Plausability revolutionary france with steam navy

Could France have developed war ships not dependent on win in the 1790s?

If so would it have changed the balance of sea power?
 
Yes, and no. Steamships were feasible in the 1790s the same way the internet was in the 1950s - you could build one, but it wouldn't do much. A 1790s steam navy would have an extremely short range, be vulnerable to poor weather, engine trouble and parts shortage, and would only have an edge over sailing warships under very limited circumstances.

It might be good for coastal defense and for discouraging too close a blockade. But the logistical obstacles would be so enormous the question must be asked if it would be worth it. Remember, this is still bleeding-edge technology, the engines are all one-of-a-kind and not optimised for shipboard use, and experts are rare, expensive and of doubtful qualification. Even in the 1820s, building steamships was a dodgy proposition.
 

katchen

Banned
As far as that goes, if we want an AH in which Revolutionary France has steam engines, have Denis Papin and Gottfried Leibnitz gain backing from the Royal Society in England for their steam powered paddlewheel in 1712, where it will begin to have a major impact in first English and then European shipping and then naval operations through the 18th Century, as Newcomen refines the steam engine. In other words, jumpstart the age of steam one century which certainly was possible if things had gone right. How might the Seven Years War, colonization of the Americas, travel to the East Indies become different if the British, French and Dutch suddenly had steamships by the 1760s ---but needed coaling stations the way they did in the 19th Century. Would railroads follow on as quickly or would the technology for railroads lag due to lags in iron manufacture technology? Would we see more "river wars"? How might the War of the Austrian Succession turn out differently? Would there be a French Revolution in the same manner or would the results of the 18th Century under Steam butterfly it away?
 
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