WI: Great Britain was not distracted by the Napoleonic Wars durig the War of 1812

terence

Banned
So Britain would have been screwed had America done a more serious boycott or gone to war earlier on then, eh?

My race shall find this information most useful.

Not really. The orignal American trade boycott on foreign trade (a pretty stupid measure in itself) had been lifted in 1810. The British trade restrictions by Britain againt American trade with Napoleon's Europe were lifted before the war of 1812 began.
Wellington's despatches (from which I have lifted the style above) report his complaints about the high price that American merchants were charging for grain discharged from their ships in Spain--so trade continued.
Unlike in the time of the American civil war--American food exports to Britain were not yet vital.
 

perfectgeneral

Donor
Monthly Donor
Given a suddenly free large army and navy, that would take time and money to reduce, Britain might look upon a war with the USA as an opportunity to convert excess force into profit. A likely war aim would be the capture and annexation of New England, New York, and Michigan (including Wisconsin) Territory to Canada. Regiments shipped to the continent of America would be stood down with awards of land in the new territories. Such lands would be confiscated from such persons as would be likely to find rejoining the British Empire unacceptable.

Michigan-territory-1834-blue.png
What the British would mean by Michigan after victory over the USA.

As the west is won, all of the land north of 40.585°N (the Iowa line) will be British up to California (42°N to the Pacific). That includes the northern Oregon trail from Council Bluffs.

oregontrail_19071.jpg
 
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