The counterfactual gives New York and Pennsylvania importance through their ports and access to the interior. The Hudson provides a route inland, with engineering works offering a connection to the Great Lakes. Appalachian oil would matter once the necessary technology became available. Northern colonial economies enter the discussion through fur trapping, timber, farming, fishing, and Boston's port. British possession of New York would geographically separate New England from the southern colonies. The panel therefore doubts that an isolated British enclave between two independent American regions would remain stable.
Notable Point · 2:47:08-2:49:27
New York's waterways and the economy of the northern colonies
Ports and inland waterways explain why retaining New York and Pennsylvania would alter the surrounding colonies' economic and territorial relationships.