Canada covers an area of 9.98467 million square kilometers (the second largest in the world). As of 2019, Canada has a population of 37.41 million and an army of only more than 60,000 people.
Canada's population is mainly concentrated in the south and along the Great Lakes. The US-Canada border is 8,893 kilometers long and is now the longest undefended border in the world.
(Canadian population density distribution map)
(U.S. county-level administrative regions with land or water borders with Canada)
As can be seen from the map, Canada is vast and sparsely populated, and the population is concentrated in a narrow strip 350 kilometers north of the U.S.-Canada border. area.
The United States only needs to move its national border a few hundred kilometers north to occupy Canada and the entire North American continent.
Why didn't the United States annex Canada? In a word: It is impossible not to do it!
Since the founding of the United States on July 4, 1776, the United States has begun to expand aggressively, and its thirst for territory is no less than that of Russia.
If the United States does not expand its territory, how can it become a two-ocean country? It occupies almost half of the Pacific Ocean. At one time, the United States even wanted to turn the American colony Philippines into an American continent.
(territory occupied by the United States)
Until now, the United States has not given up its desire to expand its territory. Doesn’t the current President of the United States Trump want to buy Greenland ?
(Greenland covers an area of 2.16 million square kilometers and has a population of only 76,000)
In fact, Americans are extremely eager to annex Canada:
In 1783, Franklin proposed to cede or sell Canada to the United States, but the British rejected it.
U.S. President Adams after Washington once said: "The United States is destined to expand to the entire western part of the northern hemisphere."
At the end of the 19th century, President Theodore Roosevelt even said wildly: "We will seize Canada."
( West Otto Roosevelt aircraft carrier)
But why did the United States fail to annex Canada, which is on the "side of the couch"?
There are several main reasons:
First, Canadians are unwilling to merge with the United States.
In 1763, the British controlled the entire Canada. In the American War of Independence, British Canada chose to be loyal to the British Crown. There were many British soldiers in the American War of Independence. people of Chinese descent fled to Canada.
( Quebec Province is the French-speaking part of Canada)
French Canadians mainly believe in Catholicism. Even if Canada and the United States merge now, the French-speaking Canadian region will become independent.
The main immigrants to Canada were the French and the British, both of whom were very capable of fighting at the time. The Canadian militia was not a vegetarian.
(Canadian militiamen climbed ice and slept in the snow for training)
Second, the powerful British Empire was still the suzerainty of Canada until 1931.
It can be seen from the history of the territorial expansion of the United States that, except for the earliest thirteen states in North America, most of the territory of the United States comes from France and Spain.
Because France failed in the competition with the British Empire for world hegemony, its colonies in North America had to be sold to the United States.
When the Spanish colonial empire rose in the United States, it had already declined. Americans look for soft persimmons to squeeze, and stewed meat for chewing.
(1898 Spanish-American War )
The United States is currently in the North American territory, which is the result of the fact that the meat has been chewed and the bones cannot be chewed.
The United States has also touched the tiger's butt of the British Empire.
On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Britain, and the second U.S.-British war broke out. The United States euphemistically named the reason for launching the war: to safeguard freedom of navigation, but its real purpose was to occupy Canada and continue to expand its territory.
This was the only time Canada suffered a foreign invasion. At the beginning of the war, Canada had only 7,000 British troops and 10,000 militiamen. But as everyone knows, the result was that the British and Canadian troops easily captured the capital, Washington, and set fire to the White House, the Capitol and other government buildings. .
The United States annexed Canada and was shattered into pieces.
Britain was still the world hegemon until World War II. Britain realized its decline in international status only after it joined France in the Suez Canal War in 1956 and was severely beaten by the United States and the Soviet Union.
Third, changes in the international situation. After World War II, the international situation has undergone tremendous changes. Expanding one's own territory by force is against the world trend, and the United States has a cold war with the powerful Soviet Union.
The United States has a very powerful enemy, and it is even less likely to attack its allies.
And Canada is not weak, but very powerful.
(In 1945, Karen Hermiston, the first female combat photographer in the Canadian Army)
Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Canadian Army currently has only 60,000 troops. It is because there is no defense need.
After the end of World War II, Canada became the fourth largest industrial country in the world, and its military strength was also among the best. During World War II, Canada had a population of only 12 million, but sent 1 million troops. Today, Canada has a population of more than 30 million, and its total GDP ranked tenth in the world in 2019. If the United States invades, Canada will not be short of money or people, and will have 3 to 5 million soldiers. Coupled with the special relationship between Britain and Canada, the United States will dare to invade Canada by force. .
(Canadian Special Forces)
The United States does not even dare to use force against Iran . It dares to attack Canada, which is many times more powerful than Iran.
British Prime Minister Palmerston once said, "We have no eternal friends or eternal enemies, only eternal interests."
This is the fundamental strategy of Western countries' state-to-state relations.
The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada used to belong to the Great British Empire, but are no longer separated into three independent countries.
At present, Britain, the United States and Canada have good relations, but they have the same interests!
Even Scotland has its own national will, not to mention the United Kingdom and Canada, which are completely independent from national laws.
(live in Afghanistan Canadian Army)
The bustling world is all for profit, and the bustle in the world is for profit!
Since ancient times, the relationship between countries has been very complicated! Essentially, all they pursue is interests, but some countries have chosen wrongly, while others have chosen rightly.
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