Japanese Philippines

Look at the triple intervention in OTL. Europeans weren't a priori kind to Japan meddling in China like one of them, nevermind going after European colonies (and Christian majority ones, no less).

Maybe if you have Japan getting an understanding with Russia, rather than Britain (so you have to get rid of Nick II or his assasination attempt in Japan), and they basically use the Philippines as a way to take the Japanese's attention from China and Korea - not much different from how Britain used Spain to get the US' attention off Canada. Of course this has considerable knock-on effects, making the British distrusting of the Japanese, and far less amicable to Russia in the lead up to *WWI (no agreement to divide Persia in spheres of influence, more paranoia about India being threatened, maybe continued efforts to prop up the Ottomans but there is the recent Bulgarian and Armenian massacres to take into account).

Uh. Get rid of Kaiser Bill and you might have a German-British approach!
 
Look at the triple intervention in OTL. Europeans weren't a priori kind to Japan meddling in China like one of them, nevermind going after European colonies (and Christian majority ones, no less).

They did nothing with Taiwan, despite the fierce local resistence and geopolitical significance, was the Philippines more important for anyone but France?
 
If it were to happen, I'd say Japan would have had to have made its move as close to 1815 as possible when Spain was occupied by Napoleon's forces and wouldn't have been able to militarily object. I wonder how many Filipinos c.1815 actually considered Napoleon to be someone to spur them to independence. Of course, news took so long to travel back and forth from the other side of the world in those pre-telegraph times that by the time they'd heard about Spain's occupation, it would have been almost over.
 

Lateknight

Banned
They did nothing with Taiwan, despite the fierce local resistence and geopolitical significance, was the Philippines more important for anyone but France?

I think sort of was but that's not a bad thing the Europeans wouldn't be happy that wasn't there country that got the islands but at least it wasn't there rivals.
 
You need to have Japan open up earlier. There was a lot of fear in the first few decades of Japan bring taken over. There was a push to learn western technology but the traditional faction won out after 1839. So I dont think it would be ASB if Japan opened up two decades earlier. The best time period to obtain the Phillipines would be the late 1860s just after the ACW. Does anyone know what Spain was like in 1860 to 1880.
 
If it were to happen, I'd say Japan would have had to have made its move as close to 1815 as possible when Spain was occupied by Napoleon's forces and wouldn't have been able to militarily object. I wonder how many Filipinos c.1815 actually considered Napoleon to be someone to spur them to independence. Of course, news took so long to travel back and forth from the other side of the world in those pre-telegraph times that by the time they'd heard about Spain's occupation, it would have been almost over.

hmm...There was a big political upheaval in Japan during the Napoleonic wars when a British ship showed up to attack the Dutch trading post in Nagasaki.
IOTL this incident heavily promoted Japan to move towards opening up and start modernising their military.
I guess it is possible it could lead to Japan fully opening a lot earilier but I don't know what could prompt them to attack the Philipines .
 
hmm...There was a big political upheaval in Japan during the Napoleonic wars when a British ship showed up to attack the Dutch trading post in Nagasaki.
IOTL this incident heavily promoted Japan to move towards opening up and start modernising their military.
I guess it is possible it could lead to Japan fully opening a lot earilier but I don't know what could prompt them to attack the Philipines .

There were several revolts in the Philippines during the 19th century. Perhaps Japan could support their independence and then just keep the islands. Or settle for a protectorate.
 
Top