New Albion in New Guinea

[Hamersley Macdonnell II]

Here, here and here is information about BEIC trading settlement of Fort Coronation, modern West Papua.
I have three options for its alternate history:
a) If New Albion succeeded, but its area was ultimately confined to regions 2 and northern half of the region 6 (leaving Steenkool in its southern part to the Dutch) in this map of Netherlands New Guinea (although it originally claimed all the northern coast from Waigeo to Rossel Island) it could've been one of the founding members of the Federation of Melanesia in 1959. Gained responsible government in 1898 and Dominion status in 1906.
b) After Treaty with Netherlands in 1830s or so its area was confined to Northern half of the island of Papua, as UK recognized Southwest New Guinea as part of NL East Indies, but it retained the NW portion entirely, preventing Dutch from founding Hollandia and making them to retain Merkusoord as NNG capital. In 1884 UK ceded the northeastern part east of 28th parallel to Germany. Still NA joined the federation in 1959.
c) New Albion became a settler colony which succeeded economically, so the British annexed the whole island thus preventing Netherlands NG and German NG, and the whole island of Papua and was divided into British colonies of New Albion (northern part) and New Guinea (Southern part) and these united into a new dominion, Federation of Melanesia together with British colonies of New Britain and New Ireland in 1919. It became majority white, and with a population of 12 million, it became the third major power of Oceania together withAustralia and NZ.

 

[Arkenfolm]

c) New Albion became a settler colony which succeeded economically, so the British annexed the whole island thus preventing Netherlands NG and German NG, and the whole island of Papua and was divided into British colonies of New Albion (northern part) and New Guinea (Southern part) and these united into a new dominion, Federation of Melanesia together with British colonies of New Britain and New Ireland in 1919. It became majority white, and with a population of 12 million, it became the third major power of Oceania together withAustralia and NZ.

Completely ASB. Any attempt to make it a settler colony would fail so utterly immensely in terms of the cost to human lives and the economic costs that it would ruin the fortunes of whichever political/economic/whoever figures backed it. Tropical disease and hostile natives would kill the majority of them. Most would-be settlers would learn this pretty fast, and go somewhere else in the British Empire like the Americas or Australia.

The only way you could get a population of 12 million which is majority white is a mass genocide of Papuans, very early invention of quinine and other drugs (and can't forget germ theory and other foundations of modern medicine) combined with totalitarian resettlement policies on the part of the British (win American Revolution, go totalitarian?). It's still a colossal waste of money for any would-be totalitarian government to pursue and uprooting the people to go to Papua is a great means of creating mass resentment. I don't know how you can conceivably get British totalitarianism either. Maybe some "great man of history" creates some sort of totalitarian ideology in reaction to the French Revolution that manages to come off acceptable to the common man and also to the nobility and especially to the British King, and somehow, they become convinced to pour millions of £££ and human lives into Papua when instead they could be doing a host of other things.

 

[Hamersley Macdonnell II]

Completely ASB. Any attempt to make it a settler colony would fail so utterly immensely in terms of the cost to human lives and the economic costs that it would ruin the fortunes of whichever political/economic/whoever figures backed it. Tropical disease and hostile natives would kill the majority of them. Most would-be settlers would learn this pretty fast, and go somewhere else in the British Empire like the Americas or Australia.

The only way you could get a population of 12 million which is majority white is a mass genocide of Papuans, very early invention of quinine and other drugs (and can't forget germ theory and other foundations of modern medicine) combined with totalitarian resettlement policies on the part of the British (win American Revolution, go totalitarian?). It's still a colossal waste of money for any would-be totalitarian government to pursue and uprooting the people to go to Papua is a great means of creating mass resentment. I don't know how you can conceivably get British totalitarianism either. Maybe some "great man of history" creates some sort of totalitarian ideology in reaction to the French Revolution that manages to come off acceptable to the common man and also to the nobility and especially to the British King, and somehow, they become convinced to pour millions of £££ and human lives into Papua when instead they could be doing a host of other things.

I agree with the diseases, but can the natives really kill majority of them, since Europeans have firearms and all? And won't the natives die for European diseases in turn?

 

[Hamersley Macdonnell II]

Completely ASB. Any attempt to make it a settler colony would fail so utterly immensely in terms of the cost to human lives and the economic costs that it would ruin the fortunes of whichever political/economic/whoever figures backed it. Tropical disease and hostile natives would kill the majority of them. Most would-be settlers would learn this pretty fast, and go somewhere else in the British Empire like the Americas or Australia.

The only way you could get a population of 12 million which is majority white is a mass genocide of Papuans, very early invention of quinine and other drugs (and can't forget germ theory and other foundations of modern medicine) combined with totalitarian resettlement policies on the part of the British (win American Revolution, go totalitarian?). It's still a colossal waste of money for any would-be totalitarian government to pursue and uprooting the people to go to Papua is a great means of creating mass resentment. I don't know how you can conceivably get British totalitarianism either. Maybe some "great man of history" creates some sort of totalitarian ideology in reaction to the French Revolution that manages to come off acceptable to the common man and also to the nobility and especially to the British King, and somehow, they become convinced to pour millions of £££ and human lives into Papua when instead they could be doing a host of other things.

What about a) and b)?

 

[EMT]

I agree with the diseases, but can the natives really kill majority of them, since Europeans have firearms and all? And won't the natives die for European diseases in turn?

No need to have the natives kill very many of them, since the disease would demolish attempts at European settlement. The entirety of Papua's coast is incredibly inhospitable which is why the discovery of large native populations in the highlands came loooong after Papua had been discovered and claimed by European states.