Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On July 16, 1868, the French government was exposed. Napoleon III was very dissatisfied with Spain's move, so he was hesitant to participate in the Philippine Offshore Exercises hosted by Spain.

Obviously, this is a threatening temptation.

Queen Isabel II of Spain was very dissatisfied when she heard about it.

The current diplomatic circle of the Spanish government also believes that the French Empire only emphasizes a "constructive role" and adopts a negative attitude towards Spain without exerting actual influence. Instead, it actively curbs Spain's tilt towards neutral diplomacy.

Many Spanish diplomatic experts said that in the past, Spain over-cared for the core interests of the French Empire, but the French Empire did not take Spain's position into consideration. Therefore, the Kingdom of Spain needs to adopt a new foreign policy that is not about being anti-French or pro-French, but about improving the understanding of Spanish diplomacy. Know.

After the mid-19th century, the world was facing unprecedented difficulties. After entering this middle period, wars were almost continuous. The European powers continued to expand their territorial conflicts and ambitions. The Tsarist Empire expanded to the south and the Middle East and launched two all-out attacks. In addition, around the construction of In the international community where various disputes arise in the new order regarding the status of various countries, national egoism is running rampant.

Spain chose neutrality between the French Empire and the British and other powerful powers, with an ambiguous attitude of strategic ambiguity. In fact, it was not welcomed by any country on either side, and its long-standing stalemate with Portugal made no progress at all.

Coupled with the economic insecurity caused by the occasional uncertainty about bringing raw materials from the Far East back to Europe, and the failure to take proactive measures, the Spanish economy has always been unstable.

Spain's foreign policy begins with a reflection on past diplomacy that is closer to the French Empire. It must use calm realists and analysis to treat the Spanish government's diplomacy in the past as negative teaching materials.

Although Spain established an alliance with the French Empire, its estranged relationship with Portugal made it difficult to unify the interests of the east and west sides of the Iberian Peninsula.

This is very sad for Spain.

Because Spain has never considered itself a small country, and in fact it is not.

It is even difficult to accept the claims of middle-sized countries.

But the reality is that there is the French Empire to the north, the rising country Kingdom of Italy across the sea to the east, Portugal to the west, and the British Empire across the sea.

There are also countries in central and northern Europe that dream of playing an active role in the Mediterranean arena.

This is the geopolitical confusion that Spain currently faces in the international political reality.

While Isabel II emphasized the restoration of Spain's international status at home, she also emphasized the restoration of various relationships between Spain and major countries. For example, Spain's previous strength came from maritime projects.

The UK has expressed concern about this for days.

From the British perspective, the new government of Isabel II was different from the previous Spanish government and might join the ranks of neutral countries such as Italy and the Ottoman Empire.

Form a neutral group among these countries to fight against the other five major European countries.

This is not a club of small countries, it is composed of several countries comparable to big European countries.

Some people analyze that if Italy, Spain and the Ottoman Empire formed a group in the east, middle and west of the Mediterranean, Britain and France would basically be marginalized.

In addition, if Spain cooperates with the International Hague Tribunal, Europe will almost be divided and the big countries will be surrounded.

Therefore, the UK officially announced that it would send a delegation to communicate with major European countries, hoping to coordinate to deal with this situation that makes the UK uncomfortable.

July 20, 1868

The French Empire clearly rejected the British delegation's proposal for the two countries to cooperate to deal with the formation of other countries. Prime Minister Olivier said, "There is no argument that the French Empire will form an alliance with other countries for this purpose. We have always been self-reliant and we will not rely on it." anyone"

The French Empire's approach was very strange, but Britain did not intend to give up just yet, so it visited the Kingdom of Prussia.

But it also hit a snag.

Prussia stated that it would not take any action for this, and Bismarck even stated that it would not do anything that would harm our friendship with Italy, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire.

Prime Minister Disraeli was immediately disappointed.

"At present, European countries have begun to wake up. Big countries will not do whatever they want because of this. The environment that the Netherlands needs is gradually taking shape. However, it is not enough. What the Netherlands needs to face are future development opportunities. Population growth will be the ultimate factor in the next period. For the purpose, economically, the Netherlands is currently developing rapidly, so I am not worried.

However, in terms of culture, the Netherlands currently does not have an advantage, especially Paris and Rome in the south of the Netherlands, which are Europeans’ favorite cultural destinations. Therefore, it seems slim for the Netherlands to win in the cultural strategy, at least for now. of. "

William IV secretly thought: Britain is absolutely worried about the rise of the Netherlands. Although Queen Victoria looks harmless to people and animals, no one who knows her history will not be shocked by this widow's ruthless rule. The whole world No one believed the massacres in various places, and the British army dared to kill them at will.

I was also drunk that such a female executioner was worshiped by many descendants of the colonizers in later generations.

But it also shows how superb Britain is at manipulating public opinion.

Looking back on his former world, many people in the colonies that were ruled by the British even yearned for the colonial life history. This also indirectly shows that the British policy has been effective.

At that time, William IV also analyzed and found that when Britain began to colonize, it would plunder without any scruples and not treat people as human beings.

But when they know that they are about to leave the colony, they will take advantage of the weakness of the human heart - people only remember the tenderness and kindness of the last time!

The practical benefit of making amends before leaving will also be to cultivate a group of candidates who are loyal or in line with British interests; using the power that has not been lost before leaving, pave the way for these people to succeed in their rise to power. Later, with the support of the public opinion of these leading parties, the ruled people will have the idea of ​​​​unprecedented prosperity, and at the same time, they will be misled into an economy that may gradually weaken in the future.

The British began to "pay too much attention" to the former colonies, "check in on the welfare", "be friendly to the people", etc., to highlight the benefits they had given at the end of their rule. When they were driven away, the "contradictions" that arose in the management of the local government were instantly borrowed. They use the opportunity to stir up trouble and incite those who support them to stand up and stir up trouble.

Even vaguely, taking advantage of the opportunity to gain more benefits, trying to seize the power that was originally lost.

In fact, the British system did not appear in the 19th century, because the nation had not yet awakened at this time, so it silently endured colonial rule.

The Netherlands is currently taking advantage of British policies in Africa to rule there.