Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Just when the Speaker of the House of Representatives Huntington of the Netherlands was visiting Spain and expressing his views on Gibraltar's intentions, a piece of news from the French Empire's "Le Figaro" surprised Europe and the world.

It turns out that the Tsarist Empire has been making frequent moves in recent months, apparently taking advantage of the fact that the British Empire and the Netherlands are busy dealing with the French Empire in the Siam War in the Far East, and the British, Dutch and Spanish themselves due to the Gibraltar dispute, to take the opportunity to get rid of the Balkan Peninsula War. dilemma.

Diplomatically, the Russian Empire rarely expressed its intention to improve relations with its old enemy the Ottoman Empire. It considered reopening its embassy and applied to join the International Hague Tribunal as a member. In addition, it has obtained the consent of the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark to become observer states of the Nordic Alliance.

The Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of the Russian Empire Gorchakov took the initiative to visit Constantinople on January 20 to express goodwill. He said in Constantinople that the Russian Empire was willing to reopen its embassies in the two capitals. The Black Sea rivals began talks last year seeking to improve bilateral relations.

Officials from the Russian Empire stated in early February that the Russian Empire had officially applied to join the International Hague Tribunal, which is led by the Netherlands. The Netherlands has become increasingly influential and nationally powerful in recent years, and the weight of the International Hague Tribunal has also increased with the increasing number of members. .

At present, the organization includes most of the countries in Europe and the world. Except for Britain, France, Tsarist Russia, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman, Prussia and other major countries, it has captured almost all the remaining countries and is powerful. Among them, as the organization's most powerful One of the powerful countries, although the Netherlands has a small population, its military strength and economic strength are second to none.

At the same time, the Prime Minister of the Ottoman Empire, Prince Abdul Vasi, also visited St. Petersburg on February 5. He had a strong intention to win over and get closer to the Tsarist Empire. Some analysts pointed out that the Tsarist Empire was under British influence because of its previous wars in the Balkans. and France’s sanctions. In Britain’s current diplomatic predicament, and the French Empire unable to make a breakthrough due to the war in the Far East, the Tsarist Empire would naturally seek to expand and deepen its relationship with the Ottoman Empire and draw the current enemies of Britain and France away. Come to your own side and counterbalance it.

Regarding the Eastern Mediterranean issue that Britain and France are currently concerned about, the Tsarist Empire knew that the interests of various countries there would not be easily compromised, especially when the countries would not give in. At this time, the Tsarist Russian Empire intervened and supported the Ottoman Empire's claims. Obviously, this gained gained the admiration of the Ottoman Empire.

The Prime Minister of the Ottoman Empire, Prince Abdul Vasi, said that he felt that the several rounds of negotiations with the Russian Empire were positive, and that the Ottoman Empire should seriously strive to reach a solid and lasting agreement to find the best solution for peace between the two countries. way out.

Jafari, an expert on international affairs of the Ottoman Empire, said that the failure of the British Empire to respond to the Ottoman Empire's demands for guarantees of power and economic interests was the reason why previous negotiations supported by the United Kingdom failed to resolve the issue. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire currently chooses to be independent from the Tsarist Russia. Hold bilateral negotiations.

He said that over the past many years, Britain's influence on the Ottoman Empire had not benefited the Ottoman Empire, and Constantinople discovered that Britain only liked to make cheap money, rather than letting the Ottoman Empire benefit from it. benefit from development and growth.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire was somewhat unclear about the sincerity of the British Empire, and the current willingness of the Russian Empire to improve relations allowed the Ottoman Empire to see an opportunity.

However, many people pointed out that the Ottoman Empire's vacillating position on the negotiations between the Osman Empire and the Russian Empire led to the Russian-Austrian negotiations that began last year to stagnate.

Bob, an intelligence analyst for the French newspaper Le Figaro, said that within the Ottoman Empire, King Abdulaziz I Sultan had repeated positions on negotiations.

He pointed out that Sultan Abdul Aziz I originally allowed the resumption of negotiations with the Russian Empire last year. Later, due to the "friendly" friendship extended by the British to the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire were close to reaching an agreement at that time. Perhaps It was Britain's overtures that made King Abdulaziz I Sultan change his mind at this time.

"Sultan Abdul Aziz I judged that the international situation would change, new cracks appeared in the world's military and politics, and internal strife suddenly appeared in Western European countries, which might give the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire a chance to gain the upper hand. .

As a result, the Ottoman Empire left the breakfast laid out for them by the British and came to the Tsarist Russian Empire to prepare a grand dinner banquet for them.

The Ottoman Empire was a big variable in Europe, affecting the layout of the eastern Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Arabian Sea, and the Middle East. For various countries, it was not only a powerful influence in the eastern Mediterranean, but the Ottoman Empire also protected the Russian Empire from appearing in the Mediterranean. And at the door of the Indian Ocean, if these two countries achieve the goal that Western European powers do not want to see, the Tsarist Empire can freely enter and exit the Indian Ocean, then it will definitely be a nightmare for them.

In particular, the British Empire and the French Empire were particularly nervous. Therefore, Britain and France were more or less obstructing the negotiations between the Ottoman Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire a few days ago. Therefore, Britain and France aroused dissatisfaction with the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

The Tsarist Empire had previously been involved in the war with the Ottoman Empire because of the British intervention. Eventually, the Tsarist Russian Empire was sanctioned by Britain, France and other countries. However, as the relationship between the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire eased, this sanction seemed to be unjust and unjust. The Tsarist Russian Empire has requested to be lifted many times. However, Britain seems to be continuing to implement this in industry. This has angered the Tsarist Empire. In order to retaliate, the Tsarist Empire has strengthened its relationship with Britain's opponents in recent times, including the Commonwealth of America, the Netherlands, and even Tsarist Russia. Relations between the empire and Sweden, always a contender for Nordic hegemony, also eased.

The Tsarist Empire has intimidated Britain from time to time. Not long ago, it even carried out naval and land wars between the Tsarist Russian Empire, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark in the African colonies of Ghana, southwestern Burkina Faso, the Swedish colony of Togo, and the Danish colony of Sierra Leone. joint-exercise, which made the UK feel the pressure from Northern Europe.

As the influence of Britain and France declines, as the most powerful country in the Near East with a key strategic location, the Ottoman Empire has now become a popular hotpot.

Under the current circumstances, the Ottoman Empire can try to bargain with various Western camps without becoming a puppet in the hands of the British.

Sultan Abdul Aziz I has serious internal problems, a sluggish economy, poor people's livelihood, and a military that is not strong among the six major European countries. The best outcome for the Ottoman Empire at present is naturally to ease the conflict in the north. The powerful neighbor, the Tsarist Empire, prevented social unrest due to war, attracted the industrial technology of Prussia and the Netherlands, and at the same time moved closer to the Dutch middle line.

Therefore, the easing of relations with Tsarist Russia this time is the most critical link.

After passing this level, the Ottoman Empire had the capital to bargain with major powers such as Britain, France, and Russia.

This is something that the Tsarist Empire understood, so the two countries hit it off, which aroused dissatisfaction from Britain and France.

The French newspaper Le Figaro couldn't help but list this headline: While Britain was busy dealing with the Netherlands, Tsarist Russia and the Ottomans took the opportunity to get out of trouble. Is it worth it for Britain?