A question on the viability of a creation of a Jacobite state in North America

So what happens if after one of the risings the English throne decided that the best way to deal with the Stuarts is to get them as far away from London as possible. So through a series of campaigns in Ireland, the Highlands and other Jacobite strongholds they captured as many Stuart supporters as possible and then transported them to North America. Then, after a decade or two, the Jacobites rise again and become independent of the Hanoverians and invite whoever is the head of the Stuarts at this point to come to North America while they prepare to retake the homeland. And, realising that staying in Europe would just make him a pawn of the Bourbons or Habsburgs, the head of the Stuarts decides to go.

Now for the actual question. Is this a reasonable path for the creation of a Jacobite state in North America or is it completely ASB?
 
So what happens if after one of the risings the English throne decided that the best way to deal with the Stuarts is to get them as far away from London as possible. So through a series of campaigns in Ireland, the Highlands and other Jacobite strongholds they captured as many Stuart supporters as possible and then transported them to North America. Then, after a decade or two, the Jacobites rise again and become independent of the Hanoverians and invite whoever is the head of the Stuarts at this point to come to North America while they prepare to retake the homeland. And, realising that staying in Europe would just make him a pawn of the Bourbons or Habsburgs, the head of the Stuarts decides to go.

Now for the actual question. Is this a reasonable path for the creation of a Jacobite state in North America or is it completely ASB?

You have a better chance with the Stuart's running to the Americas and rallying support
 

Driftless

Donor
Send them to Australia...

There had been some English poking around Australia before Captain Cook.

From Wikipedia:

First English sighting of Australia

On 1 May 1622, the Tryall, a British East India Company owned East Indiaman of approximately 500 tons, under the command of John Brooke, sighted the coastline of Western Australia at Point Cloates, although they mistook it for Barrow Island. They did not land there, and a few weeks later were shipwrecked on an uncharted reef northwest of the Montebello Islands; the reef is now known as Tryal Rocks. The shipwreck caused the death of 93 men, but the captain and nine men escaped, and made their way to Batavia by longboat, and later back to England. This was the first known shipwreck in Australian waters, and it was this wreck that William Dampier came looking for in 1688 (he was not even born when the shipwreck occurred).
First English visit to the mainland

William Dampier, a former pirate, was the first Englishman to land on the Australian mainland. On 5 January 1688 his ship the Cygnet, a small trading vessel, was beached on the northwest coast, near King Sound. While the ship was being careened he made notes on the fauna and flora and the indigenous peoples he found there. He made another voyage to the region in 1699, before returning to England. He described some of the flora and fauna of Australia, and was the first European to report Australia's peculiar large hopping animals.
 
You have a better chance with the Stuart's running to the Americas and rallying support

Would it? At that point South America was divided between the Spanish and Portuguese and North America was pretty rural, wasn't it? The only way I can think of it happening would be an early enough development that North America had an urban population of Stuart supporters at the same time as the Glorious Revolution. That way it'd be perfectly reasonable to run off to their base of power even if its far away from their goals. If it ever got urbanised naturally through Hanoverian investment then he'd probably need a fleet to take it, wouldn't he? Which would probably need support from a European power like the French. And it'd have an established population of people antagonistic to his cause as well. Plus I doubt that the established clans in the highlands would want to up and go though the Irish might.



Send them to Australia...

Well if I ever bothered to weave this into a timeline they'd need to strong enough to make it interesting. I'm not sure if Australia qualifies.
 
Why would the Georgians want the Jacobites to settle anywhere but a shallow grave?

I see the most viable way of handling this the Jacobites going to one of the Catholic monarchs during a period where their claim was actually being supported and asking for a parcel of land they could settle in the vastness of the French and Spanish Americas. Of course this would require a nominal cession of territory to a foreign king, but especially if the area in question is in a position to frustrate the English crown's colonial advance, it could be worthwhile for them. Plop them right down on the Ohio.
 
Forget the Georgians, remember, this is the house of /Stuart/ we're dealing with here, some of the silliest, most self entitled monarchs British History. Hell, as far as I can remember Bonnie prince Charlie left a part of his army behind to be massacred on the bases of something like "I must have a town in England." (Can't find the source). Regardless of that, the Stuarts believed entirely in their divine right to govern, and they weren't going to settle for some colony the Georgians thought disposable enough to offer them.
 
Forget the Georgians, remember, this is the house of /Stuart/ we're dealing with here, some of the silliest, most self entitled monarchs British History. Hell, as far as I can remember Bonnie prince Charlie left a part of his army behind to be massacred on the bases of something like "I must have a town in England." (Can't find the source). Regardless of that, the Stuarts believed entirely in their divine right to govern, and they weren't going to settle for some colony the Georgians thought disposable enough to offer them.

Carlisle. They weren't quite slaughtered however, just besieged. Same point nonetheless. Poor, manipulated highlanders.
 
Carlisle. They weren't quite slaughtered however, just besieged. Same point nonetheless. Poor, manipulated highlanders.

I'm still very much uncertain, but weren't the ones he left back in England English Catholics? In any case aye, point still remains that this is a family famous for its silliness, with utter devotion to their divine right to govern all kingdoms of the British Isles; and nothing less.

Edit: Apparently it was the 'Manchester Regiment' he left behind, who my or may not have been Catholics, but were apparently unemployed Englishmen who took up the banner for some work. They were left behind, according to Wikipedia (yea yea) to make sure Charley "continued to hold at least one town in England". Wasn't to far off aha. Also, props for remembering what battle it was, damned if I knew.
 
Last edited:
Forget the Georgians, remember, this is the house of /Stuart/ we're dealing with here, some of the silliest, most self entitled monarchs British History. Hell, as far as I can remember Bonnie prince Charlie left a part of his army behind to be massacred on the bases of something like "I must have a town in England." (Can't find the source). Regardless of that, the Stuarts believed entirely in their divine right to govern, and they weren't going to settle for some colony the Georgians thought disposable enough to offer them.

Which is why I originally had Jacobites settle first and then had the Stuarts come later to try and use it as a "temporary" stronghold to retake the isles. The problem is getting enough Jacobites there that the Stuarts might consider leaving Europe for it.
 
Which is why I originally had Jacobites settle first and then had the Stuarts come later to try and use it as a "temporary" stronghold to retake the isles. The problem is getting enough Jacobites there that the Stuarts might consider leaving Europe for it.

Could maybe a junior branch (if any such thing remained) take up the 'mantle' of the fallen family and fallow suit to the settlers? Even then I don't think the Georgians are going to let such a state exist for very long. It's certainly an interesting scenario.
 
Top