Quote:
Originally Posted by PTTG
Move the discovery of gold in California ahead by ~30 years. That puts it in the early 1800s. This might accelerate the Mexican-American war, but it would also give Mexico liquid cash and an influx of skilled tradesmen.
Alternatively, take the gold away. The colonizers come more slowly; even centuries later, the nation would be firmly unbalanced to the east, and WWII would probably be much different.
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Yeah, the Russians didn't abandon Fort Ross until 1841. (it's not named for some Scottish guy named Ross.) With Mexico in the middle of its rebellion, that gold isn't going to either side, it's going to the Russians, who will be sending a lot more people (and no way they sell Alaska for cheap in this TL, they're going to need it as a waystation). They're still at the very end of their supply line, but I suspect no one (not even Britain) wants the gold fields bad enough to go to war with Russia over them, so soon after the Napoleonic wars. So....no idea how, or if, a Mexican-American War goes in this timeline.