AHC: Have the Russian Empire Survive in Alaska

TFSmith121

Banned
Considering Confederation didn't become official until

I'm curious: do you have a link about Canada's reaction to the Alaska sale? I'm interested in knowing more about this.

Considering Confederation didn't become official until three months after the sale, "Canada" as such didn't exist, and one would expect most of British North America could not have cared less - some British Columbians et al were presumably opposed to it, but in the scheme of everything else going on in BNA in 1867, one would expect the majority of the residents/subjects in the Province of Canada and the colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland had other concerns.;)

Even BCers presumably weren't rioting in the streets over it, since they didn't join the Dominion until 1871...

The other thing to remember is the Russians had been talking, unofficially and officially, about selling to the US as far back as the 1850s, largely because of the results of the 1854-56 war; even the Buchanan administration had sponsored some talks.

Best,
 
Last edited:
Canadians are still annoyed that the Alaskan Panhandle is so big and extends so far south, a long way south of the Yukon/British Columbia border.
Back when (late 1800s) the USA and the British Crown were arguing over how much the Yanks had bought from Russia, .... they had to call in Kaiser Wilhelm to mediate.
KW sided with the Americans and handed them most of the West Coast. This limited Canada to only 3.5 ports along the West Coast: Vancouver, Squamish (.5), Prince Rupert and Bella Coola. Canadian railroads and roads only touch slat-water at 4 places along the coast. The Port of Vnacouver handles the bulk of Canadian exports to the Pacific Rim, though there is talk of enlarging facilities at Kitimat/Bella Coola.
Recently, a melting glacier (north of Bella Coola) has given Canada access to another deep water port, but there is no railroad down to the coast.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Well, the British were never exactly backward about

Canadians are still annoyed that the Alaskan Panhandle is so big and extends so far south, a long way south of the Yukon/British Columbia border. Back when (late 1800s) the USA and the British Crown were arguing over how much the Yanks had bought from Russia, .... they had to call in Kaiser Wilhelm to mediate. KW sided with the Americans and handed them most of the West Coast. This limited Canada to only 3.5 ports along the West Coast: Vancouver, Squamish (.5), Prince Rupert and Bella Coola. Canadian railroads and roads only touch slat-water at 4 places along the coast. The Port of Vnacouver handles the bulk of Canadian exports to the Pacific Rim, though there is talk of enlarging facilities at Kitimat/Bella Coola. Recently, a melting glacier (north of Bella Coola) has given Canada access to another deep water port, but there is no railroad down to the coast.

Well, the British were never exactly backward about sacrificing colonial interests in favor of their own, were they? That's the whole point of an empire, after all...

Actually, the 1903 dispute (if that's what you're referring to) was decided by a joint US-British-Canadian tribunal; the one Wilhelm arbitrated was in 1872, over the San Juan Islands issue.

In both cases, the British were perfectly content to give the US what it wished for, for reasons of their own (HINT: the US economy, essentially), no matter what the Canadians wanted...

But the British were never exactly backward about sacrificing colonial interests in favor of their own. The Americans had figured that out in the 1770s, after all.;)

Best,
 
Top