Channel Islands annexed by France

What if Britain and France agreed after napoleonic wars to exchange Channel Islands for Islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The British king might say he is a Saxon king and doesn't need the title of Duke in Normandy. It would also help reconciliation between Britain and France. Both sets of islands were of little importance or value and hard to defend.
 
I doubt if this would alter the world hugely. I can see a situation in future conflicts in France that Britain may reoccupy the Channel Islands. In a more modern context it would change fishing rights in Canada.

But I doubt if the British would've done this. Despite wanting Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the early 19th Century, the islands were barely inhabited after the Napoleonic War and had a crippled fishing industry, while the Channel Islands were both populated and of nominal strategic value in the defense of the channel, which as we know is a deep psychological motivator for the British.

Not to mention that their was little interest in national reconciliation between states after Napoleon. What little gratitude the Bourbons offer was reconciliation enough.
 
Channel Islands didn't really provided a clear advantage for either an insular or continental power in Europe. That various french rulers barely overlooked the possibility to take them, while you had a whole and long tendency to take over each possible harbour or inner strong places along the Channel seems to be quite telling : as far as I know, some of these islands (not considered as a whole entierly until recently) were indeed took over by French or French mercenaries but merely as an exchange trade.

Don't get me wrong : I could see a french conquest of some of these islands (again, maybe not the whole) less trough plan or interest, but sheer accidental opportunism. A TL where Yorkists are unable to take back Jersey; or a LT where Stuarts manage to somehow keep these under their authority but de facto under French protectorate.

But I don't really see why it would be an active goal, or how significant it could change even local history.
 
One thing I thought of as a possibility is if one of the French invasion of England ever got off the ground, they could occupy the islands and just not leave them after the treaty until Britain didn't care anymore and just hand over the official control, or they could can it through a loophole in the treaty.
 
Is the exchange I mentioned a possibility after the Congress of Vienna?
I don't see why it would happen : while Channel Islands were strategically unimportant they had a symbolical importance for British crown and history.
Conversly, St Pierre et Miquelon was relatively unimportant strategically before the XXth century, while having a relatively mportant symbolical role.
 
I don't see why it would happen : while Channel Islands were strategically unimportant they had a symbolical importance for British crown and history.
Conversly, St Pierre et Miquelon was relatively unimportant strategically before the XXth century, while having a relatively mportant symbolical role.
I say the British king could give them up and the title of duke of Normandy, to further help reconciliation with France and to say in the begining of the heyday of romantic nationalism that they are Saxon kings, not Normans. Didn't know the other islands had symbolic meaning.
 
I say the British king could give them up and the title of duke of Normandy
And he could as well proclaim himself God-Emperor of Mars for all the good it would do (which admittedly, he might have done one or twice). Even if he suddenly becomes quite sound of mind, the Parliment would certainly have a collective heart attack and override immediatly this, while declaring "in fact, he's still insane".
It asked for decades of war and an armistice with a France-on-steroids to have the largely abandoned and unconsequential claim of French throne abandoned : the ducal title is certainly not to be abandoned in the wake of victory.
and to say in the begining of the heyday of romantic nationalism that they are Saxon kings, not Normans.
Giving the most contentious part of their legitimacy, on the ethnic side, was they were Germans, they would have more interest abandoning Hanover following your logic.

Didn't know the other islands had symbolic meaning.
Mostly as the last remnent of New France.
 
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