AHC: U.S. state of Yucatan

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Given the horrific mess the place would be, and the low number of whites (and even lower number of anglophones and protestants), why would the Yucatan ever become a state?

OTL, Puerto Rico never did, and it didn't have the background of generations long multi-side civil wars to muck it up.

 

[Jared]

Given the horrific mess the place would be, and the low number of whites (and even lower number of anglophones and protestants), why would the Yucatan ever become a state?

Serious electoral shenanigans, like Nevada-squared, by a party which is desperately convinced it will lose the election during an *ACW. Getting it to happen in peacetime would be much, much harder, though I expect it would happen eventually.

OTL, Puerto Rico never did, and it didn't have the background of generations long multi-side civil wars to muck it up.

Because Puerto Rico is caught in an odd position where it can have most of the benefits of being part of the USA, without some of the drawbacks, e.g. paying federal personal income tax (mostly). As I understand the population's view, if forced to choose between statehood and independence, the majority would choose statehood.

And from the federal government's point of view, the entry of Puerto Rico is opposed because it is feared that it would be a gift to one particular party, so the other party resists it. In an ATL, I'm positing that Yucatan would be admitted when one party had such an overwhelming government majority that it could admit whatever states it liked.

 

[hzn5pk]

Given the horrific mess the place would be, and the low number of whites (and even lower number of anglophones and protestants), why would the Yucatan ever become a state?

OTL, Puerto Rico never did, and it didn't have the background of generations long multi-side civil wars to muck it up.

That is a good point.

If Yucatan is to be a state, perhaps a POD is in the ARW with Quebec being apart of the USA and staying in the USA. By the 1840's, the USA would be more used to the multi-cultural aspect. Also, would have more northern states which might lead to the desire to have more southern territory to balance.

But maybe, the USA takes Yucatan under its wing as a protectorate, A Puerto Rico some 50 years sooner.

Could the Yucatan also serve as a Liberia? As a colony for free African Americans, probably not.

 

[pa_dutch]

Suddenly, the Red Power movement has a much, much larger population base. I wonder if the US government might attempt to classify Mayans and North American natives as seperate races to keep them from allying. Fast forward to the future, with Mayan enclaves in major US cities, and that's a very interesting development as well.

 

[Captain Jack]

Jared-

I recently came across a copy of a report written in 1909 discussing the plants used to produce rubber in Mexico. Now, I wasn't even aware that Mexico produced rubber or had any native plants that could be used to produce it. However, there are, apparently, three different plants that can be tapped to yield a sap that may be processed into usuable rubber. To be clear, I'm using rubber in the broader sense here including things like gutta-percha as that seems to be how it's used in the report. Indeed it compares the rubber from one of the plants to gutta-percha and comes to the conclusion that it they are very similar. The most relevant part of the article was the one discussion the tree Castilla elastica which grows in Mexico but also in the West Indies. If it can be cultivated in the islands of the West Indies it should be suitable for cultivation in the Yucatan too. It strikes me that this tree could be a potential crop for the Yucatan. If it's profitable enough it could be a significant incentive to maintain control of the Yucatan and complete the subjugation of the Maya for labor. Or, more horrifically, exterminate them and bring in slave labor from the rest of the United States to work the rubber plantations.

Just my thoughts.