WI/PC: US/Alaska tries to annex gold-rich Yukon in 1897

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Sorry for two threads in this category today, but this one just came to mind.

I was reading today about the 19th century Klondike gold rush that took place in the Yukon Territory and given the massive influx of Americans came to the area at the time, I was wondering if it was possible that the Alaskan government or even the federal government might try to somehow rest control of it away from Canada; annexing into Alaskan state territory by referendum or some other political tomfoolery, if gold is found in massively abundant quantities.

First of all, is the above even plausible?
Second of all, if it is, might it spark a conflict with the UK?
 
It might get to the phase of "international incident and major political issue", but I'm confident that both sides would negotiate something to keep the peace. That seems like how relations between the UK and US worked in that era.
 
An interesting idea, but it must be remembered that once you leave the ocean ports this really was (and in a lot of places still is) the frozen arsehole of the north with few easily found paths and virtually no roads.

As it was historically the Canadian government acted decisively to ensure no one raised any questions of territorial jurisdiction on the frontier. And being geographically closer they certainly had a leg up in that department.

However, say that in response to the Venezuelan Crisis being embarrassing to the US. the US starts looking at nibbling at some parts of the Yukon and enforcing their claim on the Alaskan panhandle. Starting in 1896 you could conceivably push US border claims to go for uti possidetis at the time of arbitration.

Canada being much smaller than its neighbor, having a small army, and Britain being unwilling to saber rattle over the frozen arsehold of the world would probably see this as a coup which they have no reason to squabble over.

Cue a bigger Alaska.
 
An interesting idea, but it must be remembered that once you leave the ocean ports this really was (and in a lot of places still is) the frozen arsehole of the north with few easily found paths and virtually no roads.

As it was historically the Canadian government acted decisively to ensure no one raised any questions of territorial jurisdiction on the frontier. And being geographically closer they certainly had a leg up in that department.

However, say that in response to the Venezuelan Crisis being embarrassing to the US. the US starts looking at nibbling at some parts of the Yukon and enforcing their claim on the Alaskan panhandle. Starting in 1896 you could conceivably push US border claims to go for uti possidetis at the time of arbitration.

Canada being much smaller than its neighbor, having a small army, and Britain being unwilling to saber rattle over the frozen arsehold of the world would probably see this as a coup which they have no reason to squabble over.

Cue a bigger Alaska.


Interesting...though it begs the question of if Britain would actually fight given my OP (gold being found in abundant quantities in this ATL)

In 1897, I think they might.
 
This did almost happen!

The Order of the Midnight Sun was a secret society formed with the intent of taking the Yukon for the US.

And by formed, I mean by a drunk and some buddies. Technically the Order existed, but there was never any real plan. Still, the Canadian government was not idle about it, and both the Dominion Police* and North West Mounted Police investigated.

You can read about the whole debacle in "Call in Pinkerton's: American Detectives at Work for Canada". It makes for a fun read!


*The Dominion Police were a federal police and intelligence service that would later merge with the NWMP to form the RCMP. If you want to consider the NWMP as Canada's answer to the Texas Rangers, than the Dominion Police might have been closer to the FBI. At the time of the Order of the Midnight Sun, their Commissioner was good friends with Pinkerton, and they often worked together.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
As an interesting butterfly, suppose that a genuine crisis between Britain and America had emerged over this issue, requiring the reinforcement of Canada by a chunk of the British Army. Coupled with the commitment in Sudan, would this not have dealt a stronger hand to the Boers in South Africa?
 
As an interesting butterfly, suppose that a genuine crisis between Britain and America had emerged over this issue, requiring the reinforcement of Canada by a chunk of the British Army. Coupled with the commitment in Sudan, would this not have dealt a stronger hand to the Boers in South Africa?

I smell TL. :D

"The Klondike War" or the "Yukon Trail of Tears, perhaps?
 
Interesting...though it begs the question of if Britain would actually fight given my OP (gold being found in abundant quantities in this ATL)

In 1897, I think they might.

I for one am skeptical, even if large quantities of gold are found in the Yukon they would be very difficult to exploit versus those in South Africa. Even then the idea of conducting a campaign in the vastness of the Northwest Territories/Alaska in this period would be immensely challenging, and fighting a naval battle in the Bering Sea would not be appealing.

Britain was in a conciliatory mood historically when it came to settling the boundary, and in order to shore up relations with the US they backed the American claim over the Canadian one.

I think it would take something more than gold to get a big fight.
 
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