WI: Republic of Texas becomes German colony?

In 1842, a group of minor German nobles led by Count Carl Castell-Castell came together in an attempt to get Texas to become a German colony through mass immigration of Germans. Despite plenty of interest from potential German colonists, the plan was a massive failure due to Castell-Castell getting scammed on four different occasions, and severely underfunded infrastructure.

So, what if "New Germany" had been established through a lack of scams and/or funding from the King of Prussia and other German monarchs? With Texas becoming a German proxy, would it cause a Prusso-American War, assuming American annexation is delayed somehow?
 
In 1842, a group of minor German nobles led by Count Carl Castell-Castell came together in an attempt to get Texas to become a German colony through mass immigration of Germans. Despite plenty of interest from potential German colonists, the plan was a massive failure due to Castell-Castell getting scammed on four different occasions, and severely underfunded infrastructure.

So, what if "New Germany" had been established through a lack of scams and/or funding from the King of Prussia and other German monarchs? With Texas becoming a German proxy, would it cause a Prusso-American War, assuming American annexation is delayed somehow?

Fun times all around if the French still think it's a good idea to set up Mexican Empire 2.0 next door :p

Although seriously, I'd say that in 1842 Germany's not big on the whole colonial thing, Hell, Germany as a unified empire - like it was 1871-1914 - doesn't exist, although the king of Prussia was a dreamer, so he might go in for it. Whether or not that translates into being able to fight off the US in the inevitable war I'm not sure. Prussia's army isn't really up to snuff in the 1840s if I remember correctly, Hannover's already got one bloody nose messing with the damned colonials, Mecklenburg etc, are too small to even think of the whole colonial empire schtick. But it's a cool concept though.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
I wouldn't call it a "massive failure", since several successful settlements of Germans were established in Central Texas and continue to thrive to this day. You can get some outstanding German food in several Hill Country towns.
 
It is a interesting idea. A German state in north America, at least quasi affiliated with the merging German empire in Europe. Thats liable to change emigration patterns in the US & a lot of the enclaves of post 1842 emigrants are liable to be butterflied to this larger Nue Deutchland. My Swabian emigrant ancestors are liable to head there vs Indiana. Maybe Irwin Rommels father would follow his cousins to Nue Deutchland am Tejas?

This has potential to butterfly away the US Mexican War & alter the US Mexico border. It can also leave Tejas as a German speaking Mexican state & eventually make some strong connections between Mexico and the future German nation.

Down the line it alters the balance in the US slave/free state tension & any resulting civil war. Southern slave states are not liable to want Deutch Tejas in the US if its not a slave state. A strong Catholic population would be a obstacle as well. Maybe German Texas would affiliate with the US after the civil war, perhaps as part of breaking away from Maxmillian Mexico?
 
Whether or not that translates into being able to fight off the US in the inevitable war I'm not sure.
Of course, the question must be raised on how the US reacts. If you have a TL where either John Tyler doesn't become President or Henry Clay becomes President, then the annexation of Texas would be delayed; there might not even be a Prusso-American War over Texas (which the US would win if it did happen). Depending on if a war doesn't happen right away, you might see a tense relationship such as that between Canada and the US in the 1800s, with American overtures for annexation that are fairly frequent but never materialize into anything.

On top of that, would the threat of a mainland war with Deutch Tejas/Nue Deutschland keep the US out of the First World War?
 
I wouldn't call it a "massive failure", since several successful settlements of Germans were established in Central Texas and continue to thrive to this day. You can get some outstanding German food in several Hill Country towns.
While it's true that Texas has a sizable German minority, it was a massive failure in the sense that their attempt to create a colony with a German ethnic majority to begin a global empire ended with some nice restaurants.
 
...

On top of that, would the threat of a mainland war with Deutch Tejas/Nue Deutschland keep the US out of the First World War?

No, might even accelerate it if the folks back in Berlin are as diplomatically handicapped as OTL.

Conversely a strong German US state of Texas could tip the balance into neutrality. Wilson & the Democrats eyeing the 1916 & 1920 election might think over options a bit more deeply. The US might sit out the war, or perhaps persuade a earlier ceasefire & peace negotiation. If the larger 'German' vote puts Roosevelt in the Presidency 1912 then there dis a even larger possibility of the US as a peacemaker. While he did not like the Imperial German government he was not a Germanophoble, and politically more acute than Wilson.
 

TruthfulPanda

Gone Fishin'
If the colony thrives, beats off Mexico and is not absorbed by the USA, and in Germany 1848 happens as it did in OTL, I see an interesting twist. The vanquished/disilusioned revolutionaries/supporters of German Unification in quite large numbers head to "Teksas". Although many would start off as being backers of a United Germany, they may not be exactly happy about the United Germany that was forged by Bismarck and Wilhelm. So, "Prussian sympathies" may be thin on the ground. Also, German was a cultural description - these could be Badeners, Prussians, Westfalian's etc. - in exile nostalgia "for the old country" could blossom.
So there could be a German speaking indepedent nation on the Gulf of Mexico which need not be a natural ally of the to German speaking monarchies in Europe. The German speaking republic in the Alps was not exactly an ally either.
 

Maoistic

Banned
It's very unlikely. It would need Mexican and US negligence of Texas in order for the Germans to pull this off, which simply isn't happening.
 
So the plan is to turn an independent state into a German colony or just have a lot of German migration to the Republic of Texas?
 
I don't know if it's plausible for Texas to be turned into some German pseudo-colony.

What probably is plausible is a Texas with a significant German-speaking minority - say, something in this timeline's 2017 akin to the French-descended population of Lousiana or the Cuban population of Florida.
 
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... The vanquished/disilusioned revolutionaries/supporters of German Unification in quite large numbers head to "Teksas". Although many would start off as being backers of a United Germany, they may not be exactly happy about the United Germany that was forged by Bismarck and Wilhelm. So, "Prussian sympathies" may be thin on the ground. ...

That would be my great grandfather Charles from Swabia circa 1871. I strongly suspect he was a draft dodger in disagreement with the Franco Prussian War.
 
So the plan is to turn an independent state into a German colony or just have a lot of German migration to the Republic of Texas?
The intention was to send over so many Germans to Texas that it would saturate the population. After either a majority or large minority of Texas was German, then the Texan government would have no choice but to become a client state of an as-of-yet undecided German Kingdom, probably Prussia, due to public pressure from all the Germans. They didn't actually plan it out that well, and had no plan if Texas' government decided to not vote to become a German colony.
 
This kinda reminds me of that Prussian California discussion on this site from a few months ago.
I highly doubt the germans could annex Texas. The US were dead-set on acquiring the province ever since anglos started jumping across the border into it, out-performing the mexican settlers.
 
I highly doubt the germans could annex Texas. The US were dead-set on acquiring the province ever since anglos started jumping across the border into it, out-performing the mexican settlers.

There was huge opposition to the Texas annexation among certain circles because of the slavery debate, it wasn't unanimous support at all.
 
There was huge opposition to the Texas annexation among certain circles because of the slavery debate, it wasn't unanimous support at all.
I totally forgot about that, i'm a doofus.
What I was meant to mean was that Texas was dead-set on being colonized by anglos after 1830. German settlers could provide a nice little supplement of settler diversity, but i doubt they could grow so large as to tip the balance towards a supposed german annexation. I'd compare such tex-germans to the jews of interwar Poland. Not to mention that the USA and Britain would be against it, unless the germans end up estabilishing a very autonomous colony. The brits and americans could theoretically give Texas to Germany as a compromise, but that'd be less likely than them agreeing to make Texas a neutral state.
 
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Yeah...No. As someone who reguarly studies Texas history and is a big fan of 19th century geopolitics, this is not possible in any manner whatsoever. At this time Germany was not interested in colonies and no country had the resources to support an extended colonial venture. The only two who hypothetically could attempt to do so, Prussia and Austria, would not dare to do so as the former was trying to unify Germany under their rule and the latter already had enough issues with the minorities in their empire. If Texas hypothetically turned into a German colony, then whoever annexes Texas would go to war with either Mexico or France. Mexico would easily win as a German state would not be able to support an intercontinental war and they'd have their people riled up in order to stop European colonialism. Then there is the United States who would never accept this as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.

Finally we have the Texans themselves. They just underwent a Revolution to gain indepdencence, they're not going to give it up to Germany of all people. While German-Texans were a big minority, they were not significant enough to have that much political clout and most immigrated to Texas as they wanted to escape the then poor living conditions in Germany. Most white Texans would not become subjects under a German-speaking, autocratic, and possibly Catholic state. There is just no way to make this feasible in any sense whatsoever.

Also Adelsverein just wanted cheap land for their settlers and the opportunity to create a new German society. They weren't going to launch a coup in order to annex Texas to a German state.
 

TruthfulPanda

Gone Fishin'
The intention was to send over so many Germans to Texas that it would saturate the population. After either a majority or large minority of Texas was German, then the Texan government would have no choice but to become a client state of an as-of-yet undecided German Kingdom, probably Prussia, due to public pressure from all the Germans.
German speaking settlers - remember, there were NO GERMAN NATIONALS AT THIS TIME, "German" was a cultural term - are not some hive-mind. They come from various German States. And I repeat - they will not suddenly all love a Prussian led "Deutsches Kaiserreich". Some, possibly many, will not be emigrants but exiles. With no love for the German States they had left.
I know nothing of Texan history or politics, but I can imagine Texas ending up as a German speaking country, professing to be part of the German Sprachbund and of being culturally "German". I can imagine some sentiment for the Old Country (or better - Countries). But hitching up politcally with any sort of German state - that I cannot see ...
Kaiser Kris said it better than me, I think.
 
I don't now enough about Texas so let's talk about the German perspective or the lack of thereof.

The "Prussian Navy" consisted before the 1848/49 revolution only of several small boats protecting their own coast. (European Powers still struggled with the debts from the Napoleonic Wars, and a fleet isn't a priority for Prussia as long as the coasts are safe)
A more obscure part of the 1848/49 revolution of Germany was the "German Navy" (still a really small fleet) build by the constitutional assembly to fight a war against Denmark. (And this fleet was some symbol and a source of pride for the nationalists, since being proud of a fleet (even if it is small) is one of the many aspects of 19. century nationalism).

None of the German States could project force to the American continent. They could maybe sympathize with such a scheme or maybe de jure protection but not more, and even such a thing could upset larger powers. And most of them are land-locked.

Austria has a coast to the Mediterranean, in the North, the Kingdom of Hannover, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Holstein (in personal-union with Denmark), the Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, aswell as the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Grand-Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin have access to the sea. Mecklemburg is the most reactionary and backward part of Germany. The Hanseatic cities are probably interested in trade not in playing Grand Power. Denmark is already a colonial power and opposed to German Nationalism. Oldenburg is rather small. I don't know much about Hannover. A short search on the internet revealed, that the Kingdom of Hannover lacked any fleet, but proclaimed to protect the maritime interests of the German Federation in the North Sea (probably in the 1850ies when Prussia slowly became more interested in naval power).
(While the "Bundesakte" the "constitution" (or basic treaty) of the German Federation lacked any concepts how its Naval power should be organized (in comparison, there where rules how many troops each state should supply), there was a concept of the "Admiralsstaat" (admirality country) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralstaat ) a country which should supply and finance a potential navy of the German Federation. German Nationalists suggested that the Netherlands or Denmark could supply the German Federation with their Navy. Danish Nationalists rejected this. Nothing happened)

If German Nationalists have more interests in establishing weird German Republics on other places of the globe, German monarchs wouldn't support them. These nationalists are revolutionary radicals or liberals who oppose the old order. Bismarck managed to unify conservatives and old elites with the idea of a unified nationalist German nation later in the 19. century.

Even if the crazier German nationalists somehow manage to gain power in 1848/49 in Germany (which is really unlikely) it would be already to late, since Texas joined the US in 1846. I doubt that any foreign minister would support such a scheme which would bring nothing but could provoke other powers and costs lots of money.

I doubt that most settlers (even if they sympathize with German Nationalism) would want political rule by a German State (even a democratic unified 1848/49 Germany) on the other side of the Atlantic. It seems as if they have different problems and possibilities in their new home.

Another question would be, how the economic possibilities of Texas locked in the 1840ies and if there is anything in Texas which could interest colonial powers.
 
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