I thought the chain reaction in Europe was mostly a consequence of Napoleon's conquest. Per Wikipedia, > Napoleon had succeeded in bringing most of Western Eur

I thought the chain reaction in Europe was mostly a consequence of Napoleon's conquest. Per Wikipedia, > Napoleon had succeeded in bringing most of Western Europe under one rule. In most European countries, subjugation in the French Empire brought with it many liberal features of the French Revolution including democracy, due process in courts, abolition of serfdom, reduction of the power of the Catholic Church, and demand for constitutional limits on monarchs. After Napoleon was defeated, the monarchs and aristocrats were never able to fully restore the status quo ante as everybody was used to modern administrative government. That sounds more like the Anglo evolution than the French revolution.