condoms called french letters back in the day?

Once you figure out that doing the boom shacka lacka leads to pregnancy, it's fairly easy to reduce the bun in the oven frequency, if you let your big head do the thinking.

 

[Dahveed323]

With a POD going back to 1600, make France, rather than Britain, the undisputed world hyperpower of the 19th century. In addition to having the largest army (which it did in OTL), France must also have naval dominance, as well as the largest colonial empire in the world, and economic hegemony (Paris stock exchange being dominant, practically all business done involves France in some way, etc).

The first thing France needs is a bit more people-centered, rather than trade-centered colonization to make its colonies more economically contributory to the empire.

It could achieve this by, instead of persecuting Huegenots and other "heretics" merely banishing them to help settle the New World. this would provide a more formidable hold on the territory that would then provide limitless timber for the construction of a navy.

In this way, more major cities would develop as well and with traditional 16th-19th century mercantilism, much global trade would be focussed on Paris rather than London.

 

[Xgentis]

The first thing France needs is a bit more people-centered, rather than trade-centered colonization to make its colonies more economically contributory to the empire.

It could achieve this by, instead of persecuting Huegenots and other "heretics" merely banishing them to help settle the New World. this would provide a more formidable hold on the territory that would then provide limitless timber for the construction of a navy.

In this way, more major cities would develop as well and with traditional 16th-19th century mercantilism, much global trade would be focussed on Paris rather than London.

France did not do that because it feared that thoses poppulation would be disloyal and would revolt.

 

[victoria944]

French Navy was pretty good prior to the revolution, better led navy in the 1760s, better naval policy.

 

[Beedok]

I really think they just need one of their invasions of Britain to work. They had one destroyed by a storm and another had an outbreak of smallpox or something. Both those events are easily undone, then they land troops in Britain and the British suddenly can't send 90% of their army to the colonies any more out of fear of another invasion.

 

[Dahveed323]

France did not do that because it feared that thoses poppulation would be disloyal and would revolt.

Correct. So, in the AH world, they WOULD do that.

 

[twovultures]

Correct. So, in the AH world, they WOULD do that.

It actually is possible to create colonies of the banished but have these colonies work (however grudgingly) with France. Once the Huguenots realize that banishment is preferable to extermination, they will become quite loyal to the mother country from their American colonies, mainly so that the mother country provides soldiers and navy to protect them from the Spanish (who will try to kill them for being heretics) and the English (who will try to kill them for being competition).

Space Oddity had the French colonize Bermuda in his Now Blooms the Tudor Rose, and it's implied that they will use the island as a springboard for developing a stronger navy. Food for thought.

 

[RGB]

Space Oddity had the French colonize Bermuda in his Now Blooms the Tudor Rose, and it's implied that they will use the island as a springboard for developing a stronger navy. Food for thought.

I thought they tried Bermudas and it failed OTL?

 

[twovultures]

I thought they tried Bermudas and it failed OTL?

I have not heard of French attempts to colonize Bermuda outside of that timeline. St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Florida, Brazil, the south island of New Zealand, but not Bermuda.