US War of Independence

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by techumseh


Can you explain this bit?

After the Rev War ended in 1783, the British neglected to withdraw a number of their troops from the frontier and along the Great Lakes... within US territory that is. The British also incited many of the native groups of the area against the US. This was one of the grievances the US had that led to the war

[Ecthy]

Why does Canada not invade the US now while their army is in Evil Terroristland?

[Kuciwalker]

with what?

[Ecthy]

Polar Bears!!

[Patroklos]

Mounties and figure skaters.

[Ecthy]

The salvation army!

[techumseh]

Originally posted by Ecthy
Why does Canada not invade the US now while their army is in Evil Terroristland?

We've considered it. However, while your army is bringing Freedom and Democracy to the Enslaved Iraqi People, you kept your nukes in North Dakota. So not just now.

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
Dr. Strangelove,

You're correct. I was just exaggerating to make a point.



I know, but official (or unofficial) support was still with the South. I'm sure, though, that popular support was minimal... although one should consider the fear many Canadians had of a victorious Union army looking for new places to fight. Its no coincidence that Confederation in Canada came only a few years later.

And one should also consider that most escaped slaves in Canada ended up returning to the US after the war.

.... I'm not making any point really, just pointing things out.

The effects of the blockade of the South weren't felt until the third year of the war though, and the sympathies of the British people was solidly pro-Union. The British empire had outlawed slavery only 30 years before, and the evangelism which fueled the abolition movemtn in Britain was still quite strong. In fact incidents during which it appeared thatthe British goverment might be favoring the South brought the peoples of the cities of England, even those rendered jobless by the blockade of Southern cotton, into the street to riot.
The cotton crops of 1860 and 1861 had been excessive, By late 1861 factories in Britain were shutting down due to a surplus of textiles. The Union blockade didn't become fully effective until later in 1862, By late 1863 the shortfall in the cotton market was definately being felt, but British investors had begun investing in cotton farming in Egypt and Turkey the year before. By late 1864 imports from the middle east compensated for half the loss of souther US cotton, and some cotton was beginning to be shipped out of the liberated areas of the South. By 1865 the international cotton market had nearly recovered. The governments of Britain and France rewarded their farsighted investors by slapping a tariff on imported American cotton, then in 1869 the opening of the Suez canal brought cotton from India and the Ffar East to European markets and the tariffs remained. The American cotton trade didn't recover. Had the South not gone to war it is likely that the American growers might have been able to underbid European investors in Asian cotton and might have kept their dominance of the cotton trade. There might not have been enough initial profitability in Asian cotton to attract investors. Who knows, the Suez Canal might even have gone bankrupt! OTOH had the governments of Europe been determined to build their Asian trade upon cotton and tariffs had been used even more aggressively, then the American South would still have been dependent upon the Yankee textile trade to save it.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
After the Rev War ended in 1783, the British neglected to withdraw a number of their troops from the frontier and along the Great Lakes... within US territory that is. The British also incited many of the native groups of the area against the US. This was one of the grievances the US had that led to the war

They also established a number of new forts.

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


They also established a number of new forts.

Forts inside US territory. It's not like finding the border was that difficult. Canda was north of the great lakes, the US was south. What was unclear about that?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yep, basically the Brits ceded over the Ohio River Valley in the Treaty of Paris, and then acted like that part of the treaty never happened. They continued to occupy it as if it was still British property. That didn't lead to good feeling among the Americans... and getting rid of that, along with impressment of American sailors were the two major causes of discontent (ie, Brits still acting as if they owned the place).

That and the XYZ Affair & Quasi-war with France made the first 30 years of American independance quite... interesting.

[techumseh]

We never said you didn't have some legitmate grievences, only that you also lusted after Canada!

We've also had some interesting times. Right after the end of your civil war, there was a major movement to annex Canada (you had that big Union army with nothing much for it to do). One of the big American moves was the purchase of Alaska from Russia (1866), attempting to 'flank' British North America. Armed raids on Canadian territory by the 'Fenians', Irish-American terrorists who were largely Union veterans, were winked at by American authorities.

The Canadian response was Confederation (1867), the unification of the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, the maritime colonies and British Columbia, and the formation of a Canadian army. A trans-continental railway was begun in order to settle the western prairies ahead of American settlers. A large scale immigration program was implemented. These measures succeded in preventing a new annexationist war by the Americans.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's frightening how many conspiracy "annexation of Canada" theories that our neighbors to the North have .

[Kuciwalker]

When you're insigificant you have to find some way to make yourself feel important.

[notyoueither]

That would be why you invaded, several times, yes?