yourworstnightmare
Banned
At that time Austria had Atlantic access, so it would be easier. I think Austria even seriously tried to get the Nicobars in the 1700s.
Corsica, Cyprus and Gibraltar after a CP victory
- Thread starter Berus
- Start date
The Habsburgs had an East India company operating from Oostende (Belgium). They even had a number of trading posts in SE Asia. The Dutch and English forced it to seize its operations.
yourworstnightmare
Banned
The farther back you go, the more important it becomes. Basically before the Suez Canal you needed to get to the Atlantic anyways, and if you only had Mediterranean ports it meant sailing past Gibraltar.
So Atlantic access made all the difference in the world.
It isn't just about the Atlantic. The colonizing powers of the 20th crntury could be divided in 3 categories: powers who had been colonizing since the 17th century and started building their Empires from existing trading posts, upstart new nations willing to grab anything they could get their greedy little hands on (Germany, Italy) or crazy Belgium kings occupying a piece of Africa because the big powers do not want the others to have it. Austria doesn't fit any of these profiles.
oh well, there goes my dream of a austrian colony... If everyone says it is ASB, then i guess i better let it go, even though i dont really consider it ASB, unlikley, but not out of the realm of possibility.
But didnt Karl wanted to cede a trentino for somalia ? IIRC someone on this forum said something like this once.
But didnt Karl wanted to cede a trentino for somalia ? IIRC someone on this forum said something like this once.
We get try at colonies for two reason, first it was strategical and economical important like Tunisia at least till France snatched it and for booster the national pride of a very young nation and still we can get the only thing left over by the others and even that has been hard, don't expect less as even the rest of the big boy club had their debacle. And all that because Italy is a nation with a long sea tradition and good ports. A-H at the contrary can be easily blocked like OTL WWI and his only good port is too near your not so friendly neighbourgh.
Want a colonial empire? At least try to get some sane relationships with the nation who border you with a lot more naval infrastructure and who can control a key naval access to your sea lane
Cook
Banned
Cyrenaica was, until 1911, Ottoman territory, had been for five hundred years and had no significant population. Greece trying to make a claim for such a territory would be nonsensical. The Greeks would really be only interested in territory in Albania, Serbia, Thrace, Rhodes and the Dodecanese, or Anatolia. The problem with all except Albania and Serbia is that the other Central Powers states of Bulgaria and Turkey already have a claim to them; this being the Balkans, that would not necessarily stop a Greek claim, but it would prompt another round of fighting almost immediately.
It is also worth remembering that you would be unlikely to have a single, overall peace settlement with the spoils distributed to the satisfaction of all; the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk resulted in most of the territories lost by Russia being taken directly or indirectly by Germany and very little going to the Ottomans.
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That's true, but for the CP to partition significant parts of the Med you'd need a major CP victory. This, in turn, would mean that Germany and AH would not necessarily engage in separate peace treaties with single countries to get them out of the war as soon as possible. The war must end with a major CP win, and then all countries will meet and discuss what they want.
The Dodecanese was also Ottoman territory on paper. Prior to WW1 Italy was supposed to occupy it only until it fully gained control of Libya, as a guarantee that the Turks would not come back to bite them while they had their pants down. With a CP victory it goes back to Turkey, even if Italy is neutral.
Austria has far more and far bigger fishes to fry in its inmediate vicinity than to care about Gibraltar. If it is so preoccupied in gaining a way out the Mediterranean (which it isn't) to, say, sell goods in China through its Shanghai concession or whatever it will be enough to have Egypt independent or Ottoman and Suez under "international" (read German/Austrian/Turkish) control.
If Italy stay neutral the Dodecanese will probably stay italian...Germany offered this in exchange for mantaining neutrality
Spain will most likely remain neutral to the end of the war. Supposing the Germans do have the power to wrestle Gibraltar off, and care to do so, they could make a post-war deal that hands Gibraltar back to Spain in exchange for Spain relinquising its claim to northern Morocco and repudiating the convention of 1912. Morocco becomes independent again (since France obviously is not going to be allowed to keep it) and is open to German exports. Spain will insist on keeping its mining concessions in the Rif, most of which predated the partition of Morocco anyway.
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Cook
Banned
The Germans offered the Italians a group of islands that the Italians already possessed in return for Italy remaining neutral? No wonder the Entente won the bidding war.
Well the German offered diplomatic recognition of the italian possession so they can keep it without problem and Albania (this after offered Tunisia in case of their victory).
The important negotiation were with A-H.