Italy buys Danish Virgin Islands

How likely would that be?
Not very. Since this is in After 1900 the US would likely invoke the Monroe Doctrine and block the sale, using force to seize the land if necessary.


When and why?
I'm guessing in 1916 when Denmark sold their West Indian Islands to the US which became the US Virgin Islands. As for the why the only reason I can think of is that like Eritrea and Somalia it's to gain colonies for prestige purposes. The problem of course is that if it is the 1916 sale Koprulu Mustafa Pasha was referring to the Italians were rather distracted at the time with the Great War going on.
 
Not very. Since this is in After 1900 the US would likely invoke the Monroe Doctrine and block the sale, using force to seize the land if necessary.
I believe that tranfer of colonies between powers was allowed according to the (original) monroe doctrine.
 
I believe that tranfer of colonies between powers was allowed according to the (original) monroe doctrine.

The standard work on the "no transfer" principle is John A. Logan, Jr., No Transfer: An American Security Principle (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1961). Unfortunately I don't have it with me now, and my soc.history.what-if post summarizing it is no longer available (thanks, Google!) but a few things I do recall about it: (1) The principle actually antedated the Monroe Doctrine--for example in the early Republic there was always concern that a weak Spain might sell some of her New World possessions (above all, Cuba) to a strong Britain; (2) the principle was eventually associated by most Americans with the Doctrine, though Monroe never mentioned it in his famous 1823 message (IIRC, Seward was the first Secretary of State to explicitly link them) and (3) the US did not consistently try to enforce the principle; it did not, for example, object when Sweden gave St. Barthélemy back to France in 1878.

With regard to the Danish West Indies, the US was interested in them as far back as the 1860's and especially after it began work in an isthmian canal, it would probably object to Denmark's selling the islands to any stronger power (even Italy was stronger than Denmark)...
 
Very, very, very unlikely.

Why would the Danes sell to the Italians and why would they buy? Italy had no interests in the Caribbean.
It's more likely (but not plausible) that the isles would be attempted to be sold to Germany. The Virgin Isles were mentioned as a bargaining chip in the secret negotiations between Denmark and Germany during WW1 about a border revision in Schleswig in exchange for the Danes joining the Central Powers.
 
Very, very, very unlikely.

Why would the Danes sell to the Italians and why would they buy? Italy had no interests in the Caribbean.
It's more likely (but not plausible) that the isles would be attempted to be sold to Germany. The Virgin Isles were mentioned as a bargaining chip in the secret negotiations between Denmark and Germany during WW1 about a border revision in Schleswig in exchange for the Danes joining the Central Powers.

War Plan Black
 
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