Multinational Control over African Colonies?

I'm not sure about the probability of this What If, but here it goes...

In OTL, one of the ideas considered to appease Nazi Germany was to establish multinational control over the Subsaharan African colonies. This was strongly supported by the British Left (the Labor Party advocated extending it to all colonies in 1938, and in a vote on the issue actually picked up a few Tories and Liberals), and, surprisingly,by Chamberlain, who hoped to use the colonies to reform Germany and bind it to the international system.

Chamberlain's proposal, essentially, proposed uniting the Portuguese, British, Belgian, and French colonies into a single multinational territory run by the League for the benefit of Europe. (And the natives. Honest.)

Now, I don't know enough about Belgium, but it's striking to me that the left and right were willing to consider this sort of proposal. Obviously Nazi Germany wouldn't be willing to go for this, but it strikes me that some other parties might have been willing to do so. France... Daladier was certainly a fan of colonial concessions, and this strikes me as very Popular Front-esque, but I don't know about the French Right, which generally distrusted the League.

I know little about Belgium, and Salazar's Portugal was horrified that its colonies would be sold down the river to appease Germany, but could Salazar, on his own, do anything?
 
One wonders how South Africa and Rhodesia would react to such a development...

Belgium I could see getting on board with such a project, but unless you have an earlier POD that results in a more leftist Portugal I doubt you'll have the Portuguese colonies included. That being said, I think a multi-national territory consisting of British, French and Belgian colonies could be workable (minus South Africa)...at least in the short term.
 
Oh, South Africa explicitly was going to be excluded. Not quite sure about Rhodesia...

Faeelin

That would probably be the concern where there was a significant European settler minority, in economic terms if not numerical. They and their supporters in the metropolitan areas would want protection of their interests. For Britain this would include Rhodesia [north and south] and Kenya, I don't know about other nations. If there was enough support for the idea in the various home countries the settlers might get outvoted but it could create some tension. I would say this would be the main reason for Portuguese opposition as I think they had a substantial settler community?

Steve
 
Strange, this sounds like Mosley's plan.... from after the war.

FDR wanted something like this too, remember. It's an interesting idea, and I think you could get a better Africa out of it. Or at least parts. Obviously the entire thing can't be united, alas.
 
Was this serious, or more partisan/bargaining counter/good faith playmaking? (I'm talking about Chamberlain specifically; obviously with Labour, especially in this period, it would be standard opposition run-of-the-mill stuff) As Germany obviously wouldn't agree to it, I doubt it was ever that serious. Sounds more like Churchill's trans-Danubian federation transported to Africa.
 
Was this serious, or more partisan/bargaining counter/good faith playmaking? (I'm talking about Chamberlain specifically; obviously with Labour, especially in this period, it would be standard opposition run-of-the-mill stuff) As Germany obviously wouldn't agree to it, I doubt it was ever that serious. Sounds more like Churchill's trans-Danubian federation transported to Africa.

Is it clear, ex ante, that Germany wouldn't agree to it?

A lot of Chamberlain's foreign policy in the 1930s was part of an effort to accommodate resurgent German power while making it clear there were limits to what they could do in the international system. This is why there were various proposals to prop up the Mark during devaluation and lowering trade barriers in return for armament freezes, for instance, or the Hoare-Laval Proposal (although that was related to Italy).

Certainly, Blum indicated he'd go along with it, although the French military was not happy.
 
Is it clear, ex ante, that Germany wouldn't agree to it?

I don't see any reason why it would; this seems to be straight out of the municipal drainpipe handbook as far as even successful appeasement on its own terms goes. Hitler was never really interested in African colonies being returned even straight to Germany, (Goring, having more traditional foreign policy views, was the big fan of them within the regime) so why exactly would he want to be involved in internationalised African colonialism? You are combining something Hitler isn't interested in to begin with, with an internationalised mechanism which he temperamentally despised.

And if this can't be marketed as part of appeasement, then it will have even less traction than I suspect it would even if you could. I.E, none.
 
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Kill Hitler after Munich, Goring will do it.

If Goring is in charge, and Hitler is dead, appeasement has lost its raison d'etre anyway. In any case I don't think Goring would; I think he would hold out for the full return of pre-Great War colonies as part of some kind of post-Hitler 'guarantee of good behaviour in Europe' settlement. Maybe he would see a way to that by the backdoor through this though, and it would probably appeal to his Mittelafrika instincts.
 

yourworstnightmare

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Well, quite impossible. France would never allow it, the Belgians happily pretended the UN Mandates didn't exist and treated Rwanda- Urundi as a part of Belgian Congo, and Portugal was quite paranoid over evil bigger nations wanting to steal their colonies.

There was much discussion about appeasing Germany with Colonies, or handing over a UN Mandate to them (since the UN Mandates in Africa were former German colonies anyways). The reason it didn't go anywhere was not because of the Germans.
 
I don't see any reason why it would; this seems to be straight out of the municipal drainpipe handbook as far as even successful appeasement on its own terms goes. Hitler was never really interested in African colonies being returned even straight to Germany, (Goring, having more traditional foreign policy views, was the big fan of them within the regime) so why exactly would he want to be involved in internationalised African colonialism? You are combining something Hitler isn't interested in to begin with, with an internationalised mechanism which he temperamentally despised.

And if this can't be marketed as part of appeasement, then it will have even less traction than I suspect it would even if you could. I.E, none.

You probably missed the introduction, where I agreed it was something Hitler would not go for, eh?

I am not so sure about Goering. He doesn't strike mas the sort of person to care a great deal about lines on a map, as compared to real influence.
 
Well, quite impossible. France would never allow it

I am a bit skeptical on France's part. I agree that their ultimate acceptance is unlikely, but:

Blum was aware of the British proposals in OTL, and did assent to them. Later on, Daladier agreed with Chamberlain that if colonies were necessary to secure a general peace, they could be discussed.
 
You probably missed the introduction, where I agreed it was something Hitler would not go for, eh?

Actually, you said:

Obviously Nazi Germany wouldn't be willing to go for this

Which is a bit different.

I think Goring would agree to some kind of, shall we say, oversight body if it meant getting the pre-war German colonies back, even if its competence was just confined to those colonies. But combining Africa as an international mandate is way different. That's a real 'pleasing nobody' idea I think. There's too many vested interests/disinterests. This strikes me more as an initial diplomatic bargaining position than a concept which is ever likely to come about.
 

yourworstnightmare

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I am a bit skeptical on France's part. I agree that their ultimate acceptance is unlikely, but:

Blum was aware of the British proposals in OTL, and did assent to them. Later on, Daladier agreed with Chamberlain that if colonies were necessary to secure a general peace, they could be discussed.
France was willing to give Portuguese colonies to the Germans, but would not allow anyone to touch their posessions, not even the Mandates (which of course wans't really theirs, just under their supervision, but France was most pissed of about the whole Mandate thing anyways).
 
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