Instead of the British sending freed slaves to Sierra Leone,they established a colony in Namibia,and what if the colony morphed into a thriving independent state,bolstered by immigrants from the Carribbean,Nova Scotia and the South,and became blood enemies of the next door Boers? Would this have had a big butterfly effect on world events?
Alternate Sierra Leone
- Thread starter Coley
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Namibia is crap for colonization. There's a reason it was one of the last parts of Africa to be colonized and there's a reason only the Germans (how had missed out on all the good land) were interested in annexing it.
I don't see any colony there being terribly meaningful.
I don't see any colony there being terribly meaningful.
Agree with Nixon, there's a reason that a novel set in Namibia and a general tagline for the country itself, is called 'The Land God Made in Anger', I think I've also seen 'cursed' substituted for 'made'. True, these slaves are not really going to be having much of a choice about where Britain decides to dump them, but if they can send them down to Walvis Bay, why can't they send them to Cape Town. In the book 'Detained At Her Majesty's Pleasure' Britain tries to pack off the convicts there, and Cape Town refuses to take them, the ship ends up leaving for Australia. Slaves are perhaps a different story?
It could be done. Ensure the black free populations from New York who speak Dutch (think Sojourner Truth) and in all likelihood they could form lasting ties to Baster, Oorlam and Nama populations.
If you add Fulbe ex slaves like Abdul-Rahman ibn Ibrahim Sori from Fouta Djallon and especially women you could introduce cuntuuje to Namibia increasing yields dramatically.
The main issue is quelling Ovambo and Herero
push the former back up to Angola and crush the latter who were fighting Nama and enslaving Damara.
Ensure the Herero laborers creates water works, incorporate date farms, donkey carts, camels, citrus farming and specialize in primer breeding stock of cattle and sheep husbandry (using for example Wolof obsession with Sheep breeding) and you have a rather sound colony.
Would also suggest war with Tswana and sacking southern Botswana ASAP to take key diamond and mineral territories.
Also try and limit Britain's grip on colony maybe by flooding with Americans, Male from Brazil sent to south Angola and mixed race Afrikaners.
If you add Fulbe ex slaves like Abdul-Rahman ibn Ibrahim Sori from Fouta Djallon and especially women you could introduce cuntuuje to Namibia increasing yields dramatically.
The main issue is quelling Ovambo and Herero
push the former back up to Angola and crush the latter who were fighting Nama and enslaving Damara.
Ensure the Herero laborers creates water works, incorporate date farms, donkey carts, camels, citrus farming and specialize in primer breeding stock of cattle and sheep husbandry (using for example Wolof obsession with Sheep breeding) and you have a rather sound colony.
Would also suggest war with Tswana and sacking southern Botswana ASAP to take key diamond and mineral territories.
Also try and limit Britain's grip on colony maybe by flooding with Americans, Male from Brazil sent to south Angola and mixed race Afrikaners.
I was thinking of a story where the settlement has a tenuous relationship with British and its Walvis Bay caters to ships of all nations,innovative types establish industry and the settlers are in constant conflict with whites of South Africa over refusal to return runaways.I wish I could write,I think someone who could would have a decent story.
Anytime Britain deals with brown people they either take over or kill them. No allyship can be had for an independent "Sierra Leone", any colony will be white-interest led.
I don't knew that Sojouner Truth spoke Dutch as mother tongue. Was/wasn't she?
Good idea actually, I thought.
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And speaking of Namibia as alternate settlement of freed slaves, I thought of posting a map of Namibia:
Yeah, white folks at the time that recorded her wrote down what she said with this half ass AAVE vernacular but her first language was Dutch.
Their is fertility to be had in Namibia and vast sources of fossil water in the north, it can be an oasis in an ATL.
Wait didn't you want to make and ATL about like a Liberia of sorts in Namibia awhile back?
Deleted member 97083
Sure, Namibia has a lot less water than Sierra Leone, but also a lot less malaria.
The fact that it's a desert makes it harder to attract settlers, but once they're there, there are a lot fewer deaths from disease.
I lost where I put my Liberia in Namibia TL but it's absolutely feasible if you go at the right time with key support.
I was thinking there's a alternate location, which are more fertile, but still have a climate which doesn't kill the African American settlers: Senegal north of the Gambia and southern Mauritania. There's several benefits, it's close to OTL Sierra Leone and the British already have possession in the area (the Gambia).
Well,my idea,if not ASB, has the proto Namibs prosper around 1900,and finance newspapers in Jim Crow south,later newsreels.A war erupts between Namibs and Boers and black Americans emigrate to aid in the fight,the Namibs have an Air Force of some size,born of necessity,and defeat Boers.In the late teens/twenties,the trains that led blacks to the Midwest and North instead are ships from Savannah,New Orleans,Baltimore going east to Namibia,soon the Negro Leagues and Jazz emigrate too,the most educated and motivated black Americans see no future in US,and the Namib state also attracts Coloureds from South Africa and colonials from Carribean.