AHC: Canadian Alaska

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Starting no later than 1750 how would Alaska become part of Canada instead of the USA? Also what impact on history would that have had if any?
My guess would be for Britain-Russia relations to remain good enough for the Brits to buy Alaska from Russia
 

Skallagrim

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Even with the Great Game as per OTL, if the USA declines to buy Alaska, the Russians may be inclined to sell Alaska to Britain anyway. The Great Game has been interpreted in various ways (both at the time and in retrospect), and there were certainly times when a sale could have occurred, namely times when Britain and Russia actually colluded ("You take this, I take that, and we quitly accept each others' gains...").

Even if not, the Great Game - such as it was - is considered to have ended in 1895. The Klondike gold rush started a year later. This evidently increased the value of Alaska, if only because of getting sea access to the Yukon. It is conceivable for a sale of Alaska to occur in 1895, yet also note that the Klodike gold rush was started by the discovery of gold by... an American. Who would be less likely to be there if the USA never bought Alaska. So you can easily see a scenario wherein Alaska is sold to Britain at some point not long after 1895, and Canadian prospectors discover gold in the Yukon. Which at once makes Alaska more useful to them!

This is also where the major impact on history starts. Alaska in Canadian hands during an alt-gold rush is economically better for Canada. From there on, the further discoveries of natural resources in Alaska will continue to benefit Canada, which is nice for Canada. This is hardly world-shattering AH here, but it produces a TL that's economically good to the Canadians, at least.
 
Well in OTL, Russia had hoped to start a bidding war for Alaska between the US and Britain. Unfortunately for them however, Britain was not too interested. Russia wanted to sell it not just for immediate financial concerns, but they also feared that Britain might just take it from them in the future anyway, and not pay a dime. With this in mind...

This is before the Russo-Japanese War. You could have the Russians rather publicly muse about selling Alaska to the Empire of Japan. Now, they probably wouldn't actually go through with this because "lol, racism" but it would no doubt freak out the Brits and Canadians who then go "HOW MUCH MONEY AND HOW SOON CAN I GET IT?!"

Alternatively, have America somehow (war or some kind of exchange) get all of the Oregon Country, which would then see Britain desire Alaska as a future Canadian territory and thereby provide secure access to the Pacific.
 
Assuming the Cold War still happens, would having Alaska change much of Canada's strategy when it came to the northern part of the country?
 
@The Gunslinger idea is a good one. It could be done peacefully too if America declines to buy in the 1860s (for whatever reason) and Russia begins to see Alaska as more of a drain and offers it to Canada/Britain. I could conceivably see Disraeli pushing for it to be given to Britain as part of the Congress of Berlin in 1878 in exchange for acknowledging certain Russian requests/with financial compensation if the Russians back down regarding certain territories.

Overall impact on history? Well Canada definitively remains the second largest nation on earth after Russia. Canada might get some net economic benefits from gold and oil, but I would see Alaska as being very sparsely populated (even compared to OTL) and being largely used as a future springboard to declare Canadian sovereignty in arctic waters.
 
Other than looking better on a map the only real major implications would be for more minor dickwaving with Russia Arctic sovereignty down the line. Canada already has loads of mineral resources in the north that are untapped. The country would get slightly richer from the gold rush, but that's basically it.
 
Petropavlovsk falls during the Crimean War. Britain nabs Alaska in the peace treaty.

In theory, even if Petropavlovsk holds as IOTL, what's to stop the British from forcing a transfer of Russian America to them in the peace treaty? The Crimean War is definitely the time to take the place.

Perhaps Alaska will be treated as a separate colony which will eventually join Canada as a territory, perhaps by the 20th century promoted to a full province thanks to resource exploitation?

Overall impact on history? Well Canada definitively remains the second largest nation on earth after Russia. Canada might get some net economic benefits from gold and oil, but I would see Alaska as being very sparsely populated (even compared to OTL) and being largely used as a future springboard to declare Canadian sovereignty in arctic waters.

Agreed, but Alaska still has useful ports (i.e. Anchorage) on the great circle route between China and Japan and the West Coast of North America, so I think that maybe half as many people as OTL is a reasonable estimate for how British/Canadian Alaska might turn out.
 
I don't think it would happen, but it wouldn't be out of the question would be for Canada to construct a rail line to Alaska via Edmonton-Whitehorse when Alaska reaches population enough for provincial status. I'm guessing about 1905 when Alberta and Saskatchewan got theirs too. Maybe as part of the deal to join confederation that's their demand.

Given a PoD in the mid-19th century, I doubt the Titanic ever strikes an iceberg and the main investor doesn't drown and builds a rail line to Prince Rupert gets Its rail line in about 1914 (assuming all else remains static).

Alberta might have an ally in parliament when it comes to oil production starting in the 1950s and there could be some knock off effects there as well.

I doubt there would be any major changes, but Canada would be a bit different.
 
Just have the Americans not buy it.
The most Interesting thing you would get out of this is an internal panhandle dispute between BC and Alaska and maybe Russian being an official language in Alaska
 
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Just have the Americans not buy it.
The most I treating you would get out of this is an internal panhandle dispute between BC and Alaska and maybe Russian being an official language in Alaska

I agree it's an internal dispute that goes in BC's favor in my head, but there were so few Russian colonists in Alaska I'd suspect it's just another English-speaking province (especially since the panhandle was where most Russians were vs the majority of Alaskans as we think of them being in Anchorage and Fairbanks).
 
I agree it's an internal dispute that goes in BC's favor in my head, but there were so few Russian colonists in Alaska I'd suspect it's just another English-speaking province (especially since the panhandle was where most Russians were vs the majority of Alaskans as we think of them being in Anchorage and Fairbanks).
I can agree with this
 
Agreed, but Alaska still has useful ports (i.e. Anchorage) on the great circle route between China and Japan and the West Coast of North America, so I think that maybe half as many people as OTL is a reasonable estimate for how British/Canadian Alaska might turn out.

Half as many as OTL sounds right, I'd picture it with similar demographics and economics to OTL's Yukon territory, but perhaps gaining Provincial status sooner because of an oil boom? Hell maybe the gold rush pushes it close to Provincial status sooner.

I don't think it would happen, but it wouldn't be out of the question would be for Canada to construct a rail line to Alaska via Edmonton-Whitehorse when Alaska reaches population enough for provincial status. I'm guessing about 1905 when Alberta and Saskatchewan got theirs too. Maybe as part of the deal to join confederation that's their demand.

Given a PoD in the mid-19th century, I doubt the Titanic ever strikes an iceberg and the main investor doesn't drown and builds a rail line to Prince Rupert gets Its rail line in about 1914 (assuming all else remains static).

Alberta might have an ally in parliament when it comes to oil production starting in the 1950s and there could be some knock off effects there as well.

I doubt there would be any major changes, but Canada would be a bit different.

Someone was planning a rail line to Prince Rupert?

Just have the Americans not buy it.
The most I treating you would get out of this is an internal panhandle dispute between BC and Alaska and maybe Russian being an official language in Alaska

America not buying it is the simplest POD :p
 
What about having the 1845 Oregon Crisis explode into a full-fledged war? Britain wins a decisive victory over the US and either ends or puts a delay on American ambitions on the Pacific coast, meaning that the US no longer has an incentive to buy Alaska, which they would now need to either go through British territory or around the Horn to get to. Then the British either take Alaska in a later war, or they buy it at a lower cost without any real competing bidders.
 
You COULD have it remain Russian until just after WWI and the Russian Civil War. Foreign powers intervened there on behalf of the White Army. You could then have it A) becoming a Canadian territory seized from the Russians or B) become the home of the non-Soviet Russian government in Exile.
 
Maybe I'm crazy but you could see Yukon merged with Alaska. Provincial status? I don't see it happening until maybe now. The economics do not make sense, secondly Ottawa would not want to give up control over that many resources. The North has been "opening up" since the 70's and neither have been provinced. The beginning stages, sure, NWT has been split.

Secondly, Alberta never wanted a partner in oil production. They always wanted to be The producer. They fought the National Energy board not just because they had to sell to the rest of Canada at a lower rate but because it encouraged petro-exploration in other parts of the country, ie Altantic off-shore which had been discovered to have bigger deposits and better quality. A direct threat to Albertas domination of the Canadian market.

To me, if Alaska was Canadian, there would have still been two territories.
 
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