Britain takes the Cape in 1781?

[Vinization]

During the global conflict Britain was mired in during the early 1780s (including the American Revolutionary War), London organized a fleet under the command of George Johnstone, whose orders were to invade and conquer the Cape Colony from the Dutch. Unfortunately for them, France found out about this plan and sent a fleet led by admiral Pierre Suffren, which reached the Cape first and reinforced the Dutch defenses.

What if the Britsh didn't get entangled with the French in Cape Verde, but instead got to the Cape of Good Hope as intended? What may this British Cape Colony, which is established more than 20 years earlier than OTL, look like?

Finally, will this development affect the Second Anglo-Mysore War in a significant way? Suffren may not be able to enter the Indian Ocean ITTL, which means the BEIC will probably have an easier time fighting Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

 

[Gabingston]

May the British send convicts to the Cape instead of Australia? I've heard that the British were initially looking at Africa for a penal colony, and the Cape would be the best place imaginable for an African penal colony.

 

[RuneGloves]

May the British send convicts to the Cape instead of Australia? I've heard that the British were initially looking at Africa for a penal colony, and the Cape would be the best place imaginable for an African penal colony.

Southern Africa is a very acceptable climate for British prisoners, and along a trade route.

 

[Gabingston]

Southern Africa is a very acceptable climate for British prisoners, and along a trade route.

This video contains a scenario where the British take the Cape and use it as a penal colony in place of or in addition to Australia. Skip to 11:38 for the relevant segment.

 

[RuneGloves]

This video contains a scenario where the British take the Cape and use it as a penal colony in place of or in addition to Australia. Skip to 11:38 for the relevant segment.

I was surprised at that he described it as a white majority, geneally thought that was very unlikely for southern Africa.

 

[Kellan Sullivan]

May the British send convicts to the Cape instead of Australia? I've heard that the British were initially looking at Africa for a penal colony, and the Cape would be the best place imaginable for an African penal colony.

The Cape told the British where to sod off with that idea twenty years later, so how would Britain get it right in 1781?

 

[raharris1973]

Maybe Freetown gets established at the Cape, or its fringes, instead of at Sierra Leone, twould be healthier for evacuees from North America like the King's Ethiopian Regiment veterans, than tropical Sierra Leone was.

 

[Vinization]

@Madhukar_Shah

Would the British have an easier time fighting Mysore if Suffren is stopped before he reaches the Indian Ocean? Could they take Malabar, or at least keep control of Mangalore?

 

[Vinization]

May the British send convicts to the Cape instead of Australia? I've heard that the British were initially looking at Africa for a penal colony, and the Cape would be the best place imaginable for an African penal colony.

So Australia may not be settled to the same extent? One thing's for sure, the Boers might start their trek earlier.

 

[Gabingston]

So Australia may not be settled to the same extent? One thing's for sure, the Boers might start their trek earlier.

I'm pretty sure they'd trek earlier, especially when the British start sending thousands of convicts down there.

 

[Vinization]

I'm pretty sure they'd trek earlier, especially when the British start sending thousands of convicts down there.

Another thing that I forgot to ask in the earlier post, could some other European power settle Australia? I personally doubt it, given the Royal Navy and all, but still.

 

[Gabingston]

Another thing that I forgot to ask in the earlier post, could some other European power settle Australia? I personally doubt it, given the Royal Navy and all, but still.

France had been exploring Australia around the same time as the British, so they're the most likely target. I'm assuming the French Revolution would still occur in the scenario laid out (since the POD is during the American Revolution), but they could nab part of Australia (most likely Western Australia) or New Zealand after the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars were over if the British are less focused on Australia.

 

[Tomislav Addai]

This could result in the Great Trek happening earlier, with more Boers moving inland. The result would be a Cape that would be overwhelmingly anglophone, while having a slightly stronger Afrikaner presence in Orage Free State and Transvaal

 

[Simreeve]

Obviously we use it to re-house the American Loyalists after losing the 13 Colonies, and they merge with the Boers -- and later on with the losers from some other wars in the Americas, too -- to form a new people called the 'Draka'...

 

[Gabingston]

This could result in the Great Trek happening earlier, with more Boers moving inland. The result would be a Cape that would be overwhelmingly anglophone, while having a slightly stronger Afrikaner presence in Orange Free State and Transvaal

That's my hunch too. A mostly Anglophone, possibly White majority Cape with more Afrikaners in the interior.