Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

When various calculations were being made around the world, and when the Netherlands and Prussia were competing in a battle of wits and courage in Europe, many people did not expect that the two countries would continue to have a soft confrontation, and now a more ambitious war was brewing. "War" is coming.

On March 12, 1868, the interaction between Mexico and Prussia seemed to suddenly turn the diplomatic war to the Americas. On that day, on the recommendation of the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark formally applied to become members of the Confederation of South America.

In this regard, King Carl XV of Sweden explained to "European Times": "We are very interested in South America in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, and we are willing to expand our contacts there. If the application is approved, we will be able to develop relations with South America. With more exchanges, Sweden's current food shortage will be alleviated from now on. Sweden's experience in developing minerals will also become a partner of South American countries that attaches great importance to industrial mining, which is very important for Sweden. I look forward to Sweden becoming part of the CONMEBOL family”

According to the "Copenhagen Daily News" report, King Christian IX of Denmark also said very excitedly: "Denmark is a maritime country, so filling Denmark's footprints in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans should, no, be something Denmark must do in the future. Therefore, like His Majesty King Carl XV, I am very excited about becoming a member of the South American Confederation."

On March 13, local time in Latin America, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador in South America issued a joint statement stating that if the Nordic Alliance of the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark is attacked, the four countries will do their best to provide assistance.

On March 14, Peru on the east coast of the Pacific also announced that it would join the ranks of the four South American countries. Peruvian President Prado said that day, "I condemn any action that threatens the three Nordic countries as illegal and unacceptable. We, Peru, the Netherlands and other three countries I officially announce that Peru has submitted a membership application to the South American Union headquarters in Dutch Guia. In addition, we are willing to provide the help they need when the three countries including the Netherlands encounter attacks."

On March 15, Venezuelan President Herrera said in an interview with the Financial Times, “If Denmark and Sweden are attacked on their territories before they officially become members of the South American Union, the entire South American members of the Netherlands, Argentina, Venezuela, and Colombia will In accordance with the treaty, the United States, Ecuador and the Commonwealth of America in North America will be prepared to take all necessary means to provide assistance. This guarantee is a clear signal to ensure that the applications of Sweden and Denmark to join the South American Union, in addition to the Netherlands, can be quickly approved. ratified and became a formal member of the Union of South America.”

The Financial Times said that the current member states of the Union of South America are the Netherlands, the Commonwealth of America, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.

At the same time, Peru, Sweden, and Denmark are already applying to become members of the Union of South America.

Argentine President Mitre said: "The security of Sweden, Denmark and Peru is a matter of our common relations. I believe that there are opportunities to strengthen cooperation among the South American Federation. As the second largest country in South America, Argentina will do its best. We will do our best to ensure that Peru, Sweden and Denmark join the South American Union quickly."

On March 18, 1868, local time in Guyana, South America, the "European Times" quoted the news from the "Rotterdam Zeitung" as saying that Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck met with the heads of the member states of the South American Union at the headquarters of the Union of South America in Guyana. However, the president of the Federal Republic of America Lincoln did not attend the meeting in person, but sent Secretary of State Seward to attend.

This made various countries very dissatisfied. Venezuelan President Herrera even directly criticized the United States and said that the Federal Republic of America is not a member of South America at all, so it is appropriate for President Lincoln not to come to Guyana.

Anyone can hear this sarcastic tone.

In this regard, although Seward was dissatisfied with being challenged, he still swallowed his anger. After all, Lincoln had made it clear before he came that this meeting would be an opportunity for them to test the South American Union's choice of side in the internal struggle of the American Federation. , President Lincoln sent Seward here to investigate the attitudes of various countries towards them.

Therefore, Siward chose to keep a very low profile.

Although various countries were very curious about why the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of America chose not to refute, they did not focus on him.

On the same day, both King Carl XV of Sweden and King Christian IX of Denmark formally signed the application for the Agreement. King Carl XV also said that Sweden would submit the application for "membership" with Denmark. Many people expected Sweden and Denmark to become South American countries. Alliance members will become members of the organization together with Peru, which applied earlier.

Dutch Guiana in South America was making a scene, attracting the attention of the whole world.

The governments of major countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Tsarist Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottomans have expressed great concern about the future direction of the organization, and the governments of various countries will make adjustments to this.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Prussia, a member of a major country, believes that Sweden and Denmark's joining the South American Union is not in the interests of the people of the two countries. Prussia declares that joining the South American Union will only cause Sweden and Denmark to gradually lose their foreign policy decisions. sovereignty, and will damage the security situation of Prussia's immediate neighbors in Northern Europe, and even Europe as a whole. As a country in Central Europe, Western Europe and the Baltic Sea, the Kingdom of Prussia will be forced to take economic, military and other measures if it feels threatened. Responding to ongoing and emerging threats in Guyana, South America.

However, Prussia's opposition seemed to be drowned out by the voices of many international countries.

The three Nordic countries became members of the South American Union at the same time, and their influence spread throughout Europe and even beyond.

On March 20, the British government did not know why it expressed support. Prime Minister Disraeli personally answered this, which surprised many people.

The UK's recent frequent speeches are full of contradictions and confusing.

Sometimes anti-Dutch, sometimes pro-Dutch, many people including Bismarck secretly cursed that he was indeed Europe's offshore balancer.

However, Bismarck responded to this in an interview with "European Times" on the 21st, saying that Sweden and Denmark applied to become the South American Union "under the pressure and solicitation" of the Netherlands, which was an excuse for the Kingdom of Prussia to take relevant free actions.

According to the "European Times" report, Bismarck talked about the topic of Sweden and Denmark applying to join the South American Union in the interview, "If Sweden and Denmark are doing what they are doing under the coaxing and pressure of the Netherlands, it is not actually true that the nationals of the two countries are serious. What they really want to do, but what the royal families and the political forces in both countries want to do, I would say is to give the Kingdom of Prussia the freedom to act,"

Bismarck said: "These two countries have pursued a neutral policy of not joining the military alliance for decades since 1815. Now the Dutch co-optation and pressure have forced them to change their strategic directions and routes. This is giving us freedom of action." of"

However, Prime Minister Bismarck did not mention whether the Kingdom of Prussia would take military or economic actions to sanction Sweden, Denmark, and even the Netherlands. He did not mention what actions it might take.