I know there were Germans in Venezuela but it was pretty much under the Spanish, so I'm just curious as to how some serious German colonies of either the independent states or the German Empire could have ended up with some lands in the new world.
AHC: German colonies in America
- Thread starter Hohenzollern
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You'll need a super early pod. Like a relatively powerful Duchy of Hanover takes the place of the dutch, but that's gonna need other things to happen
Deleted member 109224
Well the House of Hanover built a mighty empire...
Austria could emerge from the Napoleonic Wars thoroughly dominating and having mostly unified Germany perhaps. When Spain is in dire fiscal straits in the 1830s and looks to sell its caribbean colonies, Austria-Germany could swoop in.
Austria could emerge from the Napoleonic Wars thoroughly dominating and having mostly unified Germany perhaps. When Spain is in dire fiscal straits in the 1830s and looks to sell its caribbean colonies, Austria-Germany could swoop in.
Bavaria under Ferdinand Maria considered colonizing the area around New York (don't ask me how they planned to do it); Brandenburg (pre-Prussia) got some forts on the Gold Coast in Africa they later sold to the Dutch. Courland likewise had colonies in Africa and the Caribbean. I don't think it's IMPOSSIBLE for German colonies, just supremely difficult.
Which had JACK to do with Hannover itself. Why do you think George III had to use HESSIANS in the ARW? The agreement was that Hannover would contribute not a plugged nickel to Britain's empire. It was even illegal for the Hannoverian king of England to use the Hannoverian army to defend ENGLAND against the Jacobites IIRC
Which had JACK to do with Hannover itself. Why do you think George III had to use HESSIANS in the ARW? The agreement was that Hannover would contribute not a plugged nickel to Britain's empire. It was even illegal for the Hannoverian king of England to use the Hannoverian army to defend ENGLAND against the Jacobites IIRC
So uh... why'd they not just give it to a second son or something?
"James my son, I'm giving William the Kingdom of Hannover. Nothing against you, it just doesn't give you anything as king of Britain."1
Deleted member 92195
You would be surprised how humans will find a will to do something if they invest common sense and intelligence into it. One thing I have learned about counterfactual history is that even though something did not happen, historical peculiar events show that there only need to be 'desire' and 'feasibility' to achieve anything. I think this idea would interlink well into my German migration of eastern Europe. I now have visions of Germans migrating outside of Europe and Eastern Europe.😏
The Hannoverian army participated in the defense of British India, Gibraltar and Menorca during that war.
The easiest answer is that between 1880-1910 Denmark sells the Virgin islands to Germany. Thus Germany has a colony in the Americas, though a rather insignificant one. If it becomes settled enough, then maybe it becomes an independent German speaking republic post WWI. Though I see that as unlikely. More likely it becomes a British or American territory. Though if you butterfly away WWI or have a different outcome, then it could survive to modern day.
1. Someone mentioned Hessians up the thread. In otl, Thousands of Hessian POWs from the American Revolution decided to stay in America if I'm not mistaken.
Although not particularly plausible, it'd be neat if the captured Hessian officers decided to gather up their men and head west to settle their own community on the frontier, at which position the formally declare the land and loyalty to the Landgraviate of Hesse. Now obviously their European overlord wouldn't have any real control over this "colony" but it would be able to remain a unrecognized antonomous state until America annexes them in several decades, depending on where'd they settle.
2. Another idea is if we can keep Scandanavia weak, the Hanseatic League never declines and decides to start some fur trading operations in Canada or sugar plantations on a small Carribean island.
3. Technically the Danish king is also the duke of German Holstein. Perhaps in an attempt to create a Danish majority in the Duchy, a Danish king encourages his German citizens to colonize the new world. Then let's say Denmark loses Holstein in the 30 Years War, resulting in the Duchy becoming German ruled and the German colonists taking over Greenland and declaring loyalty to independent Holstein (who's now under the protection of the Holy Roman Emperor).
4. Austria annexes Venice early on during one of their many wars in Italy. It then Uses it's Italian and Austrian Netherlands navy to start a small colony in the Carribean or South America.
5. Hapsburgs ally with France during the Seven Years War. In an alternate scenario, Great Britain and it's allies get crushed. As part of the peace terms, Great Britain loses Hannover and is ruled as an independent Duchy with a Hapsburg prince. As a reward for their alliance, France gives Hapsburg Hannover the recently conquered Northern Canada, once ruled by the Hudson Bay Company.
These are the best I could come up with.
Although not particularly plausible, it'd be neat if the captured Hessian officers decided to gather up their men and head west to settle their own community on the frontier, at which position the formally declare the land and loyalty to the Landgraviate of Hesse. Now obviously their European overlord wouldn't have any real control over this "colony" but it would be able to remain a unrecognized antonomous state until America annexes them in several decades, depending on where'd they settle.
2. Another idea is if we can keep Scandanavia weak, the Hanseatic League never declines and decides to start some fur trading operations in Canada or sugar plantations on a small Carribean island.
3. Technically the Danish king is also the duke of German Holstein. Perhaps in an attempt to create a Danish majority in the Duchy, a Danish king encourages his German citizens to colonize the new world. Then let's say Denmark loses Holstein in the 30 Years War, resulting in the Duchy becoming German ruled and the German colonists taking over Greenland and declaring loyalty to independent Holstein (who's now under the protection of the Holy Roman Emperor).
4. Austria annexes Venice early on during one of their many wars in Italy. It then Uses it's Italian and Austrian Netherlands navy to start a small colony in the Carribean or South America.
5. Hapsburgs ally with France during the Seven Years War. In an alternate scenario, Great Britain and it's allies get crushed. As part of the peace terms, Great Britain loses Hannover and is ruled as an independent Duchy with a Hapsburg prince. As a reward for their alliance, France gives Hapsburg Hannover the recently conquered Northern Canada, once ruled by the Hudson Bay Company.
These are the best I could come up with.
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Maybe the Adelsverein's attempt to create a German homeland in Texas. They had even very good relations with the Natives.
Ficboy
Banned
Even though there were no actual German colonies in the New World nevertheless there were many Germans that lived in the United States (the second-largest community outside Germany), Brazil (a very large amount especially in the southernmost regions of the country and the largest community outside of Germany itself), Argentina (Where they are behind only Italians and Spanish as far as ancestry of citizens are concerned), Canada (a sizable amount), Uruguay (same with Argentina to an extent) and Chile (have a sizable influence there). So you could say they were German colonies in a sense.
The German areas of Texas had a German prince try to run them as his own kingdom but he was terrible at finances and frontier colonization, having grown up pampered and sheltered. I forget the details, but get somebody not an idiot and maybe he has his own thing until the US clamps down.
@djf64360 I think that was in the 1840s, and from a quick check-up the issue was that his wife didn't want to leave Germany. If you muck about with the timeline on the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War, I could see a situation where things spin out of hand in a different direction pretty quickly.