Alternate Colonial Powers

[Viriato]

After 1834, Greece's merchant marine grew steadily and by from 1901 to 1914 grew four fold in size so that by 1914 totalled over 1,000,000 gross tons. What if this focus on trade had led to the creation of a colonial empire? Let us assume that in the 1880s Greek merchants begin establishing themselves in East Africa (around Mombasa). The British don't end up getting Kenya or Uganda and this region becomes Greek. Perhaps a portion of the former Ottoman Empire too such as Aleppo.

Another possible colonial power is Poland. After independence there was a Polish Colonial League that was formed and they pressed for getting a former German colony. Perhaps they recieve trusteeship over Cameroun or Tanganyika.

 

[Nicole]

Well, Greece's Imperialist Ambitions certainly existed, but they were directed on Istanbul (Constantinople). I'm not sure how you are going to stop them from looking towards Byzantine glory rather than some distant African region..
Poland however, is a different matter. If the Imperialist powers are feeling less greedy (Hard, but possible) they could give a colony to Poland, assuming this Polish Colonial group has widespread support..

 

[Leo Caesius]

I, personally, would like to see a timeline involving a colonial Siam or Ethiopia. I think someone here might be able to pull it off (I am not he, unfortunately).

 

[Tom_B]

Hungarian Congo

Don't have a clue how it came about but I just love the name.

 

[Oddball]

Denmark-Norway

Im fleshing out a vibrant Danish West Africa ATM.

OTL D-N had several small colonial posessions (West Indies, Gold Coast, India) but they never quite got anywere.

 

[Aussey]

Austrian West Africa?
Scottish East Indies?
Belgian North America?
Polish West Indies?
Swedish South Africa?
Danish South America?

 

[Farnham]

Don't forget Tobago....

Latvian West Indies?
Swedish North America?

 

[Grey Wolf]

Belgian Guatemala ? (They tried, well a small colony)

Russian Hawaii (again they tried, at least for some of the islands as victualling stations for the Russia American Company in California)

Danish India

Prussian West Africa

All based on real endeavours

Grye Wolf

 

[Thande]

Not forgetting Scottish Panama...

I think Sweden is one of the more plausible non-OTL possible colonial powers.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Not forgetting Scottish Panama...

I think Sweden is one of the more plausible non-OTL possible colonial powers.

Well, it had a colony on the East coast of the USA for some time, and also held the island of St Barts in the Caribbean until IIRC the 1880s when it sold it back to France

Grey Wolf

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

I still like Hapsburg Sudan. It could have happened, I tell you!

 

[Thande]

The Austro-Hungarian-Croat-Serb-Sudanese-Darfuri Empire...

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

The Austro-Hungarian-Croat-Serb-Sudanese-Darfuri Empire...

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, the Austrians held a large proportion of the trade in the Sudan, and Austrian coinage was the only universal currency, which seems odd. Trieste was the big trade city, and produced all the copper coils and glass beads used to trade with the natives.

 

[Oddball]

I think Sweden is one of the more plausible non-OTL possible colonial powers.

Actualy not.

Sweden had a marginal merchant marine, and the little they had was consentrating on Baltic trading.

If you want a Nordic colonizer, you better look to Denmark-Norway

 

[Melvin Loh]

What about Australia as a colonial power in its own right, perhaps taking over PNG, parts of the Indon archipelago and certain Pacific islands ?

Or, with a different spin, could the UN, thru its trusteeship system, become colonial power too ? Say by establishing mandates over 'failed states' like Somalia ? IIRC the Trusteeship Council in 1994 had worked itself out of a job with the independence of Tuvalu, so WI this UN body found a new lease of life as a quasi-colonial agency running UN mandates in states which had fallen apart and needed to be put back tog again ?

 

[Aussey]

Commonwealth of the Austrian Empire

*Anyone interested in helping me make an Austrian colonial power TL, PM me*

 

[Leo Caesius]

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, the Austrians held a large proportion of the trade in the Sudan, and Austrian coinage was the only universal currency, which seems odd. Trieste was the big trade city, and produced all the copper coils and glass beads used to trade with the natives.

Actually, believe it or not, but the Maria Theresa Thaler was the de facto currency in Yemen and much of the interior of the Arabian Peninsula, and quite a few of them are still in circulation. Today, you'll find stacks of them in bazaars throughout the Middle East.

Here's an interesting note from a site on the Maria Theresa Thaler:

According to Krause, there have been an estimated 800 million Maria Theresa thalers struck since 1780. Strangely enough, since we included this page on our website, we keep getting offered large quantities from the middle east. We wouldn't normally wish to cast doubt on the accuracy or honesty of the people who contact us, but most of these sellers (or their agents) claim to have very large quantities for sale. Most own a few million, one agent claimed to be acting for two vendors, one of whom owns one billion, and the other owns two billion coins. Since each of these two gentlemen owns more than were ever minted, it makes us wonder! Needless to say we don't bother to reply to such enquiries unless the vendors wish to establish their bona fides with us in advance.​

 

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

They were specially minted in Trieste for this very purpose - and they had to bear the date 1780 to have full value - however, each coin had a different value based on its condition, which provided African and Arabian traders much-loved opportunities for haggling. I've read that the wear was judged by whether or not the broach on MT's shoulder could still be seen.

The Ottomans were continually trying to get rid of them in Arabia, but never fully succeeded. The British finally eradicated their use in their African territories, but the Germans didn't, and I don't think the French did either.

Their intrinsic value was much less than they were traded for in the 19th c.

Any more questions? I've been doing way more research on the Sudan (in the sense of the belt across Africa below the Sahara) than I would have ever guessed for a big AH project.

Actually, believe it or not, but the Maria Theresa Thaler was the de facto currency in Yemen and much of the interior of the Arabian Peninsula, and quite a few of them are still in circulation. Today, you'll find stacks of them in bazaars throughout the Middle East.

Here's an interesting note from a site on the Maria Theresa Thaler:

According to Krause, there have been an estimated 800 million Maria Theresa thalers struck since 1780. Strangely enough, since we included this page on our website, we keep getting offered large quantities from the middle east. We wouldn't normally wish to cast doubt on the accuracy or honesty of the people who contact us, but most of these sellers (or their agents) claim to have very large quantities for sale. Most own a few million, one agent claimed to be acting for two vendors, one of whom owns one billion, and the other owns two billion coins. Since each of these two gentlemen owns more than were ever minted, it makes us wonder! Needless to say we don't bother to reply to such enquiries unless the vendors wish to establish their bona fides with us in advance.​

 

[das]

Don't forget that Russia nearly bought California once...

And speaking of Russia, imagine what a funny ASB-ish world it would have been if Pavel I's plans were fulfilled! Russian(-dominated) India, Russian Malta, Russian Ethiopia, Russian Madagascar. Rather unlikely, though.

 

[Aussey]

United Colony of Alaska and the Oregon countries. (Russian)

could evolve into

Alaskan Soviet Socialist Republic
Oregonian Confederate Soviet Socialist Republic

lol
________________________________
Florentine North America
Tuscan East Africa
Polish Australia
Prussian Arabia
Portugese North America
Sicilian South Africa
Monacoan West Indies
Greek Southeast Asia
Hanovrian Indochina
Corisican West Africa
Finnish Congo
Albanian North Africa
St. Peter's Sudan (Patrimony of St. Peter)
Persian South America
Omani East Africa (actually happened until Portugal came)
Aragonese China
Castillian Antarctica
Belgian North Africa
Texan Congo
Mexican South Africa
English South America
French Australia
Spanish Arabia
oh how fun, but for my grand finale:


and the all time weirdest, most implossible, and would be the coolest timeline ever:

Mecklenburger North America