AHC/Plausibility Scenario: An Earlier British America.

[Darth_Kiryan]

Is there anyway at all that the British could have taken French possessions before the OTL Seven Years War, perhaps beginning even with the attack on Louisburg in 1745.

My idea was maybe that George II is killed at Dettingen after his horse makes a charge towards the enemy, Frederick rises to be King, and perhaps takes revenge on the French by taking their North American territories.

Yes, simple revenge is not a justified action, but can, at all, the British take the French colonies during the War of Austrian Succession/King George's war?

 

[Thande]

Um, you just described my LTTW

All right, not exactly because those events don't happen in that exact order in it, but still.

England could conceivably have taken French America--or at least the northern part--as early as the 1600s if the political will had been there to try and keep it.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Um, you just described my LTTW

All right, not exactly because those events don't happen in that exact order in it, but still.

England could conceivably have taken French America--or at least the northern part--as early as the 1600s if the political will had been there to try and keep it.

That was kinda my influence, but i was reading Crucible of War today at work and it just hit me that a different King George's War, perhaps longer and more drawn out might have secured the American continent for Britain.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Bump.

Filler

 

[PoeFacedKilla]

i do think the english could beat the french to N. America during the 1500s, forgoing any conflict for the continent. (at least with france)

 

[Sevarics]

I wonder what such an action would have done to stymy independence rhetoric

 

[Simreeve]

My idea was maybe that George II is killed at Dettingen after his horse makes a charge towards the enemy, Frederick rises to be King, and perhaps takes revenge on the French by taking their North American territories.

You'd need greater British/Allied victories in Europe during that war, too, because otherwise France might have had the leverage to get any lost colonies returned at the peace treaty (as happened OTL for some of the lands that Britain did take) in exchange for restraint in its expansion on this ("more important") continent.
I started a TL of my own about George II being seriously wounded at Dettingen, and dying some years earlier than was the case in OTL as an eventual result of this so that Frederick inherited the throne, slightly over a year ago, but had to drop out of the site due to RL pressures.
I already planned to re-start this project now that I've returned here, and my AH Britain does fare a bit better in that war than it did OTL, but probably still not by enough to take all of French America: They get more of it during their equivalent of the Seven Years War, maybe even more than they did by that stage in OTL, but with different politicians in power in Britain and different committments in Europe managing this involves making a deal with the 'British North Americans' whereby those agree to some taxation for 'Imperial' defence purposes in exchange for increased autonomy in other respects (i.e. the start of the colonies' transition into what we in RL would call a 'Dominion').

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

On soc.history.what-if back in the '90s I created a TL, not as well researched, based on John Cabot having more success. I don't know if my way would have worked, though, with the Little ice Age in effect hurting any coloines. I don't recall how it went - I think it ws even done on a Mac in law School, it was so long ago! - but I do think something with Cabot might be feasible.

The only question is, is there the will to keep building colonies? If Cabot goes further south, would there be interest in putting colonies there that last and eventually shutting out the French?

 

[katchen]

I think about 15 years ago I read a speculation that if the British had pushed a strategy that emphasized a colonial rather than a continental war during the Wars of Louid XIV that they could have taken Nouvelle France in the early 1700s. when the French had a lot less invested in it. Canada would simply have become another two or three British colonies and the French would have rebuilt their empire someplace else. Maybe South Africa east of the Dutch and/or Australia (France Antarctique).