Colonies of the English Commonwealth

[DominusNovus]

Assume that the English Commonwealth managed to survive, and do at least as well for itself as they did under the monarchy. Assume that they are relatively democratic and free, and not just a military dictatorship.

How do you guys think this effects English colonization?

 

[Flocculencio]

I did a TL where Monck becomes Lord Protector after the death of Cromwell. Basically in OTL he brought an army down from Edinburgh when General Lambert attempted to purge Parliament. Having placed himself as the protector of Parliament he then engineered the situation to allow for the negotiated return of King Charles.

Basically in TTL, instead of choosing to work for Charles' return he might have himself declared Lord Protector. We'll assume that somehow he manages to reform the English Commonwealth to give it a stable method of succession.

Anyway in TTL, there wouldn't be quite so many religious dissenters going to New England. There would still be a lot of settlement though. Convicts would be going over and there would still be huge interest in the cash crops that would be grown further South. Settlement patterns in TTL might be geared more to the South with, perhaps, Baltimore or Richmond becoming the major city of the Colonies as opposed to Boston or New York.

 

[Darkest]

Non-Puritans and more democratically minded people decide to jump ship for the Americas? Oh, wait, that's not part of the question...

It matters who it is. If the dictator is smart, he can prepare for the Anglo-Dutch Wars and win those colonies sooner and quicker. (Not to mention possibly arrange an Anglo-Dutch union.)

Hey, if they did get that Anglo-Dutch thing going that Cromwell was trying to push, they would pore into everything the Netherlands did, especially in the Far East with bases at the East Indies. Everything is game with the ships of the Dutch and the English population working together.

 

[Johnnyreb]

I doubt that Cromwell's getting into bed with the Dutch was anything more than a temporary thing. Like any good Englishman, he wanted to slag off France and the Dutch would have seemed valuable allies for this purpose. Both the English and the Dutch were aggressively expanding trading nations, scouring the world for sources of raw materials and precious spices. There was bound to be conflict sooner or later.

The fact is that neither the English nor the Dutch had sufficient population to deal with the huge new lands open to them. That's why the English were quite content to have the Germans settle in Pennsylvania, so long as there were not too many of them, and why the Duke of York gave the Dutch of New Amsterdam such a good deal to surrender (Basically replace the flag, stop beating up English settlers and, oh, by the way, change the name - the Dutch took about 30 seconds to realise they could carry on making money as before, and agreed the surrender.)

The land was so huge, the English had to resort to indentured labour, convicts and ultimately slaves to work it.

The fact is, the fertile South was the most important place for a long time, particularly Virginia. The rise of the North was more an American thing than anything the English could influence.

 

[Alcuin]

I doubt that Cromwell's getting into bed with the Dutch was anything more than a temporary thing. Like any good Englishman, he wanted to slag off France and the Dutch would have seemed valuable allies for this purpose. Both the English and the Dutch were aggressively expanding trading nations, scouring the world for sources of raw materials and precious spices. There was bound to be conflict sooner or later.

Remember that Cromwell was an East Anglian. I agree that we always want to have a go at the French (ever since Hereward the Wake hid out in the fens and fought a guerilla war against the Normans). But there have always been extremely close ties between East Anglia and the Netherlands. Even today, it's possible to get a plane from Norwich to Amsterdam but not from Norwich to London.

While other Englishmen might not share our view of the Dutch as being somehow less foreign than, say the Welsh or the Scots, Cromwell may well have intended a more permanent union.

It's worth noting that there have been at least three opportunities for an Anglo Dutch Union: The Dutch offered Queen Elizabeth I the crown during their revolt against Spain; Cromwell's idea; and the united crown under William III.

 

[Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy]

No Braganza dowry means no Bombay and no Tangier - though the latter was lost some 20 years later anyway. Dunkirk might not get sold to the French.

The Commonwealth might have more interest in conquering Spanish America, so the military resources spent by Charles and William fighting the Netherlands and France, respectively, might go to fighting Spain. I doubt they'll take all the Spanish colonies, but they'll probably secure a larger presence in the Caribbean region.

You might get a British/English colonial empire centered on the Caribbean and with a foothold on the European mainland. (I think the term "British" might work because Scotland and Ireland were also under Commonwealth rule, and at some point this might lead to a change in name.)