Here's a thought: A not-wanky American Central America
Blue denotes lands directly under American authority.
Light Blue denotes the American sphere of influence.
So here's a thought: The US does indeed annex El Salvador and Yucatan, opts to purchase Santo Tomas from Belgium, and gets its Dry Canal from the Gulf of Fonseca to Puerto Cortes.
The "Dry Canal Zone" is a US extraterritorial-zone of 100 meters in each direction of the railroad which is technically Honduran but US policed. The US administers Puerto Cortes, El Tigre Island, and the bay islands directly as well.
In the TTL Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, the US has its preeminence in Upper Central America recognized. The British cede Belize to the US and the Bay Islands to Honduras. Honduras's eastern boundary is settled in the favor the Miskito (and thus British). The Bay Islands are US administered.
The US does not annex Honduras or Guatemala. However, there is a lot more US economic and cultural presence in these countries. Americans based out of Santo Tomas engage in lots of business and settlement in the Northern Transversal strip of Guatemala (something the Belgian and British companies also tried for OTL, as its a relatively low-population area and thus has historically been pretty open to immigraiton) and I would imagine there'd be many Salvadorans who head to the US mainland and US Central Americans domains (helping with the OTL issue of it being overpopulated and unstable). N
Thoughts?
Blue denotes lands directly under American authority.
Light Blue denotes the American sphere of influence.
- In 1822-1823 the El Salvador Government sought to be annexed by the United States.
- In the 1846-1848 period, the government of the Yucatan Republic sought US annexation. President Polk was for this and the Yucatan Bill passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate
- In 1849, EG Squier, the special chargé d'affaires to Central America, negotiated a treaty for an Dry Canal across Honduras. He also negotiated the cession of Tigre Island temporarily to the US, anticipating a US occupation (which ultimately did occur). The British were concerned about the Americans destablizing the US presence in the Miskito Coast.
- In 1848 EG Squier also negotiated an agreement for a US Canal in Nicaragua, though it was never ratified
- In 1843 the Guatemalan Parliament ceded the Santo Tomas territory to a Belgian Company headed by King Leopold in Perpetuity. This was after a British company attempted a similar colony starting in 1834. The Belgians ultimately withdrew in 1854.
So here's a thought: The US does indeed annex El Salvador and Yucatan, opts to purchase Santo Tomas from Belgium, and gets its Dry Canal from the Gulf of Fonseca to Puerto Cortes.
The "Dry Canal Zone" is a US extraterritorial-zone of 100 meters in each direction of the railroad which is technically Honduran but US policed. The US administers Puerto Cortes, El Tigre Island, and the bay islands directly as well.
In the TTL Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, the US has its preeminence in Upper Central America recognized. The British cede Belize to the US and the Bay Islands to Honduras. Honduras's eastern boundary is settled in the favor the Miskito (and thus British). The Bay Islands are US administered.
The US does not annex Honduras or Guatemala. However, there is a lot more US economic and cultural presence in these countries. Americans based out of Santo Tomas engage in lots of business and settlement in the Northern Transversal strip of Guatemala (something the Belgian and British companies also tried for OTL, as its a relatively low-population area and thus has historically been pretty open to immigraiton) and I would imagine there'd be many Salvadorans who head to the US mainland and US Central Americans domains (helping with the OTL issue of it being overpopulated and unstable). N
Thoughts?