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The idea of a New World aristocracy, particularly with regards to the British colonies, has often come up in discussions of what might happen after a failed American Revolution. I have doubts that any such aristocracy would be stable.

But what about earlier?

The most plausible approach would be including noble titles with the colonial charters. An example would be if Charles II had made William Penn the Earl of Pennsylvania. The only difficulty would be that establishing hereditary New World titles would weaken the crown's control of colonies, something many European rulers would be reluctant to do. One solution might be reducing the size of the titles and having an appointed governor or administrator above them.

If a New World aristocracy emerged, what might be the consequences when the revolutions hit? Assuming they remained relevant, there are two paths I can see. One would be the aristocrats being loyalists to the crown, and consequently tossed out by the rebels (I certainly doubt that a New England aristocracy would survive). The other would be the aristocrats themselves leading the rebellions, resulting in a number of monarchies in the New World.
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