AHC: No "from sea to shining sea"

In OTL, we have three major countries that span the North American continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic (well, technically, Costa Rica and Panama count too, but they're not major in any sense of the word).

Your challenge, with a POD no earlier than 1700, is to ensure that no polity in North America has a coast on the Pacific and a coast on the Atlantic.
 
Your challenge, with a POD no earlier than 1700, is to ensure that no polity in North America has a coast on the Pacific and a coast on the Atlantic.
This is super hard because of Central America, but I guess they don't count since they aren't major? Even so, Mexico's biggest internal borders don't really split the country into Atlantic and Pacific halves.
 
With Mexico, it would be easier to fragment the nation to the point it's not considered major, rather than actually trying to engineer a state that only controls one coast.

Technically you have Colombia(not North American), Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala that border both seas, if Colombia is not considered major with almost 50 million people then you could just split Mexico and have a Russian colony in the North-West(!) while having a Texas-like state in California.
 
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With Mexico, it would be easier to fragment the nation to the poin it's not considered major, rather than actually trying to engineer a state that only controls one cast.

Technically you have Colombia(not North American), Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala that border both seas, if Colombia is not considered major with almost 50 million people then you could just split Mexico and have a Russian colony in the North-East while having a Texas-like state in California.

What about Canada?
 

Vuu

Banned
Nearly impossible because who'd bother splitting the already thin Central America, but doable if you split it to the isthmus of Tehuantepec or whatever it's called. But basically an Alaska on some ludicrous steroids will do 50% of the job.
 
Maybe the north half of New Spain/1st Mexican Empire splits off from Mexico City's rule? Then you can have California and Sonora as part of a nation separate from Mexico.
 

Deleted member 92121

This can be accomplished, though it would require multiple specific events. Here's my take on it:

First the obvious one: Have early 18th Century Russia invest heavily in North American expasion, moving the Alaskan border progressively south until it hits California. Perhaps some change in imperial policy, coupled with some very good harvest years, a steady economy, and a desire to prove itself a even greater Empire by carving out a piece of the New World. With a steady and growing russian presence in OTL Alaska, BC, Washington and Oregon, we now have a major barrier to British and American expansion in the northwest. I imagine that if Russia really put it's mind to it, the prospect of settling in fertile Oregon would be very attractive for your siberian Boyar.

Now, a VERY different Mexican-American war. The United States carves out the Mexican gulf for itself, moving it's border waaay south, while Mexico would keep it's western territories(including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, etc.). The U.S. then supports a Independent Yucatan Peninsula Republic as a nice Caribbean "partner". Yucatan could expand northwards beyond it's Peninsula to border the U.S. at the Gulf.

So now you have Russian Northwest / British Canada with no Pacific access / United States minus the west coast, but with a huge chunk of eastern Mexico, almost surrounding the Gulf / Mexico, oing all the way from California in the North to it's present southern border, but without it's eastern regions and Yucatan/ Yucatan Peninsula.

There. Not Unthinkable. The US southern stretch will look ugly in a map, but I can imagine worse.
 
Well for Canada, prevent the collection of dominions/colonies/what ever is the proper term from uniting into a single Canada. That would help.

As for The United States, not buying the Louisiana purchase would go a long way.

Mexico? Hm... what if the French intervention in Mexico happens ad in our world, and the republicans set up shop along the West coast from Baja downward while France has the interior under Emperor Maximilian
 
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