Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On May 20, 1868, Emmanuel II of the Kingdom of Italy officially visited Paris, France, and London, the British Empire, and began to mediate between the British Empire and the French Empire. While maintaining superficial friendly relations with Napoleon III, during this visit , and Queen Victoria, what kind of ambitions does Emmanuel II have?

Faced with this situation, William IV was a little confused by Emmanuel II's actions at this time.

There is no fundamental conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the French Empire. Both sides were historically Catholic countries, and there were very few border conflicts.

The geopolitics of the British Empire was to contain any country on the Eurasian continent that might challenge the British Empire's maritime hegemony. The French Empire actually helped Italy attract a lot of firepower from the British Empire, because the British Empire would compete with France in the Mediterranean. The intention is to use Egypt in the east and Gibraltar in the west as strongholds to control imports and exports at both ends of the Mediterranean, and even to encroach on the central Mediterranean.

Therefore, when it comes to the Mediterranean issue, there is actually no fundamental conflict of interest between the two countries. After all, the common opponents are the existence of the British Empire.

Both countries are Catholic countries, which are different from the British Protestantism. Therefore, both countries respect the Roman Catholic Church. On the contrary, the British Empire is very wary of this.

The religious interests of the two countries have many common interests. If Italy can get closer to the French Empire, or even form an alliance, it will be beneficial to both parties. France and Italy are complementary in many aspects.

For example, Italy's location and population, France's advanced agriculture and industrial technology not far behind Britain's, and the naval cooperation between the two countries are very intimidating in the Mediterranean against British hegemony. The alliance between the two countries will change Italy's industrial progress and also change the current structure of Europe.

At the same time, there were rumors that the two countries were going to form a New Rome Alliance, but no officials from the two countries have ever come out to deny it. This makes people know that this is a signal that the two countries are trying to get closer, and it may also be a signal that the two countries are deliberately testing other countries.

In a sense, the British Empire, the French Empire, and Italy are also a large triangle, with Italy being the relatively weak side of the triangle.

Therefore, Italy's policy of flattering both sides is the optimal solution from a geopolitical perspective.

The French Empire was very satisfied with Italy's support for Venice. However, after Italy defeated Austria, France asked for territory, but Italy was very dissatisfied after it gave it.

As a result, relations between the two countries have turned from good to bad.

Therefore, during Emmanuel II's recent visit to Paris, Napoleon III said nothing about the issue of territorial claims. Instead, he once again extended Venice's sovereignty to support Italy. At the same time, Napoleon III stated that he would never interfere in Italy's internal affairs.

Regarding Emmanuel II's trip to Britain and France, "European Times" exclusively interviewed William IV.

“The stability of the Mediterranean is inseparable from the friendly relations between the British Empire, the French Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.

"European Times": Emmanuel II's visit to the French Empire in Paris is the highlight of this visit. Emmanuel II's second visit was the first visit to the French Empire since the two countries jointly fought against the Austrian Empire in the Venice dispute in 1859. During this visit, Emmanuel II also Napoleon III reviewed the soldiers who participated in the war to help Italy resist the Austrians. Emmanuel II also issued medals to some people, which made the Parisians very happy. We noticed that before the visit, both countries had made preparations for the visit. Low-key treatment, so how do you interpret it? Do you think the conditions are ripe for a warming of relations between Italy and France?

William IV: This question is worth thinking about. Italy is a country with a very conspicuous position. As everyone knows, it is the Roman Catholic Church, so it is born to be a great power.

Therefore, we treat Emmanuel II as a king of a great power. Geopolitically speaking, Italy and France are both in the north-central part of the Mediterranean on the European continent and are two neighboring powerful European countries.

Italy and France have a population of 35 million and more than 24 million. The combined population is nearly 60 million, which is comparable to the population of the Russian Empire. The industries of the two countries are naturally far from comparable to the traditional agricultural country of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Therefore, the relationship between Italy and France can never be underestimated, because this is related to the fate of nearly one-third of Europe's population, right?

Although Italy has joined the International Court of Justice in The Hague, geographically constructing a north-south encirclement of the French Empire, it also has its own tradition of independence and is not constrained. By joining this organization, to a certain extent, Italy also hopes to be in Europe Be able to play the role of leader or leader in the situation. The Netherlands knows this, and the United Kingdom and France also know this mentality of Italy. Therefore, London and Paris have acquiesced in Italy's role as a major power, and both agreed to visit the two countries in this role. The Italian government should be happy.

But Italy also sees a problem: can the commitments of Britain and France be trusted? I think there is a litmus test to judge whether the commitments of various countries are reliable, and that is whether foreign countries intervene when dealing with internal issues and whether they respect your national interests.

William IV then said that Italy's location and strategic significance are very important, so all major countries will regard it as a strategic priority to win over it. Therefore, it is foreseeable that the existence of Xiangguoguo will be there for some time in the future.

However, if Italy does not take advantage of this rare opportunity, it will lose its historical opportunity for development, which will be a pity for many people in the future.

"European Times": What role can the Netherlands play in this? What does the Netherlands have to gain and lose from this?

William IV: We play a role in promoting it. Everyone knows that the rise of the Netherlands is almost at the same time as that of Italy, both around 1860. The Netherlands is mainly in the lead economically, but also in the military and politics. Both countries emerged after receiving recognition from other countries.

But the way the Netherlands has risen is different. We chose not to stay in Europe, but to focus on the Far East. We built another nest there, our new home.

So we are more stable and safer away from the European continent.

Italy, on the other hand, is in Europe and the opposite continent of Africa. Emmanuel II keeps his treasure close to him, so the two countries have taken different paths in this regard.

I don’t know the result yet, so I won’t answer.

As for what the Netherlands has lost and gained?