AHC: Bigger UK

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libbrit

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Oliver Cromwell originally had a rather fanciful idea for a `protestant union` of Britain and the Netherlands.

The Dutch shot that down in flames, but if that had happened, or at least persisted as an idea, and perhaps the British remained a republic.......
 
Anyone who has already visited Cadiz knows that nobody can hold Cadiz against the continent. Cadiz is not a rock like Gibraltar.

No, it's an island and it did "hold against the continent" for the duration of the Peninsular war, when it was the only Spanish city not to be overrun by the French and was the seat of Spanish government for much of the period.

As for the original challenge - Britain was at war with Denmark during the Napoleonic war and could easily have acquired Iceland and the Faeroes if desired. Granted it's more likely they would get a similar status to the Isle of Man or channel Islands, but it's not impossible to include them directly in the UK.

As mentioned, Malta could have been incorporated (they actually voted in favour, but not by a large enough margin) and so could Newfoundland - at one point they asked for self government to be terminated and the British government to resume direct control. And of course Ireland, but beyond that pickings get slim unless you do some radical things with Imperial federation.
 
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libbrit

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As for the original challenge - Britain was at war with Denmark during the Napoleonic war and could easily have acquired Iceland and the Faeroes if desired. Granted it's more likely they would get a similar status to the Isle of Man or channel Islands, but it's not impossible to include them directly in the UK.

Iceland had such an historically small population, that it wouldnt have taken much effort upon the part of the British, who afterall had a growing population in the 19th century, to basically turn Iceland 90% British and thus say "what the hell, give them some MPs)
 
Have Doggerland (Dogger Bank in the North Sea) rise or remain above water.

Have Rockall Bank be a large island or group of islands, like in "Antony Swithin's" [William Antony Swithin Sarjeant (1935-2002)] Perilous Quest for Lyonesse series (without, however, the exotic fauna & flora), and have them be settled by the English.
 
The simplest solution is to have all the constitutional quirks like the Isle of Mann and the Channel Islands included in the UK which very quickly increases in size.

Then all the overseas dependances like the Falklands and Gibraltar. Malta could join without much imagination. Maybe the Caribbean islands which declared independence stay? Jamaica as a part of the United Kingdom would make an interesting place in my view.

Beyond other small islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific it seems quite unlikely for a United Kingdom to hold anything else.

Oh, did I mention Ireland?
 
The simplest solution is to have all the constitutional quirks like the Isle of Mann and the Channel Islands included in the UK which very quickly increases in size.

Then all the overseas dependances like the Falklands and Gibraltar. Malta could join without much imagination. Maybe the Caribbean islands which declared independence stay? Jamaica as a part of the United Kingdom would make an interesting place in my view.

Beyond other small islands in the Indian Ocean and Pacific it seems quite unlikely for a United Kingdom to hold anything else.

Oh, did I mention Ireland?

The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands aren't constitutional quirks. They have nothing to do with the way the British state is laid out. They are independent realms which happened to pass to the English monarch in the past. They remain independent realms which simply delegate some of their rights to the UK in exchange for financial and military security.
 
The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands aren't constitutional quirks. They have nothing to do with the way the British state is laid out. They are independent realms which happened to pass to the English monarch in the past. They remain independent realms which simply delegate some of their rights to the UK in exchange for financial and military security.
Rest assured my friend that I understand in some detail the reason for the Isle of Man and Channel Islands not been part of the United Kingdom. I also understand to some extent how they fit in the British Constitutional scheme. I call them constitutional quirks from the perspective that they are compared to how most of the rest of the world sees them.
 

It's

Banned
Here is my proposed A major United Kingdom Wank.

Covering:
- The British Isles.
- Whole of Ireland. (No Home Rule)
- Hanover. (No splitting of the title and land)

French land kept by English king.
- Brittany and Calais
- Gascony (Aquitaine)

Spanish land ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
- OTL Cádiz and Málaga,
- Gibralta

In 1773, British give their American colonies more control over their ruling, however in 1813, some states got cocky and wanted full independence leading to a break up with more loyal states staying with their home nation:
- From the south Georgia and South Carolina
- From the north Maine and New Hampshire

Danish land ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Reykjavík, after the Napoleonic War.
- Iceland
- Greenland

During the "Peace" Decolonization, their colonies offer to give land, 1827 - Present:
From Canada
- New Foundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Prince Edwar Island
From India
- OTL Bangladesh
From Australia
- OTL Queensland

Last time I looked at a map Ireland was part of the British isles.
 
What about Guyana? Could we have British one next to French?

I don't know exactly what you mean but theoretically Britain could've gained Suriname (Dutch Guyana) post-Congress of Vienna, I mean personally I don't know why they gained OTL's Guyana instead of Suriname because England held Suriname before that for a while. Or they could just take both. Though finding a good reason to keep them is hard...
 
What about Guyana? Could we have British one next to French?

It WAS British Guiana before independence, but was always treated as part of the West Indies.

To ASB this, I agree with Doggerland remaining above water and annexing the Faroes but would also extend Cornwall to the Scillies, as they once were, possibly contributing to (part of) the Atlantis legend. There is evidence that the Scillies were a single island as recently as the Roman period.
 

Yuelang

Banned
I wonder why nobody think the simpler POD, have Victoria's children and grandchildren somewhere in 1870-90s getting assassinated or killed by anarchists or radical republicans, except the one who reside in Germany and get her son already crowned as Der Kaiser ;)

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Germany anyone :D:D:D
 
You can have even bigger if you have the russian grandson survive alone. But I guess the british Parliament is going to demand any heir to choose between 2 so big countries.
 
Bigger Britain

Here's my map of a bigger Britain

34yu29x.png
 
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