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Top-level
 Sometimes I read these alternative history novels with the premise of “What if the USA lost the American Revolution?” The plot is always super dystopian. Meanwhile, I’m thinking, “I know what would happen if the USA lost the American Revolution: they’d be Canada.” 19 comments
 @atomicpoet I don't think Canada would be Canada with so many Americans. We don't have the same history with slavery, the Spanish, etc. The war also seemed to separate the "you can't make us, we'll point our guns" crowd. Every time there has been a war, more of them have moved up here. I have friends who were part of Vietnam, Bush, and Spanky exoduses. Which doesn't mean that the British didn't really suck. But we just did things differently here. @CStamp @atomicpoet I’m not saying the USA would be exactly like Canada now. But it would more or less resemble Canada. @atomicpoet Maybe. There are bigger differences than monarchy vs democratic republic, though, and the cotton plantations and slave workers made a huge imprint on the US.  @atomicpoet Of course, Britain ended slavery relatively early compared to other nations of the period. It would be really interesting to ponder a U.S. where slavery was quietly ended in 1807. It’s also funny how the American Revolution and its impact on Canada is often glossed over in Canadian schools. We spent more time on the Seven Years War and the War of 1812 than the American Revolution. @atomicpoet The only real parts of the US Revolution I remember on the curriculum in Nova Scotia was with respect to the United Empire Loyalists coming to what is now Canada, but even that was treated very superficially. And certainly no mention of the Battle of Quebec.  @atomicpoet Why would they? It’s not their history or central to their national mythology. States don’t spend much time on the Mexican Revolution. Texas touches on it, but only in relation to Texas.  @atomicpoet In Ontario, we didn't get one word on the War of 1812. To your point, we also didn't get a single word about the American Revolution either. We covered the Seven Years War in what... five, maybe six different grade levels? @atomicpoet Socialist/Communist/Secular Humanist/Frenchlike Monarchy. Fixed it for you! @atomicpoet  @atomicpoet I think you’re probably right. The entire continent north of Mexico May have been Canada. As you implied the biggest influence I think is Parliamentary Democracy. That said, I think Canada was more homogenous religiously, with Protestant in English Canada and Catholic French. America had Quakers, Protestants, Mormons, Catholics. But the biggest influence would have been Spanish. It may have all ended up being “British America” but lots of opportunity for divergence.  There's an argument that one of the motivations for the US to rebel was they were getting worried that Britain was going to ban or limiting slavery. If that's true America winning the revolutionary war is the dystopia.  @atomicpoet maybe in an alternate history, where the whole thing didn't get done badly from the start, the American revolution never had to happen at all & things went so swimmingly that the monarchy moved themselves over here, and subsequently locked itself into a foreverwar with Eurasia.  @atomicpoet and have a stable democracy, universal healthcare, and so much else that we don't have today. Can we go back in time and throw the war? :) @atomicpoet Hopefully, the US would be confined to the eastern sea board, and the native nations would occupy most of NA. |
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@atomicpoet mmm … how much is the history of Canada a response to the US’s victory in the revolutionary war? I’m sure Britain’s treatment of the colonies there was informed by the risks of losing more colonies.