What are the ways to give American a stronger Navy and make the Royal navy weaker? would having Canada (Quebec), Nova Scotia, and Saint John Island(Prince Edward Island) joining have any noticeable effect? like having Quebec's Iron works help or Halifax somehow being taken by patriot forces early in the war probably for a very short time change the situation at all. Or maybe having Great Britain taking all the french Caribbean colonies after the 7 years war so that Royal Navy is more over extended increase the amount of smugglers that America could recruit due to GB's mercantile economic policies and having an effective monopoly on sugar and also damaging GB's economy? Are there any Hurricanes that could taken ships out commission? I mean these are some guesses at what could do it but I struggle to find anything that really affects the juggernaut that is the Royal Navy and truly strengthen the fledgling American Navy.
What is the strongest the American Navy and the weakest the Royal Navy can be during the American Revolution.
- Thread starter VaultJumper
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An interesting possibility might be if the Turtle was more successful and the Continental Congress was willing to fund a small fleet of them? Perhaps if Bushnell or some other inventor had started working on it a few years earlier to work out the kinks. If successful it would allow the Americans to punch significantly above their weight against the British blockade.
that would be true but the turtles would have to be extremely lucky and very niche.
Making the Royal Navy more hyper-extended is the name of the game. Maybe more competition in Australia/New Zealand, perhaps an ongoing adventure into Patagonia or adventurism in Haita and Santo Domingo. If the Spanish start campaigns in British holdings in British Honduras, Mosquito Coast and Guyana, it might warrant some ships to have to peel off.
so if the British take Cuba and the French Caribbean colonies in the 7 years war would that help over extend the Royal Navy
The Americans actually did, from my recollection of production figures and manpower, actually have quite an impressive shipbuilding industry and sailor base. But it clearly was difficult to actually put this into effect of building up a regular fleet, based on the war happening in the US, the overwhelming superiority of the British navy which meant that starting a build up was difficult, that the US was just being formed and it had to work out the governmental institutions and organizational structure of its navy, and above all else financing it. And most importantly, there was simply not time: it takes years to build a real battle fleet, and so even in perfect conditions, it would be years before the US would be able to form a fleet capable of a stand-up fight with the Royal Navy (and even then, there is no guarantee, given that the Royal Navy would be significantly larger, more powerful, and experienced). If you have the US win the war on land early then peace will come and there will be no need for a fleet, and the organizational and infrastructure developments for it will never take place, while if the US is bogged down and forced to develop a more powerful government and has a real need for a fleet, the more pressing needs of the land war will prevent it from being formed. Either way, a real fleet is low on the priority list for the US during the war.
A real US battle fleet beyond a few ships of the line (which the US did build a few of in the 1780s) is difficult to conceive of, but you can expand its lighter units and commerce raiding elements, if you are able to beat down British countering ships to a significant enough extent that this becomes more profitable and less risky. Have the French and Spanish win some additional naval battles against the British, such as wiping out some of the British efforts to resupply Gibraltar which could have gone terribly awry, Suffren's campaign go better, the French to press their advantage after battles such as the Battle of Grenada and significantly harm the British fleet. You could also conspire to have British diplomacy be dramatically worse and to cause the League of Armed Neutrality to be directly drawn into the war against the British, which would further spread the Royal Navy out.
A real US battle fleet beyond a few ships of the line (which the US did build a few of in the 1780s) is difficult to conceive of, but you can expand its lighter units and commerce raiding elements, if you are able to beat down British countering ships to a significant enough extent that this becomes more profitable and less risky. Have the French and Spanish win some additional naval battles against the British, such as wiping out some of the British efforts to resupply Gibraltar which could have gone terribly awry, Suffren's campaign go better, the French to press their advantage after battles such as the Battle of Grenada and significantly harm the British fleet. You could also conspire to have British diplomacy be dramatically worse and to cause the League of Armed Neutrality to be directly drawn into the war against the British, which would further spread the Royal Navy out.
I like all of those options as in real life it is cascade of events that bring down juggernauts