Alternate History General Discussion

[Coiler]

Toying with the notion which I don't know is plausible, but can be a good point of difference: Having an independent Scotland's head of government still be called a "First Minister" and not a "Prime Minister"

Thoughts?

 

[SpanishSpy]

This is a very interesting WI with a wide cone of plausibility, I think. The effects of the Peninsular War on the Spanish Empire can't be underestimated with the mass formation of juntas and collapse of "legitimate" authority and all, and before that point most discontent against the Spanish Empire consisted either of conspiracies planning revolution or of local rebellions against Bourbon centralism. I suppose the main exception to this is Argentina, where after the 1806 British invasion there was a massive surge of local pride that concluded with the Viceroy of the Rio de la Plata being deposed and replaced with a local popular military leader, with the Spanish authorities accepting this. That's the sort of precedent that might conclude with independence if the Spanish eventually try to truncate this sort of pseudo-autonomy and mess it up hard. Another thing to keep in mind is that, during the Napoleonic Wars even before the Peninsular War, there was a massive spike in smuggling to British and American markets. So if the Spanish try to deal with that and mess it up, that's something that might create dissent. But other than that, it would be a long process - decades, I think - to get the critical mass for independence, and liberalism and nationalism would both be far weaker forces in the Spanish Americas. I suppose Britain would also be eager to egg on the independence movements to commercially dominate the newly independent states - a policy which Lord Selkirk wanted - and that will have some effects.

I like this this phrase - is it a phrase in common use? I haven't seen it but I could immediately tell what it meant.

 

[Indicus]

I like this this phrase - is it a phrase in common use? I haven't seen it but I could immediately tell what it meant.

Not that I’m aware of and as far as I know I came up with it, but I very well could have gotten it from somewhere and forgotten the source. As you say it struck me as a very natural turn of phrase for something that is an important part of AH.