WI: Frederick the Great recognizes the US

[danwild6]

So lets suppose the events leading up to the War of Bavarian Succession don't take place and Frederick II recognizes the Independence of the United States shortly after France does. How does Britain respond?

 

[usertron2020]

So lets suppose the events leading up to the War of Bavarian Succession don't take place and Frederick II recognizes the Independence of the United States shortly after France does. How does Britain respond?

Frederick was old and didn't want any foreign entanglements. Plus, with no navy, and even with his nation not exhausted, there's nothing in it for him. Especially since Great Britain (ITTL) is still a traditional ally, and the British haven't stabbed Frederick in the back by suddenly pulling out of the Seven Years War and leaving Frederick in the lurch.

The main reason that IOTL Britain was so screwed politically in Europe and Benjamin Franklin came across as such a diplomatic genius is because of how Britain dealt with the Seven Years War. Essentially, in the name of getting the maximum possible gain for the Empire, they screwed over both their enemies AND their allies at war's end.

By the time of the ARW Britain's European neighbors were in three camps:

A) Devout enemies (France, later Spain, and later still the Netherlands)
B) Go Screw Yourself, Britain! (Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, Austria, Sardinia-Piedmont, the Kingdom of Sicily and Naples, the Papal States, Poland, Russia, the German States*, and finally even the Ottoman Empire!)
C) Switzerland (even if they WANTED to take sides, they were in a limited civil war at the time)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*-Hessia (Hessen) at first supplied plentiful mercenaries (shanghaied, most of them), until Frederick II of Prussia told the Landgravine Frederick II of Hessia to turn off the spigot or else Frederick would make Frederick be very sorry all his troops were in America.

 

[Monty Burns]

Frederick was old and didn't want any foreign entanglements. Plus, with no navy, and even with his nation not exhausted, there's nothing in it for him.

Hannover.

But even with that I'd agree with you that Prussia has not much to win, as the other continental powers wouldn't like Prussia getting even more powerful in northern Germany, and anything out of Europe is only of limited interest for Prussia.

 

[Max Sinister]

Hessia (Hessen) at first supplied plentiful mercenaries (shanghaied, most of them), until Frederick II of Prussia told the Landgravine Frederick II of Hessia to turn off the spigot or else Frederick would make Frederick be very sorry all his troops were in America.

Now that would make an interesting TL. When exactly did he state that?