Emperor of Europe: Total Domination

Which European nation has the biggest chance to take over all of Europe before or during the rise of Nationalism (1100 - 1900)?

How will they assimilate the conquered populace?

How powerful will they be in the Industrial Revolution and beyond?

Will they be satisfied with their conquest or will they move on to northern Africa, Russia, the Middle East or simply colonize America?

For fun and the sake of imagination, what kind of flag or insignia will they have? (show a picture if you can)
 
Probably France. They were the single most powerful European country for most of the mediaeval and early modern periods, and on at least one occasion (under Napoleon) came pretty close to taking over Europe.

As for what they'd be like, it's difficult to say. Most likely they'd consciously play up their Roman heritage, given that Rome was basically The Empire to the mediaeval mind and being seen as the successor to Rome would be a great boost to legitimacy. Also, IOTL people in the middle ages tended to think that Europe ought to be under the control of the Pope and the (Holy Roman) Emperor, with the Pope caring for people's spiritual needs and the Emperor for their physical security. Again, you'd probably expect the Emperors of Europe emphasising this theme in their propaganda.

It's commonly argued that Europe's disunity acted as a spur to innovation, as states kept trying to outdo each other, in which case we might expect a united European empire to be less advanced than IOTL. OTOH the extra stability might promote more advancement in some areas.

As for overseas expansion, I'd expect them to try and take back North Africa and the Holy Land for Christendom, both as part of their duties as good Catholics and to make the Mediterranean safer for their trade. There would be less reason to go to the Americas than IOTL, although you could well see some missionary expeditions sent to plant churches and save souls.
 
Which European nation has the biggest chance to take over all of Europe before or during the rise of Nationalism (1100 - 1900)?

France during the revolutionary (and imperial) period. Simply total military dominance over all armies of Europe united. Conquering Britain, though, is another issue.

How will they assimilate the conquered populace?

If they are stupid: forced cultural and religious assimilation and second class citizenship for conquered regions. Though, such an Empire will not survive long.

If they are clever: some form of European federalism (Napoleon had a vague idea of some European system securing the French domination over Europe without directly annexing every adjacent country).

In such a system, the normal populace will sureley suffer (wars, conscription, taxes, tariffs etc.), but the ruling class of the dominated countries will have the possibilities of taking part in the affairs of the dominating country and of becoming part of the European elite.

That means that local rebellions of lower classes will have little support in the higher classes of the region and simply end with the rebellion being put down by the army.

Will they be satisfied with their conquest or will they move on to northern Africa, Russia, the Middle East or simply colonize America?

Oh, Napoleon conquering the world is a very funny idea.

For fun and the sake of imagination, what kind of flag or insignia will they have? (show a picture if you can)

Bleu blanc rouge, merde!

With an eagle on the flagstaff, that goes without saying.
 
I'd say Spain in the later 16th century had a good chance of breaking it's European rivals; the situation in England and the Netherlands fell apart mainly due to terrible luck, and the problems only got worse when Philip II proved unequal to the tasks before him. For a few years, England, the global superpower of the next three centuries, was in their hands, and the French could have been brought into the Habsburg orbit had the Bourbon not won the Wars of Religion. The Habsburgs furthermore smacked down most of the obstacles to their dominance in Germany, and were on the verge of crushing the last of their internal resistance in the 30 Years War.
 
There is absolutely no way Napoleon could have become the emperor of Europe. Even with a total napoleonic victory (restoration of a greater Poland, successful invasion of Britain with Scotland and Ireland becoming independant ânes rifain losing its most important colonies), France would just have been the most powerful country in Europe and the world during the 19th century.

By 1800, european national identities were already too strongly established.

To build a european empire, you sure need a demographically dominant center. That uneoubtedly was France up to 1800. But you also need to have it established before the printing press become too widely used because the printing press drove many people to write in their local mother tongue that would often become national language.

So basically, after 1500 it is too late. By 1700, for example, there was no way France could ever swallow all Spain or all Italy or all Germany. The more they could swallow was border territories such as Piedmont-Lombardy, Rhineland and Catalonia. This is not a european empire.
 
Which European nation has the biggest chance to take over all of Europe before or during the rise of Nationalism (1100 - 1900)?
I take it we cant have the Carolingian Empire continue? With Charles (the Fat) III having a child before his death in 888, meaning the areas covering France, Germany and Northern Italy (Roughly 1,112,000 km2) with a population of between 10 and 20 million people continues to grow?

How will they assimilate the conquered populace?
The Carolingian expansion, I could see conquering similar to William I of England, sending an army into small kingdoms where there is dispute and claiming the crown for itself.

How powerful will they be in the Industrial Revolution and beyond?

Like any large nation, prominently Russia, you may find small places within the Empire which is more advanced and powerful, with the larger population being less advanced. Especially if every one is working for the whole nation rather then their individual region.

Will they be satisfied with their conquest or will they move on to northern Africa, Russia, the Middle East or simply colonize America?
If they have already gone into the Iberian Peninsula, then I believe they would have to conquer the lands South of the Strait of Gibraltar.

They would most likely try and conquest the Middle East, with Europe being a prominent Christian society and the Middle East being recognised as the birthplace of Christianity.

It may try and invade Russia, but like all nations and leaders that have tried before, I doubt this army would have any success.

America is always a given due to its unclaimed land and natural resources.

For fun and the sake of imagination, what kind of flag or insignia will they have? (show a picture if you can)

I would based their flag on the one Oren_neu_dag suggested, #131, for a capetian dynast as holy roman emperor
CapetianHolyRomanEmpire.png
 
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