France

Capital: Paris
Population: 29 million
Government: Republic/Empire

An almost bankrupt France was thrown into revolution by the lack of opportunity and freedoms for the non-nobility.

When it began to export its brand of civil unrest, republican France loomed as a threat to the other established monarchies in Europe.

The execution of Louis XVI and his queen Marie-Antoinette brought stronger reactions and France was unsuccessfully invaded.

Years of internal and foreign turmoil followed until the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who re-established reason and control within France. He introduced major reforms to civil administration justice and weakened the power of the Church.

Tolerance was one of his major platforms, so was social justice and many of his laws still are the centrepieces of European law.

But the threat to other dynasties still existed and after many attempts they finally defeated an exhausted empror and his armies.

Following the Bonaparte years, the previous Bourbon rulers returned with Louis XVIII taking the crown.

However, having tasted freedom, the French people did not tolerate autocratic rule for long.

Manpower
Army