What if the UK seized Cuba in 1741?

JJohnson

Banned
I just found an article on the War of Jenkin's Ear, and there's a spot in there about the Battle of Santiago, Cuba. Had things turned out differently, the British might have taken Cuba.

Let's say for the sake of argument, that Britain takes Cuba, and it becomes another British colony. What effect would that have on the future? Could this become a Loyalist haven after the 13 colonies rebel? How would Cuba look today?

And if the 60,000+ loyalists moved here, say, if Quebec and Nova Scotia rebelled with the other colonies, how would Cuba evolve?
 
I don't think that Britain would keep it. Spain would want it back in exchange for something else like Florida or ceding control of Nicaragua to the British. Spain sees Havana as the center of it's Manilia galleon trade route and thus the backbone of it's entire empire in the Americas.

Still a British Florida in 1748 is interesting.

Also, an American rebellion with a POD this far back is likely to go very differently (ie more colonies rebel or less depending of butterflies).
 
It's possible it would be traded back for more colonial concessions, or concessions in Europe. Louisburg was traded back to the French in return for their withdrawal form the Southern Netherlands; perhaps Louisburg is kept in the ATL.
 
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