This is an idea that's fascinated me for a while now. First, of course, we need to get Alaska out of American hands. On previous threads on this topic, the POD was usually Johnson and Seward are killed in the conspiracy after the Civil War and so there is no purchase, but based on the Wikipedia article on the Alaska Purchase (I know, I know), buying Alaska wasn't just Seward's idea and was more popular than often thought. Still, Congress, feuding with Andrew Johnson, refused to appropriate the funds until mid 1868, when Johnson's impeachment trial ended.
Either if by Johnson being convicted and the treaty falling through in face of more pressing matters at home or by Johnson and Seward being assassinated and the new government being uninterested in negotiating a treaty in the first place, let's posit that Russia reaches a deal to sell the territory to the other rising power in the Pacific, Japan, in the 1870s or 1880s (Possibly as part of a deal that nets them a favorable deal with Japan in more valuable Manchuria and Korea?).
So, we get to the meat of the question. What I'm really interested is what Alaska look like under Japanese rule and to the present day. Some points;
1: The big one, as it likely determines if Alaska could stay Japanese to the present day or even if they could acquire it at all; effects on foreign relations. Does Britain still seek an alliance with Japan, or due to holding Alaska is Japan seen as a threat to British interests and Britain instead finds other allies or remains in "Splendid Isolation"? Given that it's been said here that the Monroe Doctrine was in part enforced by Britain and was in line with British interests as much as it was with American ones, if Britain is satisfied that a Japanese Alaska is fine by them, will American opinions amount to much more than hot air?
2: Relations with other groups in the colony. What will the relationship of the Japanese colonists be with the natives? With any remaining Russians? (Although given the Russian didn't really settle, just establish trading posts, there probably wouldn't be many if any who stay, even given a few more years of Russian rule) With American or Canadian settlers and prospectors?
3: A (Very) brief look reveals Japan apparently had a problem with overpopulation and rural poverty and unrest in the early 1880s, but, while the allure of starting over in a new land with untapped opportunities will presumably be appealing, will Alaska in particular be? It's cold, far away, and presumably most of the crops Japanese farmers are familiar with will not do well in the local climate, although at this time Japan is I believe encouraging adoption of "Western" crops. Also, Buckwheat, a major Japanese staple, seems to do well in cold, mountainous terrain, including the Tibetan Plateau. Would it fair well in the Mat-Su Valley or on the Kenai Peninsula?
Of course, eventually, gold and later oil will make this somewhat a moot point, and attracting immigrants regardless of the ability to establish one's self as a successful farmer.
4. What influence does holding Alaska have on Japanese culture and identity? In OTL, after annexing Taiwan and receiving the South Pacific Mandate, Japanese scholars began looking for clues linking the Japanese people to the Austronesians. With Alaska part of the empire, do theories linking the Japanese to Siberian and other North Pacific cultures arise? If so, what effect does this have on the Ainu closer to home, who may well be related to the Paleo-Siberian and Amerindian cultures? Especially given Japan was for a time seen as a champion of non-white peoples in general (See the Pacific Movement of the Eastern World), what would Native Americans think of such a theory?
5: Assuming Japan doesn't get end up in a major conflict with America or Britain, which would certainly result in Alaska being lost, and enough Japanese immigrants go to Alaska to prevent it going independent or joining Canada, what does it look like today? Certainly it will be economically valuable based on it's vast energy reserves and the metropole's appetite for seafood, and given this will be a stronger and more assertive Japan than OTL, military bases are also a likely contributor the local economy (I could see the vast wilderness being home to military proving grounds; if this Japan gets the bomb, they may test it up there), but what else? What would the ethnic mix look like? How many people would live there? What might some of the cities be like, and what would they be named? What relationship does the government in Tokyo and the Prefectural government have with the Aleut, Athabaskans, Inuit, et al? What is the relationship between the people and government of Alaska with those of British Columbia and the Yukon?
Not for a TL or anything, just curious. And I'm still a bit of an AH novice and not very well versed in Japanese history, so please go easy on me.
Either if by Johnson being convicted and the treaty falling through in face of more pressing matters at home or by Johnson and Seward being assassinated and the new government being uninterested in negotiating a treaty in the first place, let's posit that Russia reaches a deal to sell the territory to the other rising power in the Pacific, Japan, in the 1870s or 1880s (Possibly as part of a deal that nets them a favorable deal with Japan in more valuable Manchuria and Korea?).
So, we get to the meat of the question. What I'm really interested is what Alaska look like under Japanese rule and to the present day. Some points;
1: The big one, as it likely determines if Alaska could stay Japanese to the present day or even if they could acquire it at all; effects on foreign relations. Does Britain still seek an alliance with Japan, or due to holding Alaska is Japan seen as a threat to British interests and Britain instead finds other allies or remains in "Splendid Isolation"? Given that it's been said here that the Monroe Doctrine was in part enforced by Britain and was in line with British interests as much as it was with American ones, if Britain is satisfied that a Japanese Alaska is fine by them, will American opinions amount to much more than hot air?
2: Relations with other groups in the colony. What will the relationship of the Japanese colonists be with the natives? With any remaining Russians? (Although given the Russian didn't really settle, just establish trading posts, there probably wouldn't be many if any who stay, even given a few more years of Russian rule) With American or Canadian settlers and prospectors?
3: A (Very) brief look reveals Japan apparently had a problem with overpopulation and rural poverty and unrest in the early 1880s, but, while the allure of starting over in a new land with untapped opportunities will presumably be appealing, will Alaska in particular be? It's cold, far away, and presumably most of the crops Japanese farmers are familiar with will not do well in the local climate, although at this time Japan is I believe encouraging adoption of "Western" crops. Also, Buckwheat, a major Japanese staple, seems to do well in cold, mountainous terrain, including the Tibetan Plateau. Would it fair well in the Mat-Su Valley or on the Kenai Peninsula?
Of course, eventually, gold and later oil will make this somewhat a moot point, and attracting immigrants regardless of the ability to establish one's self as a successful farmer.
4. What influence does holding Alaska have on Japanese culture and identity? In OTL, after annexing Taiwan and receiving the South Pacific Mandate, Japanese scholars began looking for clues linking the Japanese people to the Austronesians. With Alaska part of the empire, do theories linking the Japanese to Siberian and other North Pacific cultures arise? If so, what effect does this have on the Ainu closer to home, who may well be related to the Paleo-Siberian and Amerindian cultures? Especially given Japan was for a time seen as a champion of non-white peoples in general (See the Pacific Movement of the Eastern World), what would Native Americans think of such a theory?
5: Assuming Japan doesn't get end up in a major conflict with America or Britain, which would certainly result in Alaska being lost, and enough Japanese immigrants go to Alaska to prevent it going independent or joining Canada, what does it look like today? Certainly it will be economically valuable based on it's vast energy reserves and the metropole's appetite for seafood, and given this will be a stronger and more assertive Japan than OTL, military bases are also a likely contributor the local economy (I could see the vast wilderness being home to military proving grounds; if this Japan gets the bomb, they may test it up there), but what else? What would the ethnic mix look like? How many people would live there? What might some of the cities be like, and what would they be named? What relationship does the government in Tokyo and the Prefectural government have with the Aleut, Athabaskans, Inuit, et al? What is the relationship between the people and government of Alaska with those of British Columbia and the Yukon?
Not for a TL or anything, just curious. And I'm still a bit of an AH novice and not very well versed in Japanese history, so please go easy on me.
