Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Chapter 378 Lincoln: Fire Secretary of State?

“What did European and American observers say after William IV’s speech on Anglo-Dutch relations policy in the House of Commons?”

Hugh Smith, President of the University of Cambridge in the British Empire, pointed out: "William IV's speech is great and substantive in many aspects, but to me, it will not convey a sense of urgency. What you will get after listening to this speech." It is inferred that the track of competition between the Netherlands and the UK is not serious, we just need to keep up."

He also said that William IV said that the Netherlands will cooperate with the United Kingdom on many aspects of common interests and cannot let differences prevent the people of both sides and the world from moving forward on major priority issues that require cooperation between the two sides.

“After William IV’s speech, experts on Anglo-Dutch relations and Dutch foreign relations quickly gave a brief analysis and evaluation of this speech in the House of Commons of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

William IV specifically mentioned the situation of easing hostilities between Britain and the Netherlands. His Majesty pointed out that ensuring peace and stability in the Atlantic, North Sea and English Channel between the Netherlands and Britain not only serves the interests of the Netherlands and the British Empire, but also This is also a concern for France, Belgium and even the international community. It is crucial to the security and prosperity of Europe, both sides of the Atlantic and even the world.

Lecturer Zelik also wrote: There is a lack of confrontation. Simply recognizing that the reconciliation between Amsterdam and London is not enough for the global order. It also needs to respond to the concerns of other countries. The two countries should have a common vision. Be more transparent.

He also suggested that William IV should not just assume that the Netherlands could move to a higher level of happiness with Britain without asking for help.

Brown, chief researcher and director of the Netherlands-Amsterdam Institute for Peace, wrote: “His Majesty Willem IV’s Britain-Dutch Speech does a good job of placing the Dutch-British relationship within the broader Dutch security strategy, both within the Netherlands and outside the Netherlands. British domestic policies, etc., this is worth looking forward to changes in British-Dutch relations.”

Krim, director and chief researcher of the Netherlands-Australia Institute, also said: "William IV well explained that intimidation to maintain peace and stability in Anglo-Dutch relations is related to broader global security and stability."

Despite these positive reviews, some observers also pointed out shortcomings in the content of William IV's speech.

In his speech, William IV emphasized that the Netherlands had no intention of bowing to the British, nor did it seek to prevent the domestic affairs of the American Commonwealth from moving in a direction that favored Dutch descent in power. At the same time, his tone towards Prussia and France would not be lowered. This attitude disappointed Rowan Elson, President of Oxford University and Dean of the School of Foreign Affairs.

"I think this has lowered expectations for the relationship between the UK and the Netherlands, and I'm very sad about it."

William IV delivered an important speech in the British House of Commons, outlining the Kingdom of the Netherlands' policy towards the United Kingdom. In his speech, he stated that the Netherlands "will develop strategic relations between the two countries based on the United Kingdom's willingness to establish a closer relationship with the Netherlands. The Netherlands At the same time, we told our British counterparts that the Netherlands will shape a strategic environment that is conducive to the Netherlands and push the Netherlands to realize its vision of an open and inclusive international system."

Tim, director of the Dutch governance program at the National Peace Foundation in Rotterdam, also gave a positive evaluation of the speech, but he said that the Netherlands still has problems with the United Kingdom that are difficult to solve.

He wrote, “This is a good speech and a wise move to deal with a difficult challenge, but how to convince the UK that it can jointly make international rules that are beneficial to the UK and the Netherlands without changing or harming the interests of the Netherlands? develop and prosper under the premise of realizing the problems of the UK and the Netherlands in the next few years.”

In Berlin, Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck said: "Britain and the Netherlands are important neighbors of the Kingdom of Prussia. Their exchanges and easing tensions are very important to Prussia. Prussia will pay close attention to the development of Anglo-Dutch relations. Correspondingly, Prussia will Respond accordingly"

Napoleon III, Emperor of the Third French Empire, was in Paris. When faced with the question of what impact Queen Victoria’s invitation to William IV of the Netherlands would have on France and whether he had anything to worry about, Napoleon III said, “There is nothing to worry about. Yes, the French Empire is a world power. We are only concerned with immediate practical issues and will not take too many actions to create fictitious long-term relations. However, Britain and the Netherlands are both important to France, so Paris will also pay close attention to it. We reserve the right to respond further to what is currently happening in London. Of course, I think the relationship between the French Empire and them will be maintained for a while, especially now that the relationship between the Netherlands and France has eased due to North America."

U.S. President Lincoln said, "Although the relationship between Britain and America is tense, as neighbors, Britain and the United States naturally hope that their neighbors will reduce unrest. The Netherlands has a very strong influence on America and has a major impact on America. Therefore, the White House will Stay tuned to the ongoing secret talks between the two countries. If there is an agreement involving America, we will respond as soon as possible."

Amsterdam, The Netherlands,

When asked about William IV's speech in the British House of Commons, Dutch Prime Minister Tolbek said, "The Netherlands will deepen its relationship with the United Kingdom. After all, the United Kingdom is the most influential country in the world, whether in Africa, the Indo-Pacific, or beyond. We all need to maintain a certain degree of contact with the United Kingdom in North and South America as well as Europe, because the Netherlands also has important interests in those places. In short, the relationship between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom will affect the local interests of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A relaxed and cooperative Dutch-British relations, which are beneficial to both sides, and this is the purpose of His Majesty’s visit to the UK.”

William IV's visit to England aroused a lot of enthusiasm in the international community.

April 21, 1868.

London, Buckingham Palace, this meeting was held only by William IV and Queen Victoria. Standing next to them was Princess Louise, and next to William IV was the director of the Dutch International Intelligence Agency, McShane.

"Her Majesty the Queen disagrees with this. When it comes to the Greek issue, the Netherlands is the main one and the UK is the subsidiary. In any case, the king of Greece is a member of the Nassau-Orange family."

"Your Majesty William IV is wrong. If our British Empire had not supported your father William III, I think the two princes of Emmanuel II and the prince of Prussia might have been the heirs, so The UK has put in a lot of effort. You know, Europe has always been a big country that has the final say."

Does this mean that the Netherlands is no longer a big country?

William was not dissatisfied, but smiled and said: "It is precisely because of the contribution of the United Kingdom, and in order to show the Netherlands's attitude of agreeing to share the results, that I proposed to marry Princess Louise for my brother, Crown Prince Frederik, so that he could marry Princess Louise. Becoming the future queen of Greece”

"伱" Queen Victoria glared at William IV, and finally sighed after seeing her daughter Princess Louise's shame: "That's all, I guess you are right, but..."

Seeing that the Queen had relented, William IV was in a good mood and asked, "Nothing but what?"

Queen Victoria asked inquiringly: "Still on the previous topic, how can you help ease the relationship between the Commonwealth of America and the United Kingdom?"

"It's very simple. Since we have an agreement with the United Kingdom, it is naturally the Dutch who pushed it to completion."

"The Senate President and several ministers in the internal government are quite powerful, but they don't seem to have much power. You must know that Lincoln is very hostile to us."

Queen Victoria said, suddenly stunned for a moment, and then she looked at William IV with shock in her eyes.

Princess Louise, who had been Queen Doria's unofficial secretary for several years, also thought of a possibility at this time. Looking at William IV in shock.

Faced with the disbelieving expressions of the two people, William did not answer, but looked at Mike and Sean next to him.

Seeing William IV's appearance, the two of them couldn't help but fall on the Dutch intelligence director who stood upright behind William IV.

McKay Sean said expressionlessly: "Everything has been prepared. President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward of the Federal Republic of America will face gun harassment this week."

Gun harassment?

This description is weird, how to describe it? It seems a bit cold and gentle.

Someone took the lead, and the news in the Commonwealth of America that President Lincoln wanted to remove Seward from his position as Secretary of State became more and more intense. On April 22, 1868, of the three to four million Germans in the country, nearly one million The Prussians participated in the demonstration, and hundreds of thousands of other Germans also participated. This means that nearly half of the four million Germans in the American Commonwealth participated. The remaining other Germans obviously did not want to destroy Prussia in their country. They offended the powerful Irish and Dutch.

Even these two million people are enough to cause a huge response in the Commonwealth of America. You must know that during the February Revolution in France in 1830 and the July Revolution in 1847, the number of participants was That's all.

What's more, millions of people are now aggrieved that a secretary of state is about to be dismissed. This is a challenge to the constitution of the American Commonwealth. Therefore, many authorities in the American Commonwealth have come out to criticize the actions of these Prussians and Germans. However, these people who were stirred up their emotions could not bear to listen. Many angry people even went so far as to throw stones at their homes after knowing the addresses of these authority figures, causing panic in society.

The society began to criticize and asked President Lincoln to quickly quell this chaos.

At this point, Lincoln naturally could no longer hide.

So Lincoln began to demand at cabinet meetings that the Prussians and these Germans participating in the demonstration be discouraged, and he was forced to suppress them.

At that time, several Germans in the cabinet government stopped the cabinet meeting due to the opposition of Seward.

When the news came out, the world was shocked, and there were calls for the dismissal of these Germans. Even senators and congressmen filed proposals for dismissal.