WI: Admiral Vernon heads to Havana in 1740-41

JJohnson

Banned
I was reading up on the War of Jenkin's Ear, and Admiral Vernon was expected to go to Havana after Portobello, but instead went after Cartagenas de India in Colombia three times, and when he eventually got to Cuba, his landing was less than successful. The question is, what if he had gone straight to Havana? Could he have succeeded? If he did succeed there, which kinds of repercussions would emerge? How would this Cuba look today as a British possession or former possession? Could it have joined the US at some point?
 
Cuba would be an anomalous British colony, but I could easily see the British keeping the place. Its rich, it has lots of trade, etc.

It wouldn't be part of the American Revolution. Two reasons: (1) the Royal Navy (see OTL Bahamas, e.g.) and (2) a hispanophone population that isn't even remotely close to being assimilated (compare OTL Quebec).

There will probably be some kind of edict of toleration of Catholics in Cuba, but its unlikely that the British can actually let the Cuban ruling classes continue to exercise sway while remaining Catholic, so you may get a quasi-Irish situation of continued discontent and unrest, complicated by the slavery issue.

OTL British abolition of slavery is going to be a cluster in TTL.
 

JJohnson

Banned
You don't expect the Spanish-speaking population to assimilate and/or move to other Spanish colonies at all?

How heavy a colonization would this island have from the United Kingdom?
 
You don't expect the Spanish-speaking population to assimilate and/or move to other Spanish colonies at all?

How heavy a colonization would this island have from the United Kingdom?

Not much assimilation and not much colonization. It would be like India, run as a commercial enterprise, not as a settlement--since its already been settled.
 
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