Will Kürlich Kerl
Banned
Challenge: With a POD after 1792, what is the Smallest possible independent mainland China that isn't a puppet state of another country and isn't carved into spheres of influences?
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AHC: Smallest possible China
- Thread starter Will Kürlich Kerl
- Start date
Well, I'm not sure if that is the intention of the question, but if China were to be split into several rival, squabbling states again, which are unable to keep control over the peripheral provinces which are then grabbed up by other powers, that would probably constitute the smallest extent.
Too early for the POD.
A lot basically boils down to how the Warlord Era plays out. You have Tibet; and the question of Greater Tibet, you have Xinjiang, independent on and off, and it could easily stick.
I actually think Mongolia getting Inner Mongolia is unlikely, even in a very limited form, because it would effectively Sinicize Mongolia, or at least, add a gigantic Chinese minority. Manchuria is the same, by the late 19th century, which is why a long-term Manchukuo is basically impossible, leaving aside that it would violate the POD, and before, nobody has the will or interest.
So yeah, OTL China, minus Xinjiang and Greater Tibet.
This is unclear: are large parts of China allowed to be colonized and the independent part is the remnant? Because that could be quite small. Or do you mean "what is the smallest China could be with the rest of OTL China identifying itself as non-Chinese?"
Bruce
Will Kürlich Kerl
Banned
Sure, anything can happen to China. Just that one part of mainland China has to stay independent the entire time and is not a puppet state of another country.
The provinces north of the Yangtze and south of Manchuria (OTL Jilin and Heilongjiang),
CthulhuFhtagn
Banned
Well, if China got itself involved in some kind of global war in the 20th century, and lost, it could possibly be divided up into independent states (Guangxi, Tibet, Qinghai, etc.).
Well, you could have the Russians be more expansionist, as someone already stated, so they take Xinjiang, Mongolia and Manchuria, and have the British and the French carve out there own small parts of China to colonize, like Tibet or that autonomous zone in the Southeast. What's left can be your rump China.
Totally disagree. There is too much misconception that Inner Mongolia was Chinese dominated. Untill 1880-1890's Chinese never dominated Greater Mongolia.
With PoD 1792's or even 1850's you can have 60%-70% Mongolian population in Greater Mongolia.
Also Manchuria was barely populated by Chinese. If Manchus imposed only Manchu people settle in Manchuria then you have some 50:50 Manchu-Chinese state. It is hardly today's PRC.
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