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Age of Sail Alternate History idea


AmadanNaBriona

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I was just doing some of my occasional Piratical research and came across an interesting "break point" for an alternate history line.

 

In April of 1699, Scottish born Captain William Kidd was anchored off the port of St. Thomas, a Danish trading outpost that was friendly to smugglers. He was attempting to formulate a plan, having just discovered days before (at the english isle of Antiguilla) that he was the most wanted man on the high seas, and stood accused of piracy. History and survivng records suggest that the three course of action available to him that he considered were...

1) Go rogue and dissappear into the Carribbean, which he knew well and where he was well connected.

2) Make for the newly establish scottish Colony of New Edinburgh at Darien near Panama

3) Return home to New York and attempt to clear his good name with the aid of his paperwork and the influence of his financial backers, including Lord Bellomont (the Governor of the New York & Boston colonies) and the King of England.

 

He attempted #3. As insurance he stashed the majority of his remaining profits, and thus the stories of hidden pirate treasure were born, and a good man was executed due to a combonation of nasty politics and perjury.

 

But what if he had taken option #2?

 

The Darien Scheme, due to oposition from the English East Indies Trading Company, was backed entirely by Scottish investors, representing some 1/3 to 1/2 of the ENTIRE liquid monetary reserve in Scotland. At the exact time that Kidd was pondering joining them, they were right on the cusp... They had established the basic colony, had additional settlers coming in waves, and were requesting aid from Scotland for provisioning. The aid ship sunk. The goods brought by the Scottish traders were not the sort desired by the luxury merchants of the Carribbean. The cargo of the Adventure Prize (formerly the Queedagh Merchant) might have made all the difference.

 

The failure of the Darien scheme, and thus the sudden impoverishment of the nation of Scotland, is considered the direct cause, in 1707, of the dissolution of the Scottish Parliment and the signing of the Act of Unification, creating the United Kingdom and paving the way for the Jacobite Rebellions of 1715 and 1745 and the subsiquent Highland Clearances.

 

From there.... ?

 

What do folk think? What would be some of the logical consequences of this change? Obviously... the colony could still die out from Malaria or have been wiped out by the Spaniards (the causes for the actual settlement to fail), but if it had survived and thrived (which I strongly suspect Kidds influence would allow it to), the future of the British Empire and the New World would both shift radically. Anyone got any ideas for possible fallout, good or ill?

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Re: Age of Sail Alternate History idea

 

What I'd see is the with out the unification of Great Britian, you'd get a series of at first minor alterations upto major ones as time moves along. One would be that Scotland remained indepentant and maybe eventually a world power in the area of trade.

 

Just a quick idea, will think on this more later and will add what comes to mind.

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Re: Age of Sail Alternate History idea

 

I thought about this last night and a few things came to mind....

 

If Drake had done as you said, consider the movement of so many Scots to Southern US and Mountain area's there-in. If Drake had kept Scotland an indepent nation not part of a Greater Britian, the history of the USA might have been very different.

 

Will add move as I consider this.

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Re: Age of Sail Alternate History idea

 

Hmmm.....

Thinking this through a bit....

The First Jacobite attempt to put James back on the crown had already occured a decade before this time. The defeats at the Battle of the Boyne and the Haughs of Cromdale did not, however, crush the Jacobite Movement. Had New Endinburgh survived the colony of New Caladonea most likely would have started pouring money into scottish hands, escpecailly as it had good access to the South Seas, which were just beginning to be tapped by the various European nations. It is quite likely that this could have led to the 1715 rebellion occuring later and with much broader support, leading to a restoration of James Stuart as the King of Great Britan. With his experiences as King-in-Exile and his support base coming from such a wide spectrum of countries, it is just possible he might have retained the colonies for the british empire. As you mentioned, no Highland Clearances means no sudden influx of bitter exiled scottish veterans to the New World and Australia. The wellspring of ideas in America woud still brew, but it is quite possible that a restored Stuart monarch might encourage the sovereign status of Great Britans various member countries, assuming he kept his promises to his Scottish and Irish supporters. This, in turn would have made the formation of new countries in Australia and America potentially less traumatic events in historical terms, and would lead to a quite different British Empire, more a Confederacy of Nations. The threat from France would like as not have been reduced as well, at least for a time, first because of James strong French ties, and because a set of united Sovereign Nations on both sides of the Atlantic would be potentially harder to oppose. I'd guess that the rise of industry and the explosion of the middle class would if anything accellerate and occur earlier. The Panama Canal or some variation of the theme would probably been established YEARS earlier at New Caledonia, facilitating Atlantic-Pacific trade.

 

Hmmm... sounds like a recipe for a Steampunk setting.

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Re: Age of Sail Alternate History idea

 

My thought was to allow the failed 1715 uprisings etc and James' failed attempts but allow many of the rebels to flee to the new colony and congregate there rather than disperse to other places.

 

This focussed group could possibly then provide a broader and more monied base for the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and place Bonnie Prince Charlie on the British throne.

 

Enough available cash when the Jacobites were in Derby could have assured that certain people did not get into the right places - possibly diverted by Continental landings of other forces paid for by Carribbean gold - and allow the highlanders to achieve London.

 

That makes the world a different place with a potential Catholic throne in 18th century Britain....

 

 

Doc

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Re: Age of Sail Alternate History idea

 

Howabout a combination? Kidd manages to clear himself and continues operation as an "English" privateer, while funnelling a good part of his profits to New Caledonia. With the extra cash infusion and Kidd helping to protect the settlement, it thrives. Eventually he retires from the sea and becomes governor of the settlement, as well as being the wealthiest man and largest landowner there from his years of investing his loot.

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