在革命的法國戰敗後，其他列強嘗試恢復1789年以前的局面。1815年維也納會議中，歐洲主要列強在拿破侖戰爭之後的帝國（除去內部革命的情況）之間和梅特涅體係之下達成了均勢平衡。但是努力並無法阻止革命運動愈演愈烈：中産階級已經被法國大革命的民主理想深深影響，工業革命導致了重要的經濟社會變化，下層階級開始受到社會主義、共産主義和無政府主義思想的影響（特別是被卡爾·馬剋思在共産黨宣言中闡述的觀點），對新型資本主義的嚮往則成為了自由主義。一些民族主義運動（在德國、意大利、波蘭、匈牙利等）的出現導致了進一步的動蕩，它們尋求民族統一和/或從外族統治下解放出來。結果是1815年至1871年期間大量革命運動和獨立戰爭爆發。拿破侖一世的侄子拿破侖三世，1848年結束英國的流放生涯回國並被選入法國國會，然後在一場政變中作為“親王總統”把自己選為皇帝，這項行動其後受到了絶大多數法國選民的支持。他和奧地利帝國作戰從而幫助意大利統一，和英國與奧斯曼帝國一起與俄國進行剋裏米亞戰爭。他的帝國在法國屈辱性地敗於普魯士之後崩潰，他本人被俘虜。法國成為了一個虛弱的共和國，不肯談判，並在數月之後被普魯士擊敗瓦解。在凡爾賽，普魯士國王威廉一世被宣告為德國皇帝，現代德國産生。雖然革命黨人大部分失敗了，但是至1871年大多數歐洲國傢都成為了立憲（而不是專製）君主製國傢。19世紀也見證了大英帝國作為世界第一個全球帝國的崛起和在拿破侖戰爭中的勝利，前者很大程度上歸功於工業革命。
After the defeat of revolutionary France, the other great powers tried to restore the situation which existed before 1789. In 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, the major powers of Europe managed to produce a peaceful balance of power among the empires after the Napoleonic wars (despite the occurrence of internal revolutionary movements) under the Metternich system. However, their efforts were unable to stop the spread of revolutionary movements: the middle classes had been deeply influenced by the ideals of democracy of the French revolution, the Industrial Revolution brought important economical and social changes, the lower classes started to be influenced by socialist, communist and anarchistic ideas (especially those summarized by Karl Marx in The Communist Manifesto), and the preference of the new capitalists became Liberalism. Further instability came from the formation of several nationalist movements (in Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary etc.), seeking national unification and/or liberation from foreign rule. As a result, the period between 1815 and 1871 saw a large number of revolutionary attempts and independence wars. Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon I, returned from exile in the United Kingdom in 1848 to be elected to the French parliament, and then as "Prince President" in a coup d'état elected himself Emperor, a move approved later by a large majority of the French electorate. He helped in the unification of Italy by fighting the Austrian Empire and fought the Crimean War with the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire against Russia. His empire collapsed after an embarrassing defeat for France at the hands of Prussia in which he was captured. France then became a weak republic which refused to negotiate and was finished by Prussia in a few months. In Versailles, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of Germany, and modern Germany was born. Even though the revolutionaries were often defeated, most European states had become constitutional (rather than absolute) monarchies by 1871, and Germany and Italy had developed into nation states. The 19th century also saw the British Empire emerge as the world's first global power due in a large part to the Industrial Revolution and victory in the Napoleonic Wars.