AH Challenge: Make the Caribbean an 'American Lake' w/ the Panama Canal
- Thread starter Shogun
- Start date
1. Bahamas - The United States gains the islands at independence, which it almost did OTL.
2. French Caribbean Islands - John Adams declares war on France over piracy and gets the Caribbean islands as part of the victory spoils. (The British navy will be blocking the French navy so France will have to accept American victory.)
3. Cuba - Two words: Ostend Manifesto. Polk buys the island and becomes an even more awesome president.
4. Dominican Republic - Treaty to annex the island in the 1860s passes. It becomes a place for freed slaves to move into.
5. Haiti - It will be a basketcase right next to the new American possession of the Domincan Republic. It will not retain its independence for long.
The only problems are the Dutch and British Caribbean possessions, but with the United States pretty much already in control of the Caribbean at that point, they may be willing to let them go for a nominal fee.
1654 Oliver Cromwell deports large numbers of Irish to Jamaica and Barbados as indentured servants to work the sugar cane plantations. As their terms of service expire they are given marginal plots of land to survive.
1710 Coffee introduced to Jamaica and Barbados. The plots of land previously issued to Irish deportees while useless to sugar cane cultivation were perfect for coffee cultivation. Consequently a wealthy though disenfranchised class arises in the British West Indies.
1774-1783 Jamaica and Barbados send representatives to the Continental Congress. Once word of Lexington and Concord reach Jamaica, Royal authority is overthrown. A British expeditionary force lands on Barbados and captures the port and capital but are defeated by rebels in the harsh interior of the island. Another force moves against Jamaica but rather than attempt to assault Kingston's heavily fortified harbor the British land east of the city and march overland against the cities rear. The assault must contend with Jamaica's harsh terrain that favors the defender. The assault fails. At wars end British West Indies are admitted as the 14th state.
1791 Vincent Oge leads a successful rebellion in St. Domingue, but faced with British military intervention changes sides(royalist)and seeks admission to the United States. Martinique and Guadalope follow.
1812 US seizes Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago from Britain. All Lesser Antilles annexed.
1848 US annexes all of Mexico. Spain sells Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo to US.
1854-56 William Walker seizes control of Central America which is annexed to the United States.
US annexes Colombia and Venezuela to prevent European intervention.
I'm tired
1710 Coffee introduced to Jamaica and Barbados. The plots of land previously issued to Irish deportees while useless to sugar cane cultivation were perfect for coffee cultivation. Consequently a wealthy though disenfranchised class arises in the British West Indies.
1774-1783 Jamaica and Barbados send representatives to the Continental Congress. Once word of Lexington and Concord reach Jamaica, Royal authority is overthrown. A British expeditionary force lands on Barbados and captures the port and capital but are defeated by rebels in the harsh interior of the island. Another force moves against Jamaica but rather than attempt to assault Kingston's heavily fortified harbor the British land east of the city and march overland against the cities rear. The assault must contend with Jamaica's harsh terrain that favors the defender. The assault fails. At wars end British West Indies are admitted as the 14th state.
1791 Vincent Oge leads a successful rebellion in St. Domingue, but faced with British military intervention changes sides(royalist)and seeks admission to the United States. Martinique and Guadalope follow.
1812 US seizes Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago from Britain. All Lesser Antilles annexed.
1848 US annexes all of Mexico. Spain sells Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo to US.
1854-56 William Walker seizes control of Central America which is annexed to the United States.
US annexes Colombia and Venezuela to prevent European intervention.
I'm tired