Which of the following statements is correct in reference to the only two occasions when a single state succeeded in gaining preponderance in the system to a similar degree as the US predominates the system today?

A- France from 1660 to 1713 in the context of European continental politics in the first instance of hegemony

B- Britain with its global maritime empire from 1860 to 1910 is the second. 

Both Statements are correct.

The balance of power logic of international politics, as outlined above, is amply supported by history. By convention, we regard 1648 as the year in which the sovereign territorial state emerged as the principal actor in world politics. In the over three and a half centuries since then, there have been only two previous occasions when a single state succeeded in gaining preponderance in the system to a similar degree as the US predominates the system today. France from 1660 to 1713 in the context of European continental politics in the first instance of hegemony, Britain with its global maritime empire from 1860 to 1910 is the second.