One-World Empire possible?

Is it at all possible that a country could conquer the whole world through simple imperialism? I don't mean with an ideology like Communism but with just plain European imperialism.

The easiest way I can think of is to have a freak accident or massive social unrest take down one of the major powers such as the British or Russian empires in order to allow one power to reign supreme.

To keep things relevant to the age of imperialism, no PoD before 1700.

well the Hapsburg approach went quite well. Dont conquer marry, and persuade the Pope to give you a large part of the rest of the world. Possibly there might just have been an outside chance of a world empire if Charles V had not divided the Austrian and Spainish Hapsburg territories and the riches of the new world had been better used.
 
Assume one power conquers all Europe, which should be possible.

Then, even with probable slower tech advance, said state could dominate the Americas, then Asia.

Yes, youd need steam and telegraph to complete the hegemony, but it should be entirely doable. Imo.

Reading Toynbee would suggest that a permanently divided Europe is the strange result, not a unified one, as civilizations go.

This.

Although the early the POD of a Great Power recreating the Roman Empire Or Conquering/Unifying Europe the more plausible the world empire.

Europe's technology was so Surperior post 1500 that their wasn't an important defeat of a European power until 1905 and this is with the British basically selling the Japanese a Western Fleet which Japan could not yet produce on its own. The biggest obstacle to a world conquest is disease and logistics, not a native army.

Also the OP mentioned if a World Empire was possible , not a world unified modern state. Like any other far flung Empire of the past it would have powerful governors, satraps and tributaries. So you don't need late 19th century technology.

Since world conquest doesn't make economic sense there has to be another motivation. Spreading the Universal Catholic Church and leaving no space for pagans and heritics. Or Europe is ruled by a line of conquering Emperors who all whish to have thier 'Triumph'. By the time the late 19th Century comes along the only places left for a 'triumph' (apart from putting down a rebellion) might be places like Cental Aftrica. By the 20th Century 'triumphs' might be earned for establishig a base on Antartica or the Moon and adding those realms to the Empire.
 
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