British Empire becomes incorporated?

With a POD in 1900 which parts of the Empire could be incorporated into the United kingdom and why weren't they. I'm not talking abut an imperial federation where Australia and Canada etc get representaion in Westminster but rather something like Frances overseas departments where smaller colonies can send MPs to Westminster and are an integral part of the UK. I think the obvious choices would be Malta and Bermuda. At a push maybe Newfoundland and Hong Kong? Though Newfound would be where I would say the upper limit would be in terms of size.
 
It would have to be small in population so countries like Somaliland, Sierra Leone, and Gambia could be incorporated
 
You can basically discount anything larger than a city-state that's on a mainland; anti-colonial sentiments are too strong a current (Unless we butterfly away the fall of 2nd wave Imperialism via shortening/eliminating the World Wars) So islands are your best bet. Hong Kong can't be incorperated, being leased, but Singapore and Malta both seem viable. I could also see the Maldives
 
There was a referendum OTL about Malta joining the UK. Long-term maybe some or most of the West Indies. (Maybe not Jamaica and Guyana though.) Maybe Mauritius. I suppose it's possible that existing British Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies, and Gibraltar could be given representation at Westminster (whether or not they're formally incorporated into the UK). Gibraltar might be complicated though bc of the dispute with Spain.
 
It should be possible to hold onto more of the Caribbean islands if the will
Is there to do so, would have to be economically viable though.
 
I am contemplating a non-belligerent Britain in the Great War, a thing that should do far less damage to colonialism and allow the British Empire to soldier on far longer. At bottom I believe that British political ideals will undermine the Empire, each colony will discover independence and pursue it. That said the keystone is India, it gives reason for most all the bits necessary to protect the sea lanes that lead to trade in India, gain trade in Asia or the Americas and facilitate the exploitation of Africa. The Empire can last so long as India is part of it.

Ireland is the first step in breaking the Empire, as its first conquest the Irish want independence, home rule achieved might moderate things enough to keep the remainder closer to London. But each "white" Dominion will want greater autonomy and then India and each puzzle piece follows. The only pieces that stay are those that cannot fend for themselves and why does Britain want them? Isle of Man makes sense, Zanzibar? Look at Malta, the British really do not want it. It is a dependency that made sense with British bottoms passing through Suez but as air power supplants sea power the need for foreign bases lessens. Places like Malta stop being worth the subsidy. Trade will reorient towards Europe and the Americas, Asia too might replace India, the Empire will evolve. I see a better Commonwealth.

What is kept? I like to craft a Singapore that replaces Hong Kong and is kept as part of Britain. Aden makes a good stop over for air travel, Gibraltar is obvious if only now a tax haven, perhaps Malta does get absorbed here since the Empire persists long enough to keep the trade links active? More islands, outposts and strategic bases likely get incorporated here. The big differences should be the closer linkages between the bigger pieces, the crafting of independent yet bound nations in Asia or Africa, places like Malaya.
 
Well France had delegates to the national assembly from W Africa and the Caribbean

So a corollary would include Ghana, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, and I would imagine the islands would be federalised - Windwards, Leewards etc

Beyond that, well Bermuda and Gibraltar and Malta are in the included zone
 
I see the usual suspects, Zanzibar, Singapore, some of the West Indies, Newfoundland, Malta, Aden, and various Pacific islands have been mentioned.

I'll add Lagos, which prior to 1906 was a crown colony separate from the rest of Nigeria. I could easily see it develop into the Hong Kong of West Africa.

I'm also curious as the prospects of the other areas of the Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penag, Dinding).
 
You can basically discount anything larger than a city-state that's on a mainland; anti-colonial sentiments are too strong a current (Unless we butterfly away the fall of 2nd wave Imperialism via shortening/eliminating the World Wars) So islands are your best bet. Hong Kong can't be incorperated, being leased, but Singapore and Malta both seem viable. I could also see the Maldives

The People's Republic of China was so desperate for recognition in its earliest years that I could see them agreeing to recognize a permanent cession in exchange for Britain pushing for their legitimacy.

-----------

Gambia
Sierra Leone
Malta
Cyprus
Maldives
Seychelles
Socotra
Mauritius
Gibraltar
Nicobar and Andaman Islands
Aden

Various Pacific Islands

Singapore
Hong Kong
Labuan
Bahamas
Trinidad
Tobago
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
Leeward Islands (Anguila, Antigua, Barbua, Virgin Islands, Dominica, Montserrat)
Windward Islands (Grenada, Saint Lucia, Grenadines)
Jamaica
Guyana
Falklands
Somaliland
Newfoundland-Labrador
St Helena (and associated islands)


Continued protectorates:
South Arabia
Zanzibar
Trucial States
Qatar
Bahrain
Brunei
Malaya
Kuwait
 
An incorporated British Empire could only work if the imperial parliament is organized on a one province, one vote basis to correct for imbalances in population. The British would probably set up its "imperial parliament" as the MPs in the British Parliament, plus one MIP (Member Imperial Parliament) for each colony like Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Some smaller colonies would have to be consolidated into larger districts. The non-Jamaican British Caribbean islands would be collectively represented by one representative, and the vast, underpopulated African colonies of the empire would have to be grouped together in "incorporation". There would still be sizable decentralization Australia or Canada-style. For instance, Botswana would probably be grouped with the Rhodesias under a Southern African imperial district.
It would be preposterous to give all of British India only one MIP, but it could be split into around a dozen large regions to balance out its demographic weight.
 
Top