So during the Paris Peace Conference a deal took shape that would trade Nova Scotia to the Americans in exchange for Tobago being returned to the British. The reasoning behind this was Halifax was in prime position to ravage France's West Indian trade. So WI this deal went through? I know that the Maritimes development greatly effected the development of Canada(Charlottestown Conference for example)as a whole. So suppose Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saint John's Island all became part of the United States. Assume for the sake of arguement that the War of 1812 and American Civil War all go the same as OTL.
US gets Nova Scotia, later effects on Canadian development.
- Thread starter danwild6
- Start date
True - New England could become its own independent country, for once.
The thing about the Colony of Nova Scotia (as opposed to the Colony of Cape Breton Island and the Colony of Isle St. Jean) is twofold:
*There was a huge religious revival going on at the same time, led by the Rev. Henry Alline, which effectively prevented Nova Scotia from rebelling.
*Also, Nova Scotia suffered greatly from privateering from *Americans, particularly those from the Boston area, which didn't engender Nova Scotians towards sympathizing with the rebels.
*Then, of course, there's the huge British presence in Halifax.
At least the first two would have to be addressed, and even then not only would it be difficult, but then there are also some minor issues that would have to be dealt with.
The move may not be popular in Nova Scotia(though early in the war Nova Scotia was fairly sympathetic to the rebels)but rarely are colonial concerns taken into account by their European overlords. Louisborg given back to France in 1748 and Canada being abandoned in exchange for Martinique for example.
War of 1812 may still be on considering these items
1.) US hunger for more of British North America, basically what is Upper Canada
2.) British propping up and encouragement of tribes in the Ohio River Valley.
3.) British impressment
The US will want more land, the British will still impress, the British may even support the tribes as is. So war of 1812 may still be on.
US strategy may be different though. What if the US focusses only on obtaining Upper Canada and leaving Quebec alone.
Results will be the same for the initial part of War. US may be more successful in driving into Ontario. On the other hand the British may be successful in recapturing Nova Scotia.
Civil War
Deep South may secede sooner if balance between slave and free is disrupted sooner.
1.) US hunger for more of British North America, basically what is Upper Canada
2.) British propping up and encouragement of tribes in the Ohio River Valley.
3.) British impressment
The US will want more land, the British will still impress, the British may even support the tribes as is. So war of 1812 may still be on.
US strategy may be different though. What if the US focusses only on obtaining Upper Canada and leaving Quebec alone.
Results will be the same for the initial part of War. US may be more successful in driving into Ontario. On the other hand the British may be successful in recapturing Nova Scotia.
Civil War
Deep South may secede sooner if balance between slave and free is disrupted sooner.
???? How can they trade NS for Tabago? the US never owned Tobago. And if you're suggesting some other country broker the deal, why give the US a free gift? Seems exceedingly strange.
Besides give up the major port on the Atlantic seaboard for one minor island? ??? I can't imagine why the Brits would ever do that.
It suddenly makes Quebec city the most important and pretty much only port for migration to Canada. Either this makes Canadian immigration horribly slow compared to OTL (which may mean eventual annexation by the U.S.) or keeps Quebec City large- perhaps (ironically) with a large Anglophone minority/small majority.
Nova Scotia will hopefully end up more industrialized and not as dependent on fisheries as otl. This would be a great thing for their economy.
Nova Scotia will hopefully end up more industrialized and not as dependent on fisheries as otl. This would be a great thing for their economy.
Does this at all shift the balance between the North and South in elections up to 1860?
Depends on if Nova Scotia remains one colony or whether it splits off into two, as it did iotl (New Brunswick was apart of Nova Scotia for some time), or perhaps even three if Cape Breton island gets enough migrants.
At the very least, that's one more pro-Northern state, as Nova Scotia would fall under the New England region and likely be heavily colonized by settlers from Masacheusetts.
One of my timelines involved Nova Scotia becoming a U.S. commonwealth{but not an actual state, though} in the 1860s.
That's too little, too late for this scenario, as most of the privateering on Nova Scotia was fro people only just a short distance away (by boat; in modern times by car, rail, or airplane) in New England. If one could actually enforce anti-privateering laws pre-1777 in the area from Cape Cod to Cape Breton, that would take away a big reason for Nova Scotia not wanting to join the ARW - another would be what to do with the Rev. Henry Alline.