What would have happened if Britain and France entered the civil war?

Answer 1

At last, a speculative question; something I can sink my teeth into. Militarily, it can safely be said that the North would have been overwhelmed, and the South would have been recognized as a sovereign nation thereafter. Britain still held Canada despite multiple attempts of the US to capture it, and France occupied Mexico. Both countries were more powerful that the US at that time. If the CS had freed the slaves, it might have happened. In return for their intervention, Britain and France certainly would have gained back some of the territories they lost in North America, and slavery would eventually have been eclipsed by the Industrial Revolution. What the Union and the Confederacy would have done after that is guesswork, but this contributor (a Southerner by birth) believes that neither country would have achieved much without the other. Great Britain would have remained the #1 world power. France, after fumbling multiple chances to become the #1 world power, would continue to fumble it. Great Britain and France allied with each other before the American Civil War to defend Turkey from Russia (The Crimean War). This contributor is aware of nothing to stop them from forming another alliance to defend the Confederacy.