What would have happened if the Brits lost the Battle at Waterloo?

Question

What would the world be like today?

of course it's a hypothetical question...I am asking for an opinion, not for a smart a $ $ response.

Answer 1

Actually, not much different. The biggest difference would be for France and current opinion of the Emperor Napoleon.

When Napoleon returned from exile to once again rule France, he wanted peace. Bear in mind the Allies declared war, not France.

If the British had lost Waterloo, the Allies would have pressed for peace. Napoleon would have accepted on the condition land forces in Belgium and neighboring countries be disbanded.

Now of course there are two possible scenarios that could have happened. The Congress of Vienna could have sent Austria and Russia to attack Napoleonic France. Or, the allies could perceive the futility of fighting Napoleon and ended their aggressions.

In the first scenario, Napoleon would have corrected mistakes he discovered at Waterloo and appointed new campaign officers (for example, Marshal Davout would replace Marshal Ney). He would return to war against the Russo-Austrians. Count von Bennigsen would be given command and as always would fail in the face of Napoleon and it would be Austerlitz all over again.

Given in this scenario the Allies attacked, they would likely continue a war of attritions until Napoleon's forces were completely dried up.

In the second scenario, if the allies ended their wars against France, Napoleon would continue to be a dutiful statesman for France. He would demand the return of his son and heir, and die in France giving it another emperor.

In cannot clearly be said which would happen, and Napoleon's eventual defeat may have inevitable, or perhaps not.

For the world things would not change. Do not think Napoleon wanted to conquer the world. He didn't even want to "conquer" Europe. He fought and won, taking land as bounty and collateral for peace.

Britain would perhaps lose standing in the Congress of Vienna, Prussia the same, but in the end current maps would not change much in all likeliness.

Answer 2

That's a good question. Probably most the European continent would be speaking French. Not all, but most. French would probably be the lingua franca too, rather than English now. The entire democratization movement started under the French Revolution would never have taken root. So most of Europe might still have monarchies. The Congress of Vienna would never have been held, so many aspects of modern Europe would never have come about: Poland would not exist, as would Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Freedom of rivers and seas might never have been established, thus illegal tolls and piracy might have existed into the modern era on major shipping lanes. Britain's overseas empire would never have reached the point it did under Queen Victoria, and most of Canada might have become French speaking rather than English. Napoleon instituted a lot of good things too, like the Napoleonic Code, so no doubt most of Europe might be sharing a common law system. Of course Europe is unifying itself right now through the EU, so in a way, some of Napoleon's goals are being realized today, only in more peaceful way.

Answer 3

Well, i guess that Britain would have sued for peace with France, and France would have gladly accepted because by this time France was worn out.
But probably the Prussians would have defeated the french , would would have made Prussian the major European power instead of Britain(Prussian is modern day more or less modern germany).
Which would had seen a grand german empire rather than the large british empire in the years following.
Also britain would have concentrated on her navy much more than a her standing land army, Which would have hampered british expansion through the rest of the world.
So today instead of most of the world speaking english due to the british empire,most of the world may be speaking german

This is a educated guess

Answer 4

They would do what they always did re-group and whip Boney the next time round.

If the British got defeated the German States would have had to fight on alone until he got bounced out of Russia again.

Answer 5

That's a hypothetical question, and it can't be answered.