I think this is key. If say, Louis XV's son, Louis the Dauphin, became King, and became a popular leader, things could have been different. Let's say he both brought the Devots to power and figure headed a religious revival in France, and also managed to deal more competently with the tax crisis...
What "secularization" was there before 1789? As for population, even if you accept French fertility did begin to decline then (and the data is messy), there is plenty of ongoing population growth in other countries that could supply Christian migrants. And the French demographic transition...
I agree 5-10% is probably the central likelihood. But I think an Albanian type number is surely possible. Especially if some Iberian style expulsions and French settlement is thrown in.
France had her demographic transition very early. It is debated whether it was caused by the Revolution or happened a decade or two before. Either way, a POD around 1750 or so to push them in a more theocratic direction could do it. More French settlers and more zealotry in conversion/ethnic...
If Nemtsov follows Yeltsin, Russia would probably have followed a similar development path to Poland. Democracy, Christian culture and reasonable economic development is enough to be seen as Western.
Why would converting the Maghreb in the 19th C be more expensive than converting Iberia in the 16th C?
Everything I have read so far comes down to (a) culture has changed so religion is less important to Europeans and (b) there are Muslim neighbors that would fight it. But (a) can be changed by...
Prior to the Reconquista, Al-Andalus was about 80% Muslim. These lands became captured by Christian kingdoms, who through a combination of bribery, blackmail and expulsion converted the country to being devoutly Catholic.
By the time France conquered Algeria IOTL, the country had been through...
An Atlantic Empire of the British Isles and North America would have been very viable logistically once you have steam ships. Just need to get the right constitutional balance.
This is all correct. Also, Hannover was not British, so it was only of interest to anti-British forces to the extent the King cared about the place. George III felt no connection, so a succesful invasion would give little leverage.
The Habsburgs actively embraced identifying people in their empire as a single nationality based on their primary language. Do that for long enough and people start identifying that way. In reality, huge numbers in the empire had ancestry from multiple places and spoke multiple languages. They...