Your challenge is to have Australia and Canada be established as nations independent of the British Crown sometime between 1840 and 1860. Bonus cookies if there is no revolt and a peaceful independence for both.
AHC: Australia and Canadian Indepenedence in 1840s-1860s
- Thread starter TheBrunswickian
- Start date
Well how do you mean 'independence'? Outright repudiation of the British monarchy, declaration of republics?
Something that must be understood is that really nothing stood in the way of these colonies requesting independence in the period of 1840-1860. As it stood there were simply too many good reasons to stay within the Empire and not really any good ones to leave in this time period for the white settler colonies.
On that note I suppose Canada could declare itself a republic in 1867, since it was the only one which could really have acted as a viable independent state. Australia's population in this period was only about one million people, not really quite enough to form an independent state which could thrive.
Well there are a couple of issues.
One, Australia didn't exist at this time, as a legal entity anyway. Nor did Canada really.
Secondly, what is meant by independence? An earlier version of what happened OTL or something different?
One, Australia didn't exist at this time, as a legal entity anyway. Nor did Canada really.
Secondly, what is meant by independence? An earlier version of what happened OTL or something different?
Pretty much just Canada and Australia being established as independent nations prior to OTL if possible, in order to be able to gain more power (sort of). I want to work out a feasible way of having the colonies achieve a peaceful independence, but still maintain a strategic bond with Britain.
My idea was to establish a Kingdom of Canada and Kingdom of Australia, with Queen Victoria's sons, Arthur and Leopold, ruling in each. And I also had the idea of the Commonwealth being structured in a different way, acting more as a confederation of the Kingdoms.