The Union Forever: A TL

[HongCanucker]

I liked independent Goa too, that's a great idea.

So if there are Japanese mercenaries, can it be reasonably inferred that Imperial Japan is openly backing the Royalists too? Or has the Pacific War been too damaging for them to do so?

 

[Lalli]

MacGregor, Upon rereading this and i just noticed a part where Robert Todd Lincoln talks to his youngest son, William Lincoln, in one of your snippets (his reelection in 1908), and i was just wondering whether any other Lincoln entered the spotlight yet?

And is there still any RTL's descedants? In OTL RTL's and so Abraham Lincoln's last descedants died on 1960's.

 

[Mac Gregor]

I think it would interesting to have Gibraltar and Caribbean islands to elect MPs to Westminister.

Good update, MacGregor!
If the local population feels British, it would be possible to elect MPs, I think.

Works for French Guiana.

No reason it couldn't work, but I don't know how racist the UK proper inhabitants would be towards the Caribbean population.

As for the update, looks like the Royalists will ultimately prevail but possibly with some breakaway state(s) in Spain remaining and almost certainly with major governmental changes in both countries.

Great comments. I will have to give it some more thought of whether certain smaller colonies would join the UK proper. Off the top of my head I could think of Gibraltar, the Falklands, maybe the Pacific Islands?

 

[Mac Gregor]

Why does Hungary control Transcarpathian Ruthenia? Or rather, why was Russia prevented from annexing the area?

Umm... Well Ruthenia is part of the Ukrainian territory inside the IEF. According to the map below is Transcarpathian Ruthenia in Hungary or the IEF?

 

[Mac Gregor]

INDEPENDENT GOA! All I have to say

I wonder how intra-subcontinent relations will look in the coming years. How do the other Indian nations feel about Goa?

I liked independent Goa too, that's a great idea.

So if there are Japanese mercenaries, can it be reasonably inferred that Imperial Japan is openly backing the Royalists too? Or has the Pacific War been too damaging for them to do so?

Glad y'all like the Republic of Goa! it will turn into a pretty interesting place as the TL progresses.

All in all, the other nations on the Indian subcontinent favor it. Madras views it as another smaller nation that it can take under its wing. The Republic of India is committed to being seen as a respectable law-abiding nation so won't molest Goa any time soon.

On the Japanese mercenaries. No, the Empire of Japan has taken a stance of complete neutrality. The mercenaries are simply former soldiers who have no where to work except to whoever can pay the most coin.

 

[Alternity9497]

Umm... Well Ruthenia is part of the Ukrainian territory inside the IEF. According to the map below is Transcarpathian Ruthenia in Hungary or the IEF?

I checked the QBAM. It's in the IEF.

 

[Mac Gregor]

MacGregor, Upon rereading this and i just noticed a part where Robert Todd Lincoln talks to his youngest son, William Lincoln, in one of your snippets (his reelection in 1908), and i was just wondering whether any other Lincoln entered the spotlight yet?

And is there still any RTL's descedants? In OTL RTL's and so Abraham Lincoln's last descedants died on 1960's.

There are indeed some of Abraham Lincoln's descendants still alive in the TL. I will have to do an update on them soon. Cheers!

 

[ramdomperson]

Umm... Well Ruthenia is part of the Ukrainian territory inside the IEF. According to the map below is Transcarpathian Ruthenia in Hungary or the IEF?

Sorry, I was looking at an earlier map/ horribly misread the map.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Sorry, I was looking at an earlier map/ horribly misread the map.

No worries. I had to double check myself

 

[Mac Gregor]

Independent Goa. That's interesting and a pretty awesome idea.

Could you please fix up all of the images? Many of them have error messages.

I would love to fix the images but it won't let me go back and change them. I will try and fix them when I start the finished TL thread.

 

[SuperFrog]

On the subject of which colonies should directly join the U.K., maybe this could help?https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1a429cDOixqWnlO0D0Z2uOYexqUjPLvgXVyz3HT4

It's a list of otl countries with % of English speakers. It has some of Britain's remaining colony's on there too.

 

[Mac Gregor]

On the subject of which colonies should directly join the U.K., maybe this could help?https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1a429cDOixqWnlO0D0Z2uOYexqUjPLvgXVyz3HT4

It's a list of otl countries with % of English speakers. It has some of Britain's remaining colony's on there too.

Thanks, very interesting. I would wager that sending MPs to Westminster would work for small territories like the Falklands, Gibraltar, St. Helena, etc. but larger entities like Mauritius, the Caribbean islands would want more autonomy than that granted by a unitary state like the UK. Does anybody know how probably a federal UK would be?

 

[Zoidberg12]

I haven't said this yet, and I haven't commented regularly in a long time, so I might as well say that I say that I'm really glad that this timeline has come back in full swing. I've really been enjoying reading the latest updates about the 1980s, the same as I've always enjoyed reading this timeline. When it comes to the new updates about the 1980's, I've especially enjoyed reading about the Iberian Crisis. Seems to me it was only a matter of time before another major war broke out in this world.

Anyways, might as well also say that I'm rooting for the Portuguese and Spanish rebels.

On the subject of the British Empire and what will happen to its remaining colonies, I think that it would make most sense for Comoros to either be an independent country or to join East Africa. I'm not entirely sure how much Comoros has in common with East Africa culturally though. It also seems like a country too small for the British to care making about a dominion. In regards to other British colonies, I predict that the British Congo (Katangaland), Gordonia, Chad and Eritrea will all be independent in some way be 1990.

Just my thoughts. Can't wait for what 1984 has in store for this world!

 

[metastasis_d]

I'm not entirely sure how much Comoros has in common with East Africa culturally though.

Language, for one.

 

[Zoidberg12]

Language, for one.

Makes sense. Still, those in the Comoros might not want to be dominated politically and economically by the more populous mainland of East Africa. In that case, independence may make more sense.

On another note, I'm planning on writing some bios for this timeline. What's the latest that someone from OTL could have been born. With the POD being in May of 1862, and with it taking nine months for a child to be born, would February of 1863 be the limit?

 

[SuperFrog]

I'd say small colonies with largely English culture could join the U.K. and elect M.P.s, Gibraltar, Malta, Falklands, the other Atlantic islands, possibly some Indian ocean islands, and a few groups of Pacific islands are the most likely candidates.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Makes sense. Still, those in the Comoros might not want to be dominated politically and economically by the more populous mainland of East Africa. In that case, independence may make more sense.

On another note, I'm planning on writing some bios for this timeline. What's the latest that someone from OTL could have been born. With the POD being in May of 1862, and with it taking nine months for a child to be born, would February of 1863 be the limit?

Thanks for the support!

Yes, Feb 1863 would be the limit. Can't wait to see what you write up.

 

[Mac Gregor]

I'd say small colonies with largely English culture could join the U.K. and elect M.P.s, Gibraltar, Malta, Falklands, the other Atlantic islands, possibly some Indian ocean islands, and a few groups of Pacific islands are the most likely candidates.

Sounds good. However, Malta is already a dominion so I doubt it would want to give up its autonomy.

 

[Jonathan Edelstein]

Makes sense. Still, those in the Comoros might not want to be dominated politically and economically by the more populous mainland of East Africa.

That, and the Comoros are much more culturally Arabic than East Africa (don't get me wrong, there's plenty of Arab influence along the Swahili coast, but the Comoros have a lot more, and East Africa ITTL won't just be the coast). Remember that Zanzibar, which had closer historical ties to the East African coastal kingdoms than the Comoros, had to have a revolution in order to be incorporated into Tanzania.

 

[Zoidberg12]

That, and the Comoros are much more culturally Arabic than East Africa (don't get me wrong, there's plenty of Arab influence along the Swahili coast, but the Comoros have a lot more, and East Africa ITTL won't just be the coast). Remember that Zanzibar, which had closer historical ties to the East African coastal kingdoms than the Comoros, had to have a revolution in order to be incorporated into Tanzania.

Interesting information. With this taken into account, it makes much more sense for Comoros to be an independent nation. Like I mentioned before, the country is too small for the current British government to care about making it a dominion. In addition, it doesn't seem if is Comoros is particularly profitable or strategically important either. For these same reasons, I'd also wager that Comoros would be independent and outside of the Commonwealth, much like Sudan.