First Republic can still end OK with other talented generals stepping in and possibly taking over. Sure enough, they are not nearly as succesful short-term wise, but that might result in France being better off in the long run.
Napoleon is never born or dies as a child. What's your best prediction of what happens to the French government and how the wars against France play out? This one is pretty debatable but I'm excited to hear your thoughts![]()
If alt-Napoleon possesses more common sense and less mania grandiosity than a real one, then the things could be arranged with Britain as well by not-interfering into the German affairs (especially the case of Hanover). France ends up with a border on the Rhine and a sister Batavian Republic.
Given Britain's first and foremost security concern is not to have a rival Great Power in secure control of the whole channel coast, and especially since sans Trafalgar France still has a robust standing naval potential the last thing Britain will concede is a French client in the Hauge with all the Dutch naval potential added to that of France.
Now, an absence of Bonaparte would mean an absence of the spectacular success in Italy which means an absence of the 2nd Coalition. Potentially, this may result in an earlier peace because Austria would not feel a need to regain the territorial losses in Italy.
The Republic of Venice may endure longer without Napoleon being there to trade it for the Austrian Netherlands. I wonder what long-term ramifications that has.
First Republic can still end OK with other talented generals stepping in and possibly taking over. Sure enough, they are not nearly as succesful short-term wise, but that might result in France being better off in the long run.
The absence is the Prevision of the Napoleonic Code. A single law code that is the basis for many laws across the whole of Europe - instead of the hodgepodge of laws and regulations that was the Ancient Regime.
The First Republic couldn't go on the way it had been. Without a military powerhouse like Napoleon, the Bourbon restoration happens before nationalism has a chance to spread and before the Holy Roman Empire is finished.
That's going to help the Hapsburgs for a few decades, and hurt Prussia. Is it going to be enough to save the HRE and the Austrian Empire? Not alone, but it gives them time to make changes.
That`s a fair point. Napoleon made France very expansionist. Sure, the republic tried to spread to Italy, but without Nappy, it would likely cool down. This makes France a lot less scary, and it can't be used as some kind of Boogeyman in Europe as it was OTL. They might even end up keeping their Sister Republics in mainland Italy. Republican and Nationalist Ideas would spread much slower than OTL, but the republic itself would be more successful. Franco-Polish relations wouldn't be as strangely good as they were OTL, that's a pretty small side effect though. The HRE would still dissolve, but at a much slower rate, maybe just shrinking more and more (OTL the Italians, then the swiss, then the Dutch broke away), so it might just slowly shrink down to a much smaller size and then be completely erased by nationalists, which, as I said, would still spread, it's a generally appealing Idea, and ideologies spread with or without government support or a supportive conqueror.
Here's another possible outcome of No Napoleon:
During the 19th Century, France had a chronically low birth rate as compared to other European countries like Britain, Germany and Italy. While part of this was due to cultural factors (namely, France being more liberal), a big part of it was inheritance laws that dictated estates be distributed equally among the deceased's children, rather than being passed to the firstborn son. IIRC these laws were introduced under Napoleon, so if Napoleon never rises to power, then France may be stronger demographically during the 19th and Early 20th centuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_France#1800_to_20th_century
Who was Gauche ? You mean Hoche ?