If Britain had won the war of 1812, what would Britain demand?

If this was to come about I doubt the capital wold still be Washington, neither Baltimore or Philadelphia are great places either. So somewhere down south?

Why wouldn't it be Philadelphia? They had a vote after the sack of Washington about moving it there in OTL that was only narrowly defeated.
 
Instead of these endless debates about whether the British actually did "win",
the one book I have on the war (written by a real historian/teacher of American and Canadian history) basically says that the war was a tie, but the US won the peace. I find it hard to argue with that.
 
Also, as I think more on this, I doubt Tecumseh's Confederacy would last that long, maybe a few decades until it eventually is absorbed into Canada, since it would basically be a British protectorate anyways
So would it end up assimilated, or would it be a North American Raj?
 
So would it end up assimilated, or would it be a North American Raj?

It would look like what happened with every other tribe in Canada. They're lands get purchased and they eventually get ground down through demographics. They might be able to negotiate a better deal with the British with greater amounts of land cash, perhaps the right to vote for some of the men.

But in all likelihood it would like Upper Canada 2.0.
 
the one book I have on the war (written by a real historian/teacher of American and Canadian history) basically says that the war was a tie, but the US won the peace. I find it hard to argue with that.

My canadian history teachers at university once told me that it confirmed the Treaty of Paris. By that she didn't meant that it merely recreated the situation prevailing after it but that it extinguished both sides hopes of wrestling out of the terms of the treaty they didn't like and made them accept the situation it had created as somewhat permanent.

For most of the 30 years separating the end of the War of Independance and the War of 1812 the American had pretty clear design on Canada and where therefore unsatisfied with the situation created by Paris. Similarly, the British didn't really accept that the americans where now in control of the present-day Midwest and keep playing games in the region, keeping diplomatic relations alive with the local amerindians and selling weapons to those who opposed to the US, they weren't satisfied with the situation created by the Treaty of Paris either.

After the War of 1812 you see a pretty step decline in pro-Canada annexation rethoric, it would come back a bit after the American civil war but it was mainly only angry noises, the US had seen how dificult such a goal would be to attain and how much risk would have to be taken for it. The British, for their part, had seen their main indigenous friends being destroyed at the Battle of the Thames and how having a somewhat hostile US on their flanks could be problematic, they therefore abandoned their politics in the Midwest and let the amerindians fend alone in front of the american juggernaught.

The US didn't really won the war but, since they didn't have Canada at the start of the war aniway, they got out of it in a better geopolitical position that they entered it, despite the financial problems they still had in the short run.
 
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There was an actual vote to move it to Philadelphia (that nearly passed), any push to move it to Raleigh will be met with fierce opposition in New England and much of the north.

Maybe I didn't put across what I meant. Washington got burnt OTL, as the OP said "If Britain won", my take is Britain won bigger. Having a capitol up north makes it an easy target. If Washington OTL why not Phili next time round?
 
Maybe I didn't put across what I meant. Washington got burnt OTL, as the OP said "If Britain won", my take is Britain won bigger. Having a capitol up north makes it an easy target. If Washington OTL why not Phili next time round?

I was objecting to Raleigh. Philadelphia is the logical choice, but anything in the south will be met with massive public outcry from northern states.
 
After the War of 1812 you see a pretty step decline in pro-Canada annexation rethoric
yes, the book mentioned that too; basically that the war solidified the idea of Canada being a really separate place and that the border was an actual international border (before the war, apparently both sides regarded it as more theoretical than actual)...
 
In my Napoleon TL the USA gets utterly flattened by an angry Britain (who aren't happy because it allies with France). You can read the TL for the full details, but I'll put a summary here:

  • Florida stays Spanish and then becomes a Creek state.
  • USA loses control of Louisiana purchase apart from Louisiana state. Mostly stays Indian lands until the 1830s (but by that point other TL events have altered things here)
  • Tecumseh gets west half of Indiana and stuff west of it, roughly to the Mississippi
  • Michigan and Maine go to Canada/Britain.
  • Everything north of 42nd parallel and east of Great Lakes is British
Those are pretty much the severest terms I would believe possible.

- BNC
 
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