AHC: Latin America (minus Brazil) united

I think a weak and loose Federation that is really not much more than a custom's union under a common King is the most we can do.

1800 - France doesn't occupy Spain, holding off the worst of the Revolutionary outbreaks.

1830 - Spain is falling apart and can't even pretend to hold New Spain by force. Agrees to greater and greater degrees of autonomy under the crown. Effectively, the assorted states fo New Spain become self-governing commonwealths akin to Canada and Australia.
 
Only advanced transportation and communications technology can help.
I was just about to write that.

One of the uniting factors here in Canada, a nation that was (and is?) sparsely populated over a vast territory was the 1886 completion of the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway, along with the transcontinental telegraph lines along the track (first cross nation telegrams sent in 1881). The CPR was a requirement or enticement to the provinces to join Confederation in 1867.

http://www.cpr.ca/en/about-cp/our-history

Canadian Pacific Railway was formed to physically unite Canada and Canadians from coast to coast. Canada's confederation on July 1, 1867 brought four eastern provinces together to form a new country. As part of the deal, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were promised a railway to link them with the two Central Canadian provinces – Quebec and Ontario.

Manitoba joined confederation in 1870. British Columbia, on the west coast, was enticed to join the new confederation in 1871, but only with the promise that a transcontinental railway be built within 10 years to physically link east and west.


Unless you're a dictator you can't force people to join. Thus you need incentives for those that make or influence such decisions, eg. the rich and powerful.
 
IMHO Spanish America was very close to end up united.

POD: 181x.
Spain was less involved in the Napoleonic wars and the destruction was not so massive.
Being in a better shape than OTL (but still worse than before the Peninsular war), Spain managed to crush all the independence movements, but one. (which one? Mexico, Gran Colombia, Peru, La Plata?)
So, Spain managed to regain almost all of its colonies. However there was an elephant in the room: America Latina Unida, ALU.
All Spanish attempts to conquer ALU failed, probably because of US help.
Finally, in 183x, Spain recognized the independence of ALU.
In the next 100 years ALU liberated / conquered the rest of the Spanish colonies from the Americas during several wars.
The last additions to ALU were Cuba, Eastern Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.

Conclusion: In 1930, there were 4 large countries spanning the American mainland - Canada, USA, ALU and Brazil.
ALU included: Chile, Argentina (incl. Falklands), Uruguay, (Greater) Paraguay, (Greater) Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela (incl. Guyana Errequiba), Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, (Greater) Mexico (perhaps minus Texas & California), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, maybe some other Caribbean Islands.
Done.

This is awesome. Could someone make a timeline of this? Please?
 

Zagan

Donor
This is awesome. Could someone make a timeline of this? Please?

I can.
I wrote this as a concept only, but I could try expanding it (in collaboration with you, if you want to help).
I did not pursue it simply because nobody was interested.

The most important thing is to carefully choose the right country to be the future nucleus of the ALU.
Suggestions please.
 
IMHO Spanish America was very close to end up united.

POD: 181x.
Spain was less involved in the Napoleonic wars and the destruction was not so massive.
Being in a better shape than OTL (but still worse than before the Peninsular war), Spain managed to crush all the independence movements, but one. (which one? Mexico, Gran Colombia, Peru, La Plata?)
So, Spain managed to regain almost all of its colonies. However there was an elephant in the room: America Latina Unida, ALU.
All Spanish attempts to conquer ALU failed, probably because of US help.
Finally, in 183x, Spain recognized the independence of ALU.
In the next 100 years ALU liberated / conquered the rest of the Spanish colonies from the Americas during several wars.
The last additions to ALU were Cuba, Eastern Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.

Conclusion: In 1930, there were 4 large countries spanning the American mainland - Canada, USA, ALU and Brazil.
ALU included: Chile, Argentina (incl. Falklands), Uruguay, (Greater) Paraguay, (Greater) Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela (incl. Guyana Errequiba), Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, (Greater) Mexico (perhaps minus Texas & California), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, maybe some other Caribbean Islands.
Done.

Please, someone make a TL of this, or something with the same idea. It would make good reading.
Edit: sorry for repost, the page didn't load and I thought the original was lost or something.
 
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I can.
I wrote this as a concept only, but I could try expanding it (in collaboration with you, if you want to help).
I did not pursue it simply because nobody was interested.

The most important thing is to carefully choose the right country to be the future nucleus of the ALU.
Suggestions please.

I would like to help, how?
 
What if Brazil or Spain were a threat; the rest of the countries stay together on the "Unite or Die" principal
 

Zagan

Donor
I would like to help, how?

First of all, check your Private Messages Inbox.
Second, why don't you give it a try yourself?
Third, I already asked a question? Where exactly should be the core of ALU?
In the meantime, because I got NO help, I did some research myself and arrived to a conclusion: The Southern Cone seems by far the best option.

I have very little time for additional research but I think I will give it a try anyway.
If people who actually live in Latin America won't help it will most probably end as just another B-rated TL. As if there weren't already so many of them!
See you soon. (I will start a new thread obviously and post the link here).
 
IMHO Spanish America was very close to end up united.

POD: 181x.
...
Being in a better shape than OTL (but still worse than before the Peninsular war), Spain managed to crush all the independence movements, but one. (which one? Mexico, Gran Colombia, Peru, La Plata?)
So, Spain managed to regain almost all of its colonies. However there was an elephant in the room: America Latina Unida, ALU....

Perhaps the best point will be to crush all independence movements, except in Perú where the central power of Spain 's domain was,
 
Without too much handwavium or ASB, South America could become more united than it did IOTL. Jose de San Martin, Simon Bolivar, and Bernardo O'Higgins were all part of Francisco de Miranda's Logia Lautaro, a Masonic order dedicated to the independence of all of South America from Spanish rule. Further coordination within this organization might make it easier to consolidate certain different areas as one nation.

Originally Bolivar and AFAIK San Martin operated on the principle of uti possidetis for the viceroyalties, but a servicable POD might be to have Francisco de Miranda's original vision of a Pan-American Federation nominally united by a descendant of the Incas (ASB, I know) have more weight when the post-war plans are drawn up prior to the actual independence wars. This, and a lot of luck, still won't give you one whole state, but maybe you could get two incredibly federal ones at the fewest, with one comprising the viceroyalties of Nueva Granada and Peru, and the other one comprising the viceroyalty of La Plata (with perhaps Upper Peru thrown in for good measure). Still, I'm more of the opinion that the former would still be split up along the lines of the old viceroyalties.

Mexico will not be part of this. Its wars for independence were conducted largely independently of what happened in South America, but butterflies flap their wings somewhat differently. There are a number of TLs where Mexico becomes a republic from a very start, and that does seem to be the best way to "satisfy" the OP, as Emperor Agustin would probably not want to do anything to undermine his authority.

Either way, the prestige Bolivar and San Martin get from actually achieving their vision would give Bolivar a lot more weight if he wanted to do his Pan-American Conference in Panama like OTL. A customs union could be established and perhaps a joint military force ostensibly for anti-piracy and to protect from Spanish and other foreign aggression, though in practice I could see it being used to put down rebellions in places like Yucatan and Venezuela. In a century or two, who knows how close the member states could become.

It's worth noting that this more "united" Latin America might be smaller than OTL. A Mexico that contributes to a mutual defense force may not have the men to settle California and Texas, and if that force is engaged when the Anglos attack then they probably won't be able to hold on to those regions. Similarly, Argentina may not have the resources to settle Patagonia, especially if they need to move more men into the hinterland of Upper Peru, which had technically been transferred to La Plata prior to the wars of independence. Brazil might be able to nab more land from Peru, Argentina, and Nueva Granada for similar reasons, and the Brits might be able to get more of the Mosquito Coast and a bigger British Honduras.

That's the best I can do for you.
 
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