Let's say the American colonists lose the Revolution.

Genghis Kawaii

Gone Fishin'
The colonial victory was heavily dependent on sheer luck and British miscalculation. There are several points where we could easily have lost. Seeing as how it was pretty likely at the time for us to lose, what would the ramnifications be of a quick (say, 1775 or 1776) quashing of the uprising? What about a defeat later on in the war? I'm interested in both the immediate results of a British victory and the later implications, such as for the French, as far into the future as you are comfortable predicting.
 

Simreeve

In 1776 OTL Britain offered peace terms that would basically have given the colonists everything they'd officially been demanding in exchange for a fairly nominal recognition of continued British suzerainty: That offer was rejected, according to a book that I've read recently probably because the rebel leaders could see French help coming and hoped that this would help them to gain control of both Quebec (despite that having been a French colony until barely more than a decade previously) and Florida as well in addition to "just" the 13 Colonies.
Would the colonists accepting this deal meet your criteria, or does there actually have to be a decisive British military victory?
 

Genghis Kawaii

Gone Fishin'
Simreeve said:
In 1776 OTL Britain offered peace terms that would basically have given the colonists everything they'd officially been demanding in exchange for a fairly nominal recognition of continued British suzerainty: That offer was rejected, according to a book that I've read recently probably because the rebel leaders could see French help coming and hoped that this would help them to gain control of both Quebec (despite that having been a French colony until barely more than a decade previously) and Florida as well in addition to "just" the 13 Colonies.
Would the colonists accepting this deal meet your criteria, or does there actually have to be a decisive British military victory?
Click to expand...
If the Revolution ends with Britain in charge of all or part of the 13 Colonies, that's enough for me. It doesn't have to end because of a military victory.

I find the idea of this interesting. What could make the colonists accept the agreement? What does this mean for the future of European colonialism in North America and the rest of the world?
 
Alex Richards

Alex Richards

Donor
Kelsey Macailbert said:
If the Revolution ends with Britain in charge of all or part of the 13 Colonies, that's enough for me. It doesn't have to end because of a military victory.

I find the idea of this interesting. What could make the colonists accept the agreement? What does this mean for the future of European colonialism in North America and the rest of the world?
Click to expand...

Perhaps have the negotiations with France go wrong?
 

Shogun

Simreeve said:
In 1776 OTL Britain offered peace terms that would basically have given the colonists everything they'd officially been demanding in exchange for a fairly nominal recognition of continued British suzerainty: That offer was rejected, according to a book that I've read recently probably because the rebel leaders could see French help coming and hoped that this would help them to gain control of both Quebec (despite that having been a French colony until barely more than a decade previously) and Florida as well in addition to "just" the 13 Colonies.
Would the colonists accepting this deal meet your criteria, or does there actually have to be a decisive British military victory?
Click to expand...

I was also under the impression that the other reason the revolutionaries rejected the offer was because they had no guarantee that the terms (even if they agreed to them) would be confirmed by Parliament and the King. Essentially, they understood that the terms were thought up by Sir William Howe on his own initiative, and were not endorsed by the British government beforehand.
 
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Genghis Kawaii

Gone Fishin'
Shogun said:
I was also under the impression that the other reason the revolutionaries rejected the offer was because they had no guarantee that the terms (even if they agreed to them) would be confirmed by Parliament and the King. Essentially, they understood that the terms were thought up by Sir William Howe on his own initiative, and were not endorsed by Britain beforehand.
Click to expand...
Well, let us say Britain did endorse them. How does that change things?
 

Shogun

Kelsey Macailbert said:
Well, let us say Britain did endorse them. How does that change things?
Click to expand...

That makes it much easier for Britain to divide and conquer, with the Continental Congress hopelessly split between those who want to accept the terms of reconciliation and the more hard-core revolutionaries like Sam Adams, John Adams, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson who suspect a rat.

Hell, I would be very tempted in that situation to make peace with Britain myself.
 

smjb

I don't suppose y'all've read The Two Georges? (I predict a 60% chance that that's a stupid question.) I enjoyed it, but it was rather implausible.
 
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