The French send the English American colonists home

Thande

Donor
Funny thought I had. Not sure how plausible it is, but...

Let's say the French win big in one of the early American wars (it has to be early or there are too many English/British colonists for this to be feasible). Either the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the Spanish Succession (aka King William's War and Queen Anne's War respectively in North America). And furthermore they do so in such a way that involves actually having boots on the ground and battles won in America, rather than things just being transferred at a peace conference after victories in Europe. This is important, though it probably requires radical changes to OTL to achieve.

Anyway, the French win, they get all England's colonies in continental North America (but not the rich West Indian islands which everyone always fought tooth and nail to keep at the negotiating table) and they then impose their own colonial law there. This includes a higher tax rate and requires everyone to convert to Catholicism (as in Quebec). Now some Americans (I use the term anachronistically to describe the English colonists) might bite the bullet and do it to remain in place, with their businesses, farmland, whatever. But a lot of them at this point still identify with their Puritan founders (in New England) and we all know how little they like paying taxes - especially at this point when some of them signed up to be colonists specifically to avoid paying tax.

So most Americans will leave or be forced out, not unlike what Britain did to French Acadia later in OTL. Many of them will go to the English/British possessions in the West Indies (up to the ARW in OTL these were considered a contiguous entity with the continental colonies, especially the southern ones) but many others will be sent home to the British Isles. What then happens to them?

The government might perhaps re-plant them in a rebellious part of the Isles, such as the Scottish Highlands or the south and west of Ireland (regardless of which conflict we choose, there was a big Jacobite rebellion in it).

Or it might send them to found a new colony elsewhere. But where?

Thoughts, comments, cries of 'implausible!' ?
 
Well the problem is there were only some 4000 Acadians to deport, and it was easy to tell them to get out with thousands of English settlers waiting to fill their ranks. With the English in America though; who'd run the colonies? What purpose would a bunch of wholly depopulated colonies serve France. And if they kept the English it's very unlikely they'd be able to pacify them, as we've seen with the reverse trend with the French (as with Quebec). If the French government was really hell-bent on owning this land it's possible but the reason why they never really succeded in OTL was 'cause they couldn't care.

It's why French immigration to the Americas was almost null up until the 1740s- no French wanted to leave their country for some far off waste where the threat of disease, native attack and English invasion was immiment on all fronts.

I won't say it's impossible, but you'll be definately digging in the ASB end of things if you want a total complete expulsion with full assimulation.
 
Thande

Very difficult to see it happening, because of the numbers as you say. Suspect that the Grand Alliance might be too late. Possibly if the French do it in stages, say annexing some colonies and then later others and also encourage sizeable emigration from France itself.

Given that Britain is already fairly heavily populated at this stage I think they would look for an option overseas. The British Caribbean isn't that habitable climatically and Spain is a lot stronger at this point so the rest of Latin America is obviously out. However, either by conquest or agreement with the Dutch you might have a sizeable movement to the Cape. Its got a suitable climate, plenty of empty land [to Europeans anyway] and the Dutch, with the French doing better, might welcome friendly settlers to secure the area.

Hopefully such a movement wouldn't follow the precedent set.;)

Steve
 
The West of Ireland (Connaught) consists mostly of bogs, lakes, forests and mountains. Not exactly desirable land. The South, East and North would be more plausible for American settlement.
 

Thande

Donor
Thande

Very difficult to see it happening, because of the numbers as you say. Suspect that the Grand Alliance might be too late. Possibly if the French do it in stages, say annexing some colonies and then later others and also encourage sizeable emigration from France itself.

Given that Britain is already fairly heavily populated at this stage I think they would look for an option overseas. The British Caribbean isn't that habitable climatically and Spain is a lot stronger at this point so the rest of Latin America is obviously out. However, either by conquest or agreement with the Dutch you might have a sizeable movement to the Cape. Its got a suitable climate, plenty of empty land [to Europeans anyway] and the Dutch, with the French doing better, might welcome friendly settlers to secure the area.

Hopefully such a movement wouldn't follow the precedent set.;)

Steve
Heh. I hadn't even realised the Draka Option...

They'd even have a chip on their shoulders and everything...
 
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