Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On June 17, 1866, after an emergency meeting of the South American Union Committee, after receiving the Secretary of Finance of the Commonwealth of America Washburne and hearing Washburn’s attitude towards the South American Union from the Lincoln administration, the Netherlands and South America were finally moved. The five member states of Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador have approved the admission of the Federal Republic of Namibia as the sixth member state, but the time for the Federal Republic of America to join the union was finally determined to start on August 1.

For a time, everyone in Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay in central South America was in danger, because the South American Union was not just as simple as economics, but also had military mutual assistance treaties.

Suddenly, they and other European countries thought of a question, that is, if the Commonwealth of America is still at war with the South after August 1, and the United Kingdom still participates in the war, will this alliance face the United Kingdom because of this treaty? War started?

Netherlands, can you stand it?

Many people have expressed doubts about whether the Netherlands can break through the English Channel and the North Sea blockade between the United Kingdom and Iceland and enter North America. France and other southern European countries are even more sarcastic, wanting to see the two countries that have passed the German summit. How does it end?

However, Buckingham Palace soon reacted.

The successor British Prime Minister Creston, who was visiting Southern Europe, held talks with Spanish Prime Minister Ramon Narvaez in Madrid, Spain on June 18, 1866. Isabella II held a welcoming ceremony to welcome his arrival.

On June 20, he was received by Napoleon III in Paris and asked Creston to return to London to pay his respects to Queen Victoria. Later, he held bilateral talks with French Prime Minister Olivier.

Afterwards, he met with Emmanuel II in Milan, Italy on June 22 and held talks with Italian Prime Minister Marco Minghetti. Finally, he arrived in Lisbon, Portugal on June 25 to hold a bilateral meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto.

Analysts pointed out that in the face of the rapidly changing international situation, the British Empire was eager to improve its relations with its allies and partners in southern Europe in order to gain access to Britain's immediate concerns on the conflicts between the North and the South in North America, the Balkan Peninsula War, South American Union issues, and African colonies. understanding and support on issues of interest, but it may be difficult to achieve these goals just through this visit.

"British Prime Minister Clayton's talks on southern Europe have limited results" - this was the title of the European Times on June 26, 1866, attracting a lot of attention.

According to the most influential Luxembourg newspaper in Europe and the United States, Creston discussed with the four southern European countries the development of the situation in the Balkans, the civil war in North America, African colonial issues, and the attitude of Britain and other countries in the South American Union. On the table and other international hot issues in Europe and around the world.

After the bilateral meeting with Barreto in Lisbon, Prime Minister Barreto of the Kingdom of Portugal said that the meeting was of great significance in creating history. In the future, the Anglo-Portuguese bilateral meeting will be held every year, and the venue will be held alternately in London and Lisbon. It is not even excluded. , inviting Brazil to join.

Regarding Portugal and the UK, Barreto said that the two sides have built a new UK-Portugal bilateral partnership based on religious tolerance, economic, technological, security and intelligence cooperation.

British Prime Minister Creston said that the United Kingdom will continue to help its ally Portugal cope with common challenges in the Atlantic region and strongly support Portugal's rule in African colonies. The two prime ministers finally emphasized the importance of advancing the peace process in South America. The United Kingdom reiterated its support for Portugal and Brazil special relationship, Portugal supports British interests in Chile, and the two countries have stated that they will firmly support each other on South American issues.

However, Britain and Portugal were criticized by France, which had only left for a few days. French Prime Minister Olivier issued a statement on June 27 stating that Brazil, supported by Portugal, was using the Uruguay issue to attempt to occupy Uruguay's territory. This was not true. In line with international standards, Paraguay should be the one to stop the chaos there, not Brazil. Portugal is asked to tell Brazil not to overstep its bounds, and the UK is asked not to intervene in the matter because it concerns France's vital interests.

To this end, Olivier visited Madrid and held talks with Spanish Prime Minister Ramon Narvaez. He received the support of Spain. France will receive coastal support from Spanish ally Peru to allow French troops to enter Bolivia. and Paraguay.

But this time, Italy's willingness to support Portugal has decreased, because unlike last time, Emmanuel II chose to remain silent and neutral when facing France this time.

In short, Creston originally planned to use this long visit to resolve the British diplomatic crisis caused by the German Conference, and even further gain support in America and the Balkans.

For this reason, he chose to support Portugal, but he never thought that he would offend France. As a result, Italy chose neutrality.

In desperation, Creston could only return to London with his passion for Portugal.

Analysts pointed out that this is the first time in history that the British Prime Minister has visited such a large-scale foreign country. However, after Creston’s visit, he did not get what he expected. Even except for Portugal, other countries took mostly symbolic measures. , which makes the symbolic meaning greater than the substantive meaning.

In particular, South America is shadowed on this map.

Analysts pointed out in the European Times that the purpose of Creston's trip to southern Europe was to make Britain's allies in the region have the same opposition to the South American Union as Britain did, which would then affect North America and support the Southern Confederacy.

They analyzed this as indicating Britain's strong anxiety about developments in South America and its prospects. The United Kingdom is worried that once the South American Union develops, neighboring countries will see the effects and may even continue to expand in the future, with more countries joining in. In the end, the South American Confederacy and Canada supported by the United Kingdom may become isolated cities in the Americas. At that time, Britain's position in the Americas will become very embarrassing. Therefore, at this time, take precautions and let the South American Union, which is not controlled by the British, be brought into the circle by the southern European countries with influence in the Americas to help the British test pressure control. That is The best strategy.

Even as the first step of Creston's diplomacy, for his own sake and for the sake of Britain, he gave reassurance to the southern European countries, promising to be equal to other countries in South America, and vowed to cooperate with other countries to rationally develop South America and combat the Penetration of other countries into South America.