Writer's Blog: What if...

Last week I posed a what if...

'What if George III had granted the thirteen colonies of America parliamentary representation.'

And now for an unresearched and uninformed answer to that question. If I was writing a novel about this, which I might one day, I would do lots of research. I would read everything I could about that time in America. It would be important to get the American perspective 'The Revolutionary War' or the British perspective 'The War of the Insurrection.' For this post I'm just going to use what I know from living in the world.

You've probably heard the phrase 'No taxation without representation.' and 'Give me liberty or give me death.'

These phrases are associated with the American War of Independence. It does make me ask a few questions.

1. Why didn't Britain give their colonies representation in the British parliament.?
2. Why didn't Britain try and placate the colonies by giving them their own parliament?
3. If America had been given representation would the War of independence have happened?
4. Assuming that the war of independence hadn't happened what would the state of America be now? 

For me the last question is the most interesting. There are a number of options of course.

America could have been as Scotland is now. Having its own Parliament but looking to get more power.

It might be like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand is - i.e an independent nation with ties to Britain through the monarchy.

Or another option, which might seem very far fetched, America might have formed part of some sort of Federation.  With a structure something like this...

Queen of the British Federation.
President of the British Federation

Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Prime Minister of America.

First Minister of England.
First Minister of Northern Ireland.
First Minister of Scotland.
First Minister of Wales.

The thirteen states would probably also have First Ministers. Of courses history is incredibly complicated. If one thing is changed everything is effected. This includes who is born an who dies.

Lets say John Smith died in the War of Independence. Well if that war never took place then he is able to marry Jane, his one true love, and they have a child. This child didn't exist in the world before. 

The US constitution was adopted 17th September 1787. That was a long time ago and so much would have changed.

What about the two world wars? Would Austria-Hungary have risked war with Britain if we had owned America?

If things were so different in America then perhaps the Archduke might not have been in Sarajevo that day in 1914.

So we could say that the wars wouldn't have happened. But what would be the role of women? Woman, because of men going to war, had to take on jobs previously thought of as men's jobs. They gained a new level of independence from the conflict.

And what about science and technology. Without the war the rivalry between the US and USSR might not have existed. We might not have landed a man on the moon just 66 years after the first powered flight - hell that flight might not have happened.

You'll notice I'm not giving any answers. That's because there are no answers. There is no way to say what would lead to a better world or what would lead to a worst world.

It would be very interesting though to explore these ideas. This is why history is fascinating to me. Looking at these questions and if, like me, you're a little lazy you could always tell the story on another planet...