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Text: Golden Globe said
Edit: Golden Globe said
In 1783, after years of war, the United States finally got rid of British colonial rule and established an independent sovereign state, officially entering the stage of history.
After independence, the United States expanded its territory step by step through purchases, wars, invasions and other methods, and finally formed the current huge area of the United States.
However, it was found that no, the United States did not annex Canada at that time in the process of acquiring territory through war.
You know, Canada's strength is not strong, it is not an opponent of the United States at all, and it is very close to the United States, but why does the United States not annex Canada?
A safe Canada
Canada, located in the North American region, is located on the northern coast of North America.
Bordered by the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans, and bordering the United States mainland and Alaska, it looks as if the United States is sandwiched between the United States.
However, although Canada is "sandwiched" by the United States, its area is much larger than that of the United States.
With a land area of 9.98 million square kilometers, the country is the second largest country in the world by land area, after Russia.
The land area of the United States, although 9.37 million square kilometers, is still much smaller than Canada.
Therefore, although Canada is "sandwiched" by the United States, it is not completely blocked by the United States.
However, contrary to the area of Canada, Canada's population is very sparse, as of 2021, the population of the entire Canada is only more than 38 million, compared with the land area, it is completely a day.
Moreover, most of these people also live in the southern part of Canada, that is, near the United States, and the northern part is very sparsely inhabited.
As a result, the north and south not only have uneven populations, but also very uneven economic development, for example, the south is at the level of developed countries, while the north is dilapidated, as if it has not been built for decades.
The reason why Canada has this imbalance in population residence and unbalanced development is because Canada's northern region is deeply affected by the cold current in the Arctic Ocean and is a typical polar cold climate.
The temperature is extremely low, the frozen soil is all over, the wind and snow are everywhere, making the development of the city extremely difficult, so the population living is less, while the south is a temperate continental humid climate, moderate precipitation, suitable temperature, convenient urban development, and naturally more population.
At the same time, Canada is also known as the "country of maple leaves" because many cities have planted a large number of maple trees.
However, don't look at the large north-south gap between the whole country of Canada, and the population is not large, but Canada's natural resources are many.
According to data, 890,000 square kilometers of Canada's territory are covered by fresh water, and its freshwater resources account for 7% of the world's freshwater resources.
In addition, it also has a large number of mineral resources, such as potassium, uranium, tungsten, cadmium, nickel, lead, crude oil, etc.
Among them, crude oil reserves rank third in the world, with proven crude oil reserves reaching 173.2 billion barrels, second only to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
As for other animal resources, plant resources are also very rich, it can be said that Canada is one of the richest countries in the world.
Therefore, many netizens are more puzzled, Canada is so rich in resources and has a vast land area, so why did the United States not annex it in the process of expanding its territory?
You know, Canada's military capabilities are not strong, up to now, it is only 60,000 troops, which is not an opponent of the United States at all.
The United States could have annexed Canada and become the largest country in the world, but why has the United States not done so?
Second, the reasons for non-annexation
In fact, there are two main reasons why the United States did not annex Canada.
The first reason is historical.
Don't look at the United States is now the global boss, the world's number one, you can fight whoever you want, but the United States has suffered several losses in the hands of Canada.
The first loss was in the late 18th century, around 1775, when the United States fought a huge war of independence on the American continent in order to resist British colonial rule, and fought a desperate struggle with Britain.
At that time, the United States (thirteen North American states) because it was a British colony could not catch up with British reserves in terms of logistics and food reserves, so in order to win the war, the US military at that time planned to occupy the Great Lakes region and develop the Great Lakes region into their grain-producing area.
But at this time, most of the Great Lakes region was under Canadian administration, and Canada was naturally unwilling to cede the Great Lakes region to the United States, so the two countries started a war because of the management of the Great Lakes.
The result, naturally, was the defeat of the United States, and the Great Lakes region remained as it was, shared by two countries.
However, although the United States experienced a failure, it did not give up its plan to annex Canada, because in the heart of the United States, it failed because of the two-front war, not how powerful Canada is.
Therefore, around 1812, in order to expand its territory, the United States once again targeted Canada and suddenly attacked Canada.
Because Canada was a British colony at that time, this war is also known as the "American-British War".
In the US-British War, although the United States has made considerable progress in national strength, it is still not an opponent of Canada and Britain, not only did not occupy land, but even its own White House was burned down by the British army.
It was also after the defeat of these two wars that the United States no longer had the idea of annexing Canada, but expanded its territory to the west.
After Canada's independence, the territory of the United States was already very large, and the United States had no intention of continuing to annex the territory.
The second reason is that it is not necessary.
Although the United States abandoned Canada's annexation plan, it still coveted Canada, and since the beginning of its independence, it has been trying to control Canada by various means.
And it turns out that the means of the United States are also effective, and Canada is now the younger brother of the United States.
For example, militarily, Canada and the United States are "military alliances", Canada often carries out some so-called peacekeeping missions with the US military, running around the world, Canada is completely obedient to the United States.
At the same time, under the pull of the United States, Canada also established NATO together with the United States in the last century, is one of the founding countries of NATO, and has a lot of rights and prestige in NATO.
However, those familiar with the inside story know that Canada is just a microphone for the United States, and has no ideas of its own.
Politically, for example, Canada is completely following in the footsteps of the United States, and the United States is hostile, it is also hostile, and even to a certain extent, controlled by the United States.
For example, the United States originally let Canada illegally arrest Meng Wanzhou, although the Canadian government knew that this move was inappropriate, but in the face of the US order, it did not dare to slack, immediately arrested Meng Wanzhou, and asked the United States for credit.
As for the economy, the two are closer together, and the trade volume between the two sides is as high as 800 billion US dollars, which is also unique in the world.
Therefore, for the United States, Canada has long been its own little brother, and it is also a very useful little brother, and Canada's resources have long been begun to be taken out by the United States in various ways.
In this case, whether or not to annex Canada is no longer important to the United States, it is better to let Canada exist in the form of an independent country, and it can also cheer for the United States internationally, which is more conducive to the interests of the United States.
Resources:
Traceability: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape
The Epic of Truth: A New American History
How to Hide an Empire: A History of Great America
Original article, plagiarism must be investigated
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