Japan joins the Crimean War, conquers Alaska

Could Japan being granted Alaska be a way of bypassing the Monroe Doctrine? If Britain tries to take Alaska for themselves and the Americans object perhaps Japan could be chosen as a neutral party to administer the territory, who both sides regard as a military non-entity that can be slapped down in a real fight unlike Russia?
 
@Magnum is welcome to contradict me, but I read it as them straight up buying ships and advisors from Western powers and being given some useless frozen land as a reward for providing manpower to the Pacific theater of the conflict. It's unlikely but not really unreasonable. They're acting more as a proxy or puppet for the British than OTL Japan ever would have. They don't really need to be "modernized" to land 2000 soldiers instead of 300 at Petropavlovsk. Imagine Siam being granted some land concessions in exchange for helping Britain in a war against Burma.


Well my biggest thinking is getting Alaska is a bit of a stretch. The HBC is right next door, which would make it questionable that Japan winds up with Alaska. My thinking is you could probably get a Japanese Alaska later on in history rather than right then in 1856.
 
Well my biggest thinking is getting Alaska is a bit of a stretch. The HBC is right next door, which would make it questionable that Japan winds up with Alaska. My thinking is you could probably get a Japanese Alaska later on in history rather than right then in 1856.

It's one of the more plausible links in this chain of implausible events, really. There isn't much of value in Alaska outside the Panhandle at this point, and the HBC got that. Maybe have the treaty giving sovereignty to Japan give the HBC some kind of exclusive fur trading rights in case the interior is ever developed? As it is, all you can really access is Cook Inlet and the Prince William Sound. OTL the interior only was developed from the Yukon following the Klondike Gold Rush.

I tend to agree with you that anyone drawing up the treaty maps would rather have a nice solid British North America than some odd Asian appendage at the end, but this isn't really a significant concession. The British government might just see a potential for some fishing villages, which is worth something to Japan and nothing to Britain.
 
If Japan gets Alaska in the 1850s, they need to transport some folks their, probably as well as their boats to even begin fishing. In 1850s Japan fishing is not factory ships sending flash frozen or iced food back across the Pacific, it is oar or sail powered boats that bring their catch in daily. In order to send any seafood back to Japan it would have to be preserved for the long voyage which means salted (no refrigeration, canning not readily out there for seafood except as a luxury now) and certainly no infrastructure in Alaska in the 1850s for this. Basically Japan does not need salted fish from Alaska at this point in time - the money could be better spent on imporving the fishing fleet at home.

In 1867 when the USA bought Alaska it was considered "Seward's Folly" and more or less worthless, only the fact it was close to the lower USA and it kept it from going to someone else was a positive for the Americans. For the Japanese there is literally nothing positive about getting Alaska.
 
ASB.

Want to have earlier Meiji? Sure, doable.

Want Japanese Alaska? Sure, doable, but not during the Crimean War, not even with earlier modernization. Just have Seward refuse the Alaska Purchase and then Japan take it during the Russo-Japanese War. If your Japan is modernized earlier, you can have the war with Russia earlier, but definitely not in the 1850s.

Alaska is also useless to the Japanese, they would just sell it to Britain for some ships or something.
 
That seems a bit early for Japan to display such towards foreign interventions, especially when Europeans, British and French alike are ridden with racial prejudices and condescension towards Asian power, even for Japan who has yet to prove itself a partner as it did after the first Sino-Japanese war.

As for Alaska, the HBC wasn't interested in the region as long as the Americans weren't too. But, in this time before the civil war, it looked like the Americans were seeking a pretext to 'renegotiate' the Oregon settlement, and even what could look as a slight violation of the Monroe doctrine could set afire the powderkeg.
 
It's one of the more plausible links in this chain of implausible events, really. There isn't much of value in Alaska outside the Panhandle at this point, and the HBC got that. Maybe have the treaty giving sovereignty to Japan give the HBC some kind of exclusive fur trading rights in case the interior is ever developed? As it is, all you can really access is Cook Inlet and the Prince William Sound. OTL the interior only was developed from the Yukon following the Klondike Gold Rush.

I tend to agree with you that anyone drawing up the treaty maps would rather have a nice solid British North America than some odd Asian appendage at the end, but this isn't really a significant concession. The British government might just see a potential for some fishing villages, which is worth something to Japan and nothing to Britain.

Possibly, I agree it isn't out and out implausible. It just seems a little beyond even a more developed Japan's capabilities in 1854 I think. Neither power would have much use for Alaska, but Britain seems better placed to exploit it.

It's a very interesting scenario I agree, but it does stretch my suspension of disbelief a tad. I think Japan should probably be claiming Alaska a little later is all, or maybe its status shouldn't be nailed down so neatly at the end of this conflict.

ASB.

Want to have earlier Meiji? Sure, doable.

Want Japanese Alaska? Sure, doable, but not during the Crimean War, not even with earlier modernization. Just have Seward refuse the Alaska Purchase and then Japan take it during the Russo-Japanese War. If your Japan is modernized earlier, you can have the war with Russia earlier, but definitely not in the 1850s.

Alaska is also useless to the Japanese, they would just sell it to Britain for some ships or something.

It isn't ASB, just stretches belief a tad. It's an excellent scenario, but I think it pulls ahead too fast for the abilities of the Japanese to exploit easily.
 
Thank you all for the responses - honestly, for whatever reason, I expected a lot more hostility, but this was fun :)
 
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