wolf_brother
Banned
What sort of things could be done in the 1860s? And what do you think there effects would be?
Napoléon III has better health / takes a more active role in his government / formally hands over complete power to Eugénie until Prince Napoléon comes of age / comes to an understanding with the few liberals to oppose the reactionary monarchists in the Parliament / take your pick of a POD / etc., so the French are better prepared for the Franco-Prussian War when/if it comes. As a result the war isn't a crushing defeat and ultimately is a narrow French victory and/or draw. Thus the French never push hard into Western Africa, and the other European colonial great powers never feel threatened by the shift in the balance of power in the African colonies and thus never ramp up their own colonial adventures. Africa still very likely becomes fully integrated into the European great power system eventually, but the change is less rapid, less based on conquest and more on co-opting the native regimes, and you see a lot more proxies, protectorates, satellites, vassals, etc., instead of direct colonization. West Africa and East Africa likely do much better - the Congo is still going to be fucked though, due to the exploitative nature of rubber cultivation on an industrial scale.