Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On November 25, 1867, William IV formally proposed the concept of industrialization at the Privy Council of the Netherlands.

When he asked many members of the Privy Council what industrialization was, almost none could answer.

“To put it simply, it is the historical development process in which industrial production activities dominate the national economy of a country or region. A country that has experienced this process can truly establish itself in the world of countries.

At present, in my judgment, only the United Kingdom is on the first level, the Netherlands and the French Empire are on the second level, and the Commonwealth of America and the Kingdom of Prussia are on the third level.

According to my opinion, historically speaking, the earliest industrialization in the world occurred in the United Kingdom in the 1860s. It reflected the original manual production method of carcass production with large-scale machines, and then expanded production capacity and used industrial production. The process of replacing traditional agricultural production.

From the British Empire, we can find that if you want to become a great country in the future, industrialization will be the only way for a powerful country. It will also be the ultimate cause that countless countries will pursue, because only by realizing industrialization can we have wealth creation. , and then achieve the strength of the Netherlands to rise again.

Speaking of which, before the rise of Britain, the Netherlands was the country closest to industrialization and financial trade.

In my opinion, the countries just mentioned are not many in the world that have truly achieved industrialization and reached the post-industrial era precisely because of the difficulties.

Most of these few countries belong to the period of primitive accumulation. Britain and France completed the process of industrialization by plundering and plundering world resources. However, the Dutch, American, and Prussian states are truly countries on their own. These countries have achieved half of the Industrialization and almost complete the transformation to industrialization. "

A member of the Privy Council asked: "Your Majesty, why is industrialization so difficult to complete? Why can't other countries complete it?"

William IV returned: "The answer is that there are too many traps, the pits are too big, and they emerge in endlessly."

William IV further explained: "First of all, there are inherent deficiencies. Industrialization is a proposition and a career that countless countries aspire to. We all know that countries that have achieved industrialization represent prosperity. It is precisely because of this that countries will eagerly climb up. For example, in South America there are Brazil and Argentina keeps trying, Italy and Spain, as well as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire are all embarking on the journey. Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, etc., under the pressure of their citizens, have announced that they want to join the ranks of this small number of countries.

However, inherent shortcomings have caused countless countries that are committed to the development of industrialization to choose to give up at the beginning. The reason is very simple. Industrialization requires capital, land, and demand markets. Any one of these three major projects listed separately is a big problem."

The Netherlands originally met the goal only in terms of capital, but as the East Indies were developed and Australia and the island of New Guinea were added, the depth of the Netherlands suddenly became the vast land of the Netherlands, thus meeting the second requirement.

The third requirement is the demand market. The UK's 30 million high-income population laid the foundation for British industrialization, and the promotion of world trade enabled industrial products to be purchased all over the world. India's 200 million population became their target, and the European continent and the American continent were the UK's targets. "

When William IV said this, Hesbert von and others suddenly thought about it. In the meantime, Hesbert von asked: "So, the various strategic agreements that His Majesty has promoted over the years have allowed the Netherlands to launch a new campaign with other countries." The alliance movement is actually to continuously increase the market territory of Dutch industrial products based on the small population of the Netherlands?"

William IV said approvingly: "Yes, until now, the Dutch population in the Netherlands is only 10 million. This is the limit that can only be reached by patchwork. There are more Dutch people overseas, even in the United States, so the Netherlands must Faced with the problem of a small population and a small market.”

Education Minister Lud Bales asked: "So His Majesty has absorbed 20 million people from the Far East and African indigenous people?"

William IV smiled and said: “Yes, this is a bold attempt.

Education Minister Lud Bales then asked: "However, the education level and purchasing power of these people do not seem to be very high."

William IV glanced at him approvingly and said: "That's right. It seems that it is still too early to see their market effect. However, don't forget that their role is actually in promoting the process of industrialization. , currently appears as a labor force. Imagine that more than 7 million of the 20 million indigenous people can join the working force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Just like in the previous wars, these indigenous people can be the auxiliary of the Dutch army on the battlefield, reducing the number of Dutch troops. Human casualties are the same.

This is their current role.

However, as their education level improves, their role changes in the industrialization process, and labor technology is absorbed and upgraded, their wages in factories will rise, and their purchasing power will be released in the future. Injecting great vitality into the Dutch market.

Of course, this time will depend on the help of everyone here to shorten it, with your Ministry of Education being the top priority. "

With that said, William IV returned to the topic of guidance.

"Industrialization requires huge amounts of money, because industrialization requires huge amounts of money to invest in supporting infrastructure construction. Britain's railways are the best in the world, and the railways of the French Empire and our country, the Netherlands, Prussia, and the Millenia, are also connected in all directions. This is why I The reasons for rapidly promoting railway construction in the Far East are: first, for employment, but also for the rapid transportation of goods, and third, for the increase in capital mobility."

"This is a big project. The public with a small population and poor economic strength needs to complete infrastructure investment. It is not ordinary difficult. Even the Tsarist Empire with a large European population seems to have a strong national strength. Industrialization still lacks infrastructure construction. It is a drag, not to mention that there are countless countries that are not as good as the Tsarist Russian Empire."

"Secondly, from the perspective of land, industrialization requires a large amount of land suitable for industrial use. Countries that have not experienced land reform will find it almost difficult to liberalize industrial land. At this point, it is almost difficult."

William IV saw everyone's curiosity about the baby.

Prime Minister Tolbeck asked: "Your Majesty, is there a problem with land use?"

“Yes, that’s exactly what it is”

William IV glanced at Tolbeck with certainty, and he further explained: "The issue of land ownership, land distribution, and the lack of industrialized land in Britain and France are the reasons why countless countries have retreated from the high cost of land acquisition. Imagine Next, if you want to build a large factory several kilometers around your home, investing hundreds of thousands of pounds, but the land required seems to be far from enough, but if you want to buy your yard, etc., buy it at a low price, you will be short of that money ?