Q&A · 4:16:40-4:19:49

An American crown exports the Stuart problem across the Atlantic

A Stuart monarchy in revolutionary America could relieve Hanoverian Britain while importing Jacobite and religious tensions into the new state.

Question

How would the House of Hanover react if American monarchists offered Charles Stuart a crown around 1780?

Short answer

The Hanoverians might welcome the removal of a dynastic rival, while America inherited Jacobite factions and religious tensions.

Notes

The Hanoverian government might welcome Charles Stuart accepting an American crown because it would move a lingering dynastic rival across the Atlantic. Jacobite supporters would gain somewhere to go that was distant from British and European politics. The religious divisions would then become an American problem: the Stuart dynasty and many supporters were Catholic, while the United States was predominantly Protestant. Scottish Calvinist supporters would add another faction to the migration. The suggestion that Britain might quietly finance the passage is a joke built around that predicted Hanoverian relief.