Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

In the Dutch-Portuguese African War, the British opposition Tories supported Portugal, while the ruling Whigs supported the Netherlands.

Therefore, the Tories coming to power will not be good news for the Netherlands.

The relationship between the Tories and the Netherlands will not be as warm as that between the Whigs.

Therefore, during the period when the Tory cabinet government is in power, the Kingdom of the Netherlands will most likely not continue the previous situation of Whig concessions. Many people believe that the Netherlands will be very cautious in the coming period to avoid becoming a The Tory government attacks its opponents and becomes the target of its power.

Of course, France is worse than the Netherlands. The latter are at least Germanic, but France is even more of a thorn in the side of the Tories.

Therefore, when the North American Armistice Agreement was reached, the new British Prime Minister couldn't wait to intervene in Far Eastern affairs.

The situation in the Far East, with the change of British cabinet, forced Napoleon III to stop and wait and see. Perhaps even Napoleon Napoleon III understood that the Tories, the anti-French vanguard, are likely to have a global battle with France. , perhaps France will pay the price.

Sure enough, the new British Prime Minister Disraeli took action.

On February 29, 1867, Sir Lawrence, the British Governor-General of India, first accepted the invitation of the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Siam and visited the Kingdom of Siam. The British Governor-General in India later stated that Britain had unswervingly cherished the territory of the Kingdom of Siam. With respect, we will not invade, let alone allow other countries to invade.

At this point, a red line was drawn, which gave Britain an excuse to intervene in the battle between the Kingdom of Siam in the Far East and the French general.

Therefore, on March 10, 1867, the British Indian Ocean Combined Fleet began patrolling outside the Bay of Bangkok. Even starting on the 13th, the fleet began to gradually advance toward the eastern coast of Cambodia, and subsequently, the French blocked the Cambodian coast. The fleet withdrew eastward, and finally on March 16, 1867, the entire French Maritime Fleet withdrew from Cambodian waters.

Britain gained prestige in the Far East, but the stepping stone was the French Empire.

France's retreat made Napoleon III and the French government the target of ridicule at home and abroad.

This made Napoleon III furious, so he made a decision.

That is to increase troops in the Far East. At the same time, the local navy also sent a fleet to reinforce the South Vietnamese fleet in an attempt to counter the British presence there.

France's decision made the British government very dissatisfied.

Therefore, not to be outdone, the British also sent more troops there.

The two countries were suddenly wrestling in the Far East, separated by the Kingdom of Siam.

Naturally, William IV did not miss this publicity opportunity, so a scene occurred.

On March 20, 1867, the Ambassador of the Permanent Embassy of the Kingdom of Siam to the Netherlands made a formal representation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, requesting the court to judge the French Empire's invasion of the Kingdom of Siam on the charge that France had committed war crimes. , requiring all member states of the organization to help the Kingdom of Siam stop France's criminal behavior, and at the same time, requesting all member states to impose sanctions on France as proposed in the petition after winning the verdict.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately overshadowed all the hot spots and became the focus of all countries.

It seems so funny that a small country in the Far East would accuse the European power France in Europe where France is located, but it is also so true.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague is the third newly established international organization in the world and has many members.

In Europe, there are countries such as Spain, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, and the Principality of Luxembourg.

In the Americas, there are the Commonwealth of America, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil, plus the Kingdom of Siam in Asia. It is composed of large, medium and small countries, but the combined power is enough to have a huge impact on all major countries.

As a member, the Kingdom of Siam has the right to appeal.

So on March 21, 1867, the court officially issued a summons to Paris, but the French Empire ignored it. Even the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs mocked the legitimacy of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. France was not bound by it and was not qualified to conduct the French Tribunal. constraints.

Napoleon III was more comfortable calling on all major powers to join the French Empire in resisting this obvious overreach of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, saying that it endangered the power of the great powers.

However, as if the matter had nothing to do with them, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire all seemed to be silent, neither opposing nor admitting to respond to France's call.

Even the British Tory government has pushed the Kingdom of Portugal to withdraw from the International Court of Justice to impose more sanctions on France, including a wider scope of economic and military sanctions.

This made the French Empire very dissatisfied.

Since France did not send anyone to participate in the trial on March 27, 1867, in the end, although countries such as Spain and Belgium chose not to support or oppose it, judges from other countries agreed with the position of the Kingdom of Siam and almost all followed it. All orders received.

On April 2, 1867, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, with more than two-thirds of the judges representing all countries agreeing, all member states of the court officially announced the implementation of the court's judgment.

It requires France to withdraw from Cambodia. If it refuses to do so, all member states of the tribunal will impose military and economic sanctions on the French Empire in order to safeguard the security and interests of the member states.

Among them, military sanctions include weapons accessories trading and complete weapons trading.

Economic sanctions include member states suspending all import and export trade with the French Empire.

This ruling is not trivial, and it is the first time in history that an organization has imposed such severe and oppressive sanctions on a major European country.

This frightened the powerful leaders of great powers such as Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Disraeli of the United Kingdom, William I and Prime Minister Bismarck of Prussia, Alexander II, Prime Minister Gorchaskov and Joseph I of the Russian Empire.

Although no one would think that this law would actually be implemented, don't forget that the unified voice of these countries alone is enough to cause immeasurable loss of majesty to the French Empire.

It can be said that this time, France has lost all face.

“We strongly condemn those countries that want to impose ridiculous sanctions on the French Empire, and we call on them not to damage bilateral relations. The national strength of the French Empire will not be easily affected, we guarantee.

At the same time, we call on other major countries to stand together and oppose this so-called judgment and sanctions against major countries, because for us, this is an insult, yes, it is an insult to the national character of major countries. If you choose If you are making jokes about France now, then the same kind of jokes may fall on you in the future.”

Napoleon III personally held a press conference at the Palace of Versailles, stating that he would not accept the verdict of the International Hague Tribunal and would not easily withdraw from the territory occupied by France in Cambodia in the Far East.

He also stated that the French Empire would not accept such a sanction.

For a time, people around the world seemed to predict that Europe and the world would enter a more turbulent situation next.

What they are most concerned about is, do the member states of the International Court of Justice in The Hague really dare to sanction the French Empire? Aren’t you afraid of being retaliated one by one by the French Empire?