So... suppose that the French bag India instead of Great Britain. Perhaps Great Britain retains North America, perhaps they are dominant in the Caribbean, perhaps Africa is an earlier return on investment, envision whatever preceding or subsequent balances you might wish.
France was already the greatest land-power of Europe until the rise of Prussia, as evidenced by the Napoleonic and Revolutionary Wars. With French control of India (which must follow with control of either Egypt or South Africa...), they're pretty much the undisputed superpower that Britain was OTL, right?
So what are the reprucussions? OTL, we had the alliances that Britain funded against France during the 1800s, but is that sustainable in a world without India? With France on Central Asia's doorstep, does that make an Anglo-Russian alliance the counterpart to a French-dominated Europe? Can Austria maintain an anti-French position in the long term, given OTL's route against Napoleon? Does a divided Germany remain a series of client states? Does Scandinavia come into play at all? and what about outside of Europe? A French-Japanese alliance against China and Russia? French renewed involvement in the New World?
Any thoughts at all are most welcome.
France was already the greatest land-power of Europe until the rise of Prussia, as evidenced by the Napoleonic and Revolutionary Wars. With French control of India (which must follow with control of either Egypt or South Africa...), they're pretty much the undisputed superpower that Britain was OTL, right?
So what are the reprucussions? OTL, we had the alliances that Britain funded against France during the 1800s, but is that sustainable in a world without India? With France on Central Asia's doorstep, does that make an Anglo-Russian alliance the counterpart to a French-dominated Europe? Can Austria maintain an anti-French position in the long term, given OTL's route against Napoleon? Does a divided Germany remain a series of client states? Does Scandinavia come into play at all? and what about outside of Europe? A French-Japanese alliance against China and Russia? French renewed involvement in the New World?
Any thoughts at all are most welcome.