Could there have been a Canadian War of Independence ?

What would it have taken for the British territories in what is now Canada to take up arms against the British Empire ? Could it ever have happened ?
 
Well it could be said it was Canada fighting to be independent of the US, which is possibly what Red meant.;)

Steve

Indeed! It also helped forge a specific Canadian identity, so you could argue they won independence from both to a degree.

Good to see you Steve, haven't seen you post in a while. :)
 

birdboy2000

Banned
US intervention in the Patriots' Rebellion on the Canadian side seems like the best PoD, but it's still hard. (And it would require US intervention; there aren't enough Canadians at the time to win independence without help even if the whole place was united in support of the rebellion, which it wasn't.)

The two problems I see are that much of English Canada was settled by loyalist refugees from the US, who were, well... loyal, and that once responsible government passes, Canadians are ruled with a very light hand from Britain, and that doesn't lend itself to alienating the Canadian population.
 
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I do wonder if US intervention in the rebellions could have spelt 1812 2.0. I mean a good chunk of the rebels would probably actually stop rebelling when the US moves in out of fear of being annexed, and a foreign incursion is a lot worse than a few angry Scots and Frenchmen from London's view point.
 
Indeed! It also helped forge a specific Canadian identity, so you could argue they won independence from both to a degree.

Good to see you Steve, haven't seen you post in a while. :)

The Red

I've been rather busy [and lazy] so largely just keeping up with the threads I've subscribed to. Trying to get a lot more active in looking at new threads but means a lot of the longer one's I'll never get around to reading.:(

Steve
 
I do wonder if US intervention in the rebellions could have spelt 1812 2.0. I mean a good chunk of the rebels would probably actually stop rebelling when the US moves in out of fear of being annexed, and a foreign incursion is a lot worse than a few angry Scots and Frenchmen from London's view point.

Beedok

It might well be the case and would definitely be a factor in concentrating minds in both loyalists [plus British government] and rebels in Canada. I don't think Britain was that busy elsewhere at the time so what was a minor internal clash could suddenly become a serious crisis.

Steve
 
Well, technically after the US Revolution and by 1812 the population of Loyalists had become a minority to American immigrants to Canada that did have a equal sized Patriot faction but the majority just did not care for either side. The Loyalist Elite went pretty far persecuting the Late Comers and if the US had not invited they would not have alienated the Late Comer majority.
 
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