Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

"European Times" reporter: "Your Majesty is so optimistic about the Far East?"

William IV: "It's not that they don't look down on the problem, but the resources there give them this advantage. Convenient water transportation. Universal railways in Europe, especially Western Europe, are also being put into use one after another. Navigation in the islands of the Dutch East Indies in the north Routes, etc. have created maritime hubs, which have provided necessary infrastructure for economic development there. In addition, Dutch local capital has transferred a large amount of assets or invested a lot to help development there. At present, it has become a hot spot for investment and construction, and it is snowballing. Generally speaking, capital from countries such as Europe and America are beginning to be optimistic about it. While increasing immigration, it is also driving an investment boom."

Reporter: "The economy is developing so fast, and His Majesty is so confident. The key is, how is the defense work there? Your Majesty should know that the world is in chaos right now, and all countries are ambitious, and there are many careerists. Therefore, if they do not have sufficient power to defend their property and citizens, governments will face the risk of their assets being seized."

William IV: "At this point, the Netherlands has actually redeployed it. At present, the Netherlands' military scale in the Indian Ocean and Pacific regions has exceeded that of the mainland, and the fleet tonnage has also exceeded that of the mainland. The scale can be compared with the current It’s almost the same as Portugal. And in terms of the size of the army, it’s almost the same as the mainland and about the same size as the Portuguese army.”

Reporter: "In other words, the Netherlands currently uses its army and navy in the Far East to reach the level of Portugal?"

William IV: "You can think so. After all, the current population of white Dutch people there is more than 6 million. Next year, even under the guidance of policies, more children and international immigrants will have Dutch native immigrants, etc., the population will exceed 7 million." It should be possible”

Reporter: "What is the position of indigenous people?"

William IV: "The Netherlands is a country that does not exclude the indigenous people. Therefore, many people who have lived in the Far East of the Netherlands can see that the indigenous people there are very docile and, of course, very Dutch. In fact, we It would be more appropriate to describe them as Dutch natives."

Reporter: "Natives of the Netherlands?"

William IV: "Yes, they are the Dutch,"

Reporter: "Will this cause dissatisfaction among the white Dutch? Your Majesty should know that the customs of the indigenous people are different from those of the white Dutch."

William IV: "But they are also being Protestantized. Of course, more importantly, their king is me, and their allegiance is to me and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At this point, it is enough."

Reporter: "There are more than 10 million indigenous people in the Far East. It is said that they have migrated to parts of Africa such as Kenya, Tanzania and the depths of the Congo. The Financial Times, a British newspaper, said that some people suspect that His Majesty has ulterior motives. How come Your Majesty? What do you think about this kind of book statement?”

William IV: "There is nothing in this world that is not doubted by others. When you look at what others do with a different perspective, you are actually already looking at others with ulterior motives. What I want to say is, They have been unfair to the parties from the beginning, so I don't care about this view, and I don't think those in the British government care about it either. After all, the British overseas colonies have always been direct and brutal. It has brought many parts of the world into a state of war and disaster.”

Reporter: "Does His Majesty express dissatisfaction with Britain's overseas colonial policy?"

William IV: "No, I just express my feelings. More importantly, I feel that there are deficiencies in the Netherlands."

reporter:"??"

William IV: "If possible, I think the Netherlands can use Britain as a mirror to look for its own shortcomings."

Reporter: “Are you learning from what you call Britain’s ‘brutal colonial rule policy’?”

William IV: "Haha, the Netherlands has no colonies, only territory. As long as it is a place ruled by the Netherlands, it is the territory of the Netherlands, just like the mainland. I am thinking about how to make the word "colony in the Netherlands" disappear from the territory of the Netherlands."

Reporter: "Your Majesty is really humorous"

William IV: "Why do you say that?"

Reporter: "At present, Europe and the world are full of the word "colony". I think it will be difficult for it to disappear, right?"

William IV: "That's why I said I disappeared in the Netherlands"

Reporter: "Okay. What kind of attitude does your Majesty think Prussia will hold towards the Netherlands at present? Because Prussia has annexed the countries of the German Confederation except Austria, I heard that with the help of His Majesty William I and Bismarck and other ministers, he completed the integration policy and won the With so much territory and population, Prussia's strength has greatly increased in recent years. Prussia, which originally had an advantage over the Netherlands, is now even more pressured by the Netherlands. Under such circumstances, what does your Majesty think the Netherlands should do towards Prussia? Attitude?"

William IV: "That's a good question. In my opinion, Prussia's current national strength is actually more stressful than France's pressure on the Netherlands. After all, France's consumption in the Far East has reduced France's domestic strength a lot, and Prussia's recent In the past year, they have been silently pursuing integration, and the current results are remarkable. Therefore, as you just said, with the soaring strength, Prussia is making the Netherlands feel the pressure.

However, as for expanding the advantage over the Netherlands, I don’t think so. I don’t agree with this.”

Reporter: "What does your Majesty mean by saying that?"

William IV: "Because while Prussia was expanding, the Netherlands was also developing in the Far East. You may ask how the 7 million Dutch and 10 million indigenous people in the Far East can be compared with the more than 50 million people in Prussia after the integration. But I What I want to say is that this is not a question of population, but a question of the degree of security integration.”

reporter:"?"

William IV: "I further explained that the Far East belongs to the Netherlands, and the natives are actually more willing to integrate with the Dutch. But in Prussia, they have forcibly integrated with others, so the internal situation seems to be quiet at the moment. In fact, who knows whether it will When will it rebound? I think Bismarck and others should also be concerned about this."

Reporter: "Your Majesty is saying that there may be hidden dangers in Prussia that the original countries will break away from the control of the Prussian government?"

William IV: "It's not a possibility, but it must exist. No one likes his country to be destroyed and then to be ruled by others. On this point, I think it is the same all over the world."

Reporter: "The Netherlands is not worried about Prussia?"

William IV: "Wrong, on the contrary, I am more worried about the situation of the Netherlands."

Reporter: “It’s not because the threat has become smaller due to Prussia’s internal integration, why are you more worried?”