AHC: British Eastern Europe

Incognito

Banned
The challenge here is to have the British Empire gain control of (and hold until the breakup of the empire) an Eastern European region. For the purposes of the discussion, an “Eastern European region” is an area east of present-day Germany with majority Slavic population* or a region in the Balkans (regions of ex-Yugoslavia, present-day Albania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, etc.) or the Baltic.

* if the Slavic majority is reduced to a minority via genocide or a flood of British settlers, it still fulfills the requirements.
 
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OK, assuming that an extended British rule of the Ionian islands doesn't count, perhaps work on that principle (Britain nabbing formerly Venetian land after the Napoleonic Wars which the French had incorporated into Illyria) and have British Dalmatia? Perhaps just the former state of Ragusa. I think this probably requires the Austrians to come out of the war in a worse state, and perhaps also the Britain needs to give up the Ionian islands (to the Two Sicilies perhaps?).
 
Would there be a way for the British to gain bulgaria in an 1877-8 war where the Ottomans do much worse?

Let's say Russia is about to seize Constantinople. they have a much better fleet and attack European Ottoman territory. The British rush in and keep them from getting it, but the Ottomans have crumbled. And yet, Bulgaria is in no shape to be its own state without being under the influence of Russia unless the British remain there. The British control Bulgaria and the rest of the European Ottomand Empire, but then they realize, "Wait, now what do we do with this?"

The Ottomans would have to collapse so badly as to not be viable, though, and I think they did really badly as it was, so i don't know if this is doable, but in an era when Britain ws really scared of the Russians controlling the Bosphorus, it could happen.
 
During the Seven Years' War, before the Prussian stroke of luck, while Sweden was still at war with both Prussia and Britain, the British carry out one of their many small amphibious operations, but not in France. They land in the Höganäs peninsula, North of Helsingborg. The treaty conditions include the cession of that peninsula to the British crown.
They never go away. The place becomes the Baltic equivalent of Gibraltar; exactly the kind of strategically positioned naval base the British liked to own.
Well, it's small to call it a "region", I know.
 
During the Seven Years' War, before the Prussian stroke of luck, while Sweden was still at war with both Prussia and Britain, the British carry out one of their many small amphibious operations, but not in France. They land in the Höganäs peninsula, North of Helsingborg. The treaty conditions include the cession of that peninsula to the British crown.
They never go away. The place becomes the Baltic equivalent of Gibraltar; exactly the kind of strategically positioned naval base the British liked to own.
Well, it's small to call it a "region", I know.

I'm not sure this counts as the Baltic.
 
OTL Ivan the Terrible proposed marriage to Elizabeth I. ATL she accepts (handwave away any protestantism/Orthodoxy issues for the moment - maybe the actual POD is that the schemes which were considered OTL to adhere the Church of England to the Orthodox communion on the break with Rome are followed through on instead, or something), England and Russia are joined in personal union, job done...

Heck, even if it breaks down after a generation or two you could still meet the challenge by having Murmansk or Archangel ceded to a British trading outfit in the meantime, Hong Kong style. Heck, this would probably work without a royal marriage though it would be less probable.
 
The Danes are the ones to finally win control of England, their empire covers all Scandinavia and the Baltic coast as well as the British Isles. That their capital would radiate towards Britain,making the empire British, seems likely.
 
Would there be a way for the British to gain bulgaria in an 1877-8 war where the Ottomans do much worse?

Let's say Russia is about to seize Constantinople. they have a much better fleet and attack European Ottoman territory. The British rush in and keep them from getting it, but the Ottomans have crumbled. And yet, Bulgaria is in no shape to be its own state without being under the influence of Russia unless the British remain there. The British control Bulgaria and the rest of the European Ottomand Empire, but then they realize, "Wait, now what do we do with this?"

The Ottomans would have to collapse so badly as to not be viable, though, and I think they did really badly as it was, so i don't know if this is doable, but in an era when Britain ws really scared of the Russians controlling the Bosphorus, it could happen.
No. The British army of that period wasn't organised (and probably didn't have enough forces available) for war against a European power, not even Russia, and the other powers would have had strong words to say about British occupation of the area too.
 
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