AH Challenge: French Colony on the Australian Continent

[Lord Grattan]

Your challenge is to establish a French Colony on the Australian continent after 1770. Where & why is it established? How is it retained during & after the Napoleonic Wars? How large will it get? Extra points if in your scenario an alternate name for the continent is agreed to by the French and British at some point in time.

 

[papermario]

The unoriginal Napoleon-wins scenario, and the resulting East Asia/Oceania free-for-all.

Also, the name Australia was just lazily stamped onto the continent by Europeans, so you could pretty much get away with anything. A different Latin inspiration, listening to the natives, name it after an explorer...

 

[DG Valdron]

As I recall, the British installed settlements in Western Australia to forestall a possible French colony there around 1820-1825.

So, potentially, all you'd need would be for the French to be much more interested, or the British to be somewhat less interested.

Hell, some ventures might even have British support. If France wanted to establish Western Australia as a prison for political prisoners and malcontents from the revolutionary or napoleanic regimes, the Brits might well raise a hurrah. It would be a set of nails in the coffin of the Napoleanic wars.

 

[Lord Grattan]

As I recall, the British installed settlements in Western Australia to forestall a possible French colony there around 1820-1825.

So, potentially, all you'd need would be for the French to be much more interested, or the British to be somewhat less interested.

Hell, some ventures might even have British support. If France wanted to establish Western Australia as a prison for political prisoners and malcontents from the revolutionary or napoleanic regimes, the Brits might well raise a hurrah. It would be a set of nails in the coffin of the Napoleanic wars.

An interesting idea. Perhaps French missionaries could also go there to convert the natives to Roman Catholicism.