in OTL, many states whose economies are dependent on oil have tended to be very corrupt and/or unstable.
Yes, like Norway. It is all about instability and corruption.
in OTL, many states whose economies are dependent on oil have tended to be very corrupt and/or unstable.
Yes, like Norway. It is all about instability and corruption.
Another thing to remember when the oil boom comes: in OTL, many states whose economies are dependent on oil have tended to be very corrupt and/or unstable.
That is a terrible generalization which is dependent upon a host of other factors not related to the presence of oil deposits.
In conclusion, would it be unfair to say that this scenario was an example of corruption caused by the direct influence of oil production?
*map*
snip
Plus there were uprisings in the Nueces strip in the 1860s, 1870s, and 1910s.
Anyway, here is my rough outline for the early years in my TL.
- PoD: Election of 1844 sees Clay win over Polk, which will put a dampen on the expansion spirit of the American public. Around this time Texas has started to trade with European powers, names the French and British, the latter of which has guarenteed their maximum borders.
- ~1848-9: Second Texas War of Independance, with Mexico attempting to invade Texas. Though they generally beat up the young Texan military, the British step in and wipe the floor of them. The border between British North America (British Columbia) and Mexico is adjusted from the 42nd degree North longitude to the 40th. Mexico is issued to pay Texas some decent amount of cash. Also during this war, minor use of breech and repeating rifles are used, with observers noting their success. Around this time gold is being discovered in California, with Mexico City trying to cash in. The issue of slavery and states rights in the Union is starting to boil over.
- Europe . . . I have no idea. I will have to read about the big revolutions in the 1840s.
- ~mid-1850s: The American Civil War breaks out, though different from OTL. Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas and Southern Mississippi secede. Though there is no official foreign intervention, the British secretly support the secessionist movement. After a few bloody years the US overtakes them. During this time of turmoil Texas intervenes in the Indian Territory in OTL Oklahoma, though only briefly, as the US threatens with its newly battle hardened military.
1910s?
I could imagine stuff getting overlooked due to the Civil War and Reconstruction, but what happened in the third case?
Obviously there are exceptions, like Norway. That's why I said MANY states, not ALL states. I'll see your Norway and raise you Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, and Iran.
Excuse me, I mean the westward expansion in the United States. It means the balance between slave and free in the Senate is broken sooner and likely the fundamental issues of slavery come to the front sooner.
I see Texas as a refuge for planation owners after the civil war, which brings more capital and money into Texas.![]()
Which of those you "raised" with had a western culture? Like Texas and Norway for example?
....Imagine that in this independent Texas, political power is concentrated in the hands of a small number of outrageously wealthy people and families. They own most of the land, they fill the government offices, and maybe they even enforce a racial caste system that deprives blacks, Tejanos, and whatever other minorities happen to live in this Texas of their rights. That doesn't really sound like a Western culture, does it?
....What I'm trying to say is that the problems petrostates have pre-exist the discovery of oil. However, in an ATL it's possible that Texas could have the same underlying factors that could predispose it to becoming a basket case with rampant corruption, a poor human right record, and a lack of political freedom/transparency....