(Asked on Quora)
What was the most powerful country in Europe until the British Empire?
Except for the time leading up to and including the Hundred Years War when English kings owned vast territory in France as a result of their Gallic/Norman connections, Britain has never been a continental power in Europe proper.
Yes they fought successful military campaigns on the continent (War of the Spanish Succession, Peninsular War and enjoyed influence in Hanover) but British strength has always centered around their global holdings. This is ultimately what saved the nation of shopkeepers in their fight against Napoleon.
In Europe itself the Hapsburg branches - in both Spain and Austria - were arguably the most significant powers on the continent for the early part of the Modern era (from the Renaissance to the early Enlightenment). However the rise of the Bourbons (particularly Louis XIV) would shift the locus of strength toward France.
Prussia’s ascendancy under Frederick the Great challenged France (and Austria) but it was only after French overreach under Napoleon and Prussia’s success at unifying German that France’s position as Europe’s primary continental juggernaut was ever in doubt.
In the east one can point to the Ottomans as a great power but their inability to take Vienna and extend into Central Europe doomed them to the periphery. Russian growth westward was limited by the rivalry with Sweden and Turkey and their modernization deficit (which was somewhat improved under Peter the Great).
Which was bigger the Soviet Union or the Austrian Empire? Why?
The Soviet Union by far. It wasn’t even close. At its peak the Soviet Union covered 22.4 million square kilometers (well over twice the size of the United States) compared to the 0.7 million square kilometers of the Austrian Empire (1867).The latter was about the size of Texas. As for the Why?…The Soviets started from a huge base…Russia. WWII also played a key role in supplementing earlier Tsarist ambitions. Numbers Source: Encyclopedia Britannica.
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