PoeFacedKilla
Banned
What if through some reason, britain kept all of oregon. Would this make canada a more powerful country today? (Military and population wise; that is).
What if through some reason, britain kept all of oregon. Would this make canada a more powerful country today? (Military and population wise; that is).
To a certain degree, yes, as they would have more warm water ports in the Pacific. And population would most certainly be larger, though likely consisting of different amounts of the groups that settled the region IOTL (fewer Germans, more Brits). Also, you'd see a much larger and faster growing San Francisco, as that's one of the few Pacific ports that the US would be left with besides San Diego. In fact, you;d also see a faster growing San Diego and much more development in far northern California, particularly in the area around Eureka/Humboldt Bay.
But the Oregon issues predated the Mexican War didn't they? How do we know it isn't butterflied?
That said, I don't think it would be. The Americans are going to be hungrier for land now that they've lucked out in Oregon, so perhaps they go for a much more annex-y route than OTL. Britain keeping Oregon has some strange consequences regarding American expansionism and the whole 'manifest destiny' bull.
It will probably cool relations between the US and Britain in later years, that may come to a climax during the inevitable civil war.
I agree with you NZ, that manifest destiny was bullshit to justify land grabs by the US, but it was there (the justification, not the actual destiny from god to annex everything in sight).
Gotta admit it though, it does make Ameriwanks a lot easier.
That said, w/o Oregon the US may look further south to scratch its expansionism itch, be it more of Mexico or the Caribbean.
Canada will definitely focus a bit more to the west. Did the US still claim the non-straight northern border of the Louisiana Purchase up until the Oregon dispute was 'resolved'? Maybe butterfly away that straight line.
With a much larger power centre on the West coast, I would imagine BNA would become two federations rather than one.
Quite possible. Oregon would be much more able to survive on her own that just British Columbia.
It's also possible that we see a tripartite Confederation, Oregon, Canada and Quebec all under a single unifying British North America with a fourth Plains Confederation added when the area's settled.
Unpredictable twists for both The Postman and Dies The Fire, maybe?
<shameless plug>A PoD in the War of 1812 (or that changed the results thereof) and kept the US confined east of the Mississippi would keep Oregon British </shameless plug>I think you'd have to change the fact that Americans were moving overland to OR to settle the place, which is partly why the Brits accepted the OTL agreement... we had 'boots on the ground' there already. POD this away, and you have a better chance for Britain to claim the whole place...
Should James Douglas become governor, as he did OTL, we need not worry about that. American immigration levels would be kept small and the rights of those Yankees would be limited. The Americans already in Oregon would be offered a choice: swear allegiance to the Crown or leave.The British can certainly claim it. However, the American drive to expand west was a bit more forceful than the British one. This could actually result in America owning more of the Oregon territory, as wayward Yankees end up outnumbering Brits and eventually, perhaps, pulling a Texas.