What would Brazil look like if it had been a colony of Britian?

[Historianweebnino]

Hello everyone , what do you think Brazil would look like if it was a colony of Britian instead of Portugal? , do you think it would end out like New Zealand or Australia did? , do you think it would be more like a bigger version of Guyana? , what do you think Brazil would be called in this alterenete timeline?

This wonderful flag was sadly not made by me.

Also to be clear in this scenario Portugal never colonizes Brazil but instead Brazil is a colony of Britian and not of Portugal.

 

[Vinization]

Either Guyana or a very big version of the southern US.

 

[John I of Brazil]

Either Guyana or a very big version of the southern US.

Something in between, though it would vary between regions, as Brazil is much bigger than those places. The north-northeast's climate is more like Guyana, while the southern regions are more temperate....

 

[pandizzy]

I remember reading in school an essay about the 'The disaster in being important' and that meant that since brazil was so important to the portuguese crown, its own economy failed because there was never any chance of the crown letting go. Figured the same would happen here.

 

[JohnBull]

It depends on the region. Southern Brazil, São Paulo state would be a copy and paste of British settlement colonies. Northwards it would be like Southern United States or the Cape.

I guess it would be considerably stronger and more influential than OTL as it would be more integrated into the British system. The share of Whites would probably be the same as OTL, maybe a bit more and GDP somewhat bigger (maybe 2x).

 

[Lalli]

It depends when and how Britain would had got Brazil. Most plausible would be that Brazil would had been taken sometimes in 17th or even 18th century. Then next question would be how Brazil would develope and when it would get independence. There is just too many unknown factors so I just say it could be whatever between Australia and Argentina. But superpower status is quiet implausible. Perhaps great power but nothing close of United States. It hardly has such economic drive and population what it would need.

 

[holycookie]

It's a mix as JohnBull said, the north region was great for cash crops and the south was great for production and livestock and family production. One thing that would probably be different is non-breeding between whites and natives. Something the British hated. So this will not happen or if it does, it will be the most mixed colony of the English.
there is a great timeline that is no longer being worked called where hearts were entertaining june an english brazil:

Where Hearts Were Entertaining June: An English Brazil

Where Hearts Were Entertaining June At Last, An English Colony POD: The English Armada doesn’t get stuck at Corunna and succeeds in beating Spain in 1589. The roots of the United Kingdom of Brazil, one the supreme superpowers on the planet, can be traced back to its humble origin in 1589...

www.alternatehistory.com

 

[holycookie]

Perhaps great power but nothing close of United States. It hardly has such economic drive and population what it would need.

the usa had many geographical advantages. Especially for rapid industrialization.

I guess it would be considerably stronger and more influential than OTL as it would be more integrated into the British system. The share of Whites would probably be the same as OTL, maybe a bit more and GDP somewhat bigger (maybe 2x).

Will the colony with the help of the uk be able to take control of the pampas? because this is a great region.
Probably the colony will be bigger due to uk having more wars with spain.

 

[Tupolev0247]

It depends when and how Britain would had got Brazil. Most plausible would be that Brazil would had been taken sometimes in 17th or even 18th century

Let's say the British take over Brazil in the early 18th century, the reactions of Portugal and Spain would be interesting.

 

[JohnBull]

the usa had many geographical advantages. Especially for rapid industrialization.

Will the colony with the help of the uk be able to take control of the pampas? because this is a great region.
Probably the colony will be bigger due to uk having more wars with spain.

It's a possibility. The march to the west could start earlier with British investing heavily on railways. In this scenario, both the white population and territory would be bigger than OTL.

 

[holycookie]

Some of the maps from this timeline. It's a shame the story was never finished.
The World in 1650:

The world in 1750:

Seven years war

After the war

 

[Lalli]

Let's say the British take over Brazil in the early 18th century, the reactions of Portugal and Spain would be interesting.

Speciality reaction of Portugal would be intresting since they were allies.

 

[Historianweebnino]

Let's say the British take over Brazil in the early 18th century, the reactions of Portugal and Spain would be interesting.

No I mean what if they colonized Brazil before the Portuguese did in other words Brazil would not be a colony of Portugal but of England instead.

 

[Tupolev0247]

No I mean what if they colonized Brazil before the Portuguese did in other words Brazil would not be a colony of Portugal but of England instead.

If it's earlier there's a problem, but if it's during the late 17th/early 18th century it will be interesting to see if Portugal accepts the dagger in the back and just smiles or breaks the alliance. In any case I see the Spanish trying to strengthen their position in the area.

 

[Historianweebnino]

If it's earlier there's a problem, but if it's during the late 17th/early 18th century it will be interesting to see if Portugal accepts the dagger in the back and just smiles or breaks the alliance. In any case I see the Spanish trying to strengthen their position in the area.

Maybe i will write more about what I think would happen and make a map to the best of my abillty soon.

 

[Duke of Orlando]

To add to what others have said, I think it depends on when and how the UK gets Brazil. If Brazil becomes one of the first big British Settler colony I think it looks similar to Canada or Australia, with more rural regions resembling rural New Zealand economically and politically. I’d expect a decent minority of Brazilian native peoples. It would likely be the strongest and wealthiest British dominion.

If they take it after significant Portuguese colonization though things likely aren’t as rosy. Even if the Portuguese and British are still allies, the people in Brazil won’t appreciate having a new foreign overlord. There will be issues. Best case scenario is something like Quebec, worst case you get Portuguese Boers in the Amazon. Some lightly populated areas like Rio Grande do Sol likely aren’t an issue and likely become majority British after a while. Still even with some majority British areas there would be a lot of tension between different groups. I personally would expect something like South Africa.

 

[Historianweebnino]

Here is my timeline I have made for this alternate timeline.

Year 1700 AD
During this time Britian colonizes Brazil , encountering South American natives and subjugating them one by one meanwhile slaves bought from Africa are bought to the colony to be used for slave labor in exporting sugar , canes and other valuable resources to bring to the motherland .

Year 1775 AD

The British colonize more of the Brazilian coast leading to more natives being subjugated and dying of illness bought by British Settlers and their slaves meanwhile during this time the empire is rapidly advancing due to slave labor rapidly producing sugar , cane and cotton as well as slavery in the 13 colonies and caribbean contributing to cotton and sugar production .

Year 1776 AD
The US eventually gains independence however Britian is not much effected still carrying a big monopoly on land and still having vast resources in sugar production in the up coming years it would remian an important colony to combat the Spanish and Dutch in South America.

Year 1900 AD
With tensions in Europe rising Brazil remains a British colony however much like Canada , Australia and New Zealand it became a self governing dominion helping Britian with trade and with wars but still having a somewhat self dependent government .

Year 1920
By The End of WW1 , The British Colonies in America and Oceania begin to ask for independence and start gaining more freedom including Brazil , Brazil helps the British Empire during WW1 and WW2 contributing soldiers to fight against Japan , Italy and Germany alongside Canada , New Zealand and India.

Year 1945-Present
Eventually as WW2 comes to a close , Brazil as well as most of the other British Colonies gain independence becoming fully independent but still staying part of the British Commonwealth and keeping the British Queen as their head of state , Brazil is currently a first world nation in this timeline with standards of living and politics much like Canada or New Zealand remaining as one of the only South American nations with good quality of living .

Brazil aids Britian when Argentina attacks the Falkland Islands in 1982 thus leading to a even more conclusive defeat for the Argentines and insuring British rule on the Island due to Argentina now being surrounded by two enemies willing to defend the island.

Brazil would likely have a similar GDP and Economy to what it has today meaning it would likely be richer than Canada but still way below the US but providing the British develop it like how they developed Canada or New Zealand then it would be a growing economy and a regional power in South America.

If anyone is wondering I think that Guyana would be part of Brazil in this timeline and I also think that it is possible for the British to snatch Suriname from the Dutch and add it as part of the British Brazilian colony .

Also Sri Lanka , Singapore , Malaysia and the United Arab emirates would get independence like they did originally but I accidently marked them in red so my error on that.

Some other things I would like to add
Capital:Saint Luther
Ethnic Demographics
61.9% White
29% Black
7% Asian (Indian/Pakistani , East Asian , Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian)
0.9% to 1% Native Brazilian
0.1% pacific islander/Latin American/other
Land Area:3.33 Million Square Miles
GDP:1.899 Trillion

 

[funnyhat]

snip

I'm not sure you can simply add Brazil to the OTL British Empire. A British Brazil will probably draw some resources and settlers away from North America and elsewhere. It may mean that some colonies are not founded at all, since the OTL justification for them may not exist.

If England acquires Brazil relatively early on, it may concede most of North America away to the French/Dutch/Spanish and concentrate on South America - basically the reverse of what happened OTL. It may also not bother with Australia if Brazil is still under control and being settled at that time.

 

[CASSICTOR2]

Wait a minute would it it even be called Brazil because that from the Portuguese and if Brazil was British they will rename it as a English name

 

[unprincipled peter]

People speak of USA geography being some huge advantage. It has the Mississippi/Ohio River system, but...

Sailing north on the Mississippi was limited. It only became a highway with the advent of steam.

The East coast (the early heart of the country) has the impediment of the Appalachian Mountains in westward travel. East also has some limitations in mineral resources, Pennsylvania being the huge exception.
The south has tropical disease issues.
The midwest was considered useless desert.
Overland travel to the west coast involved a long trek over plains, and then the Rocky Mountains are an impediment.
The Southwest is a treacherous desert.

These impediments were overcome. There is no reason the geography of Brazil can't be overcome. In fact, it has been overcome. Limitations are due to socio-economic shortcomings of the Portuguese/Brazilian situation. This isn't to say that English colonization automatically doesn't have shortcomings preventing overcoming of geography.