Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

As for William IV, who was far away in Melbourne, he was giving lessons to several of his princes and princesses.

Albert Christian William, who holds the titles of Prince of Orange, Duke of Nassau, and Grand Duke of Australia, is referred to as Crown Prince Albert. He was born in 1865 and is now 13 years old. He seems to be influenced by William IV at a young age. , the height has actually reached 1.7 meters. Queen Alexandra once predicted that it might eventually grow to more than 1.9 meters, but it exceeded William IV's 1.85 meters. In this era, he was definitely a real "superior".

Princess Anna (Grand Duchess of Phu Quoc Island) is 11 years old this year, and the twins Prince Jacques (Duke of Congo) and Princess Mary (Grand Duchess of Kenya) are both 8 years old.

I saw Prince Albert asking: "Why does my father have to promote the modernization of the Netherlands?"

“The Netherlands must see modernization as an engine of change, not as a synthesis of its component parts.

This engine, or engine, must first be ignited, then accelerated, and finally achieve the critical take-off and enter a completely different mode.

A more apt analogy would be to compare the modernization process to trains in the early 19th century.

First there is a long preparation phase: the boiler fires up and steam of sufficient pressure is gathered, and then comes the exciting moment of departure - the steam drives the pistons and the wheels rotate; then comes the consolidation period: the engine trembles and accelerates with a squeaking sound. run, culminating in the spectacular galloping stage, where the train makes a wonderful rumble and hurtles down the tracks at maximum speed and power. Throughout the 19th century, most European governments worked hard to create the conditions that would move their countries from economic ignition to social takeoff, with some succeeding and others failing.

Most Western European countries and Nordic countries also started the same process in the mid-19th century, first Belgium and the Netherlands, then Germany and France. According to the original history, by 1878, the resource-rich, dynamic and unified German Empire was very Soon it will catch up with the British Empire and lead the entire European economy. "

Prince Albert asked: "I see that many countries are actually poor. Does this mean that modernization is difficult to achieve?"

William IV nodded and smiled: "Modernization is biased. In most countries, there is a significant contrast between modern urban areas and remote provinces. In the United Kingdom, England has begun to look at remote highlands and islands in a different light.

In the past, France had already formed a highly developed area around the Paris-Lyon-Marseille axis.

In the Low Countries, Lille-Liège-Amsterdam-Rotterdam Netherlands and surrounding highly developed areas are formed.

The German Empire was the Rhine-Ruhr-Berlin-Saxony-Silesian region.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was the central belt of Bohemia-Vienna-Budapest.

Italy is moderately developed in the Lombardy region, but other places are only highly developed regions, which has lowered Italy's overall level.

Additionally, identities such as Irish, Breton, Galician and Sicilian are extremely underdeveloped. "

Princess Anna next to her suddenly asked: "What about the Russian Empire?"

William IV stared at his eldest daughter dotingly and replied with a smile: "Saint Peter and Moscow in the Tsarist Russian Empire have moved towards modernization due to Alexander II's all-out reforms, and have now reached the level of developed imperial capitals, but other places are not." It is poor and backward, so the development gap among various regions in the country is also the largest among European countries.

Due to the different development levels between countries and domestic regions, the economic differences among European countries are now extremely prominent.

In fact, throughout the nearly 80 years of the 19th century, Europe formed two completely different economic zones. One was an advanced region that was generally industrialized and modernized—that is, Western Europe and Northern Europe. The other was an industrialized but largely undeveloped region. The backward areas that were modernized—that is, Southern and Eastern Europe.

The former first participated in the "global Hague economy" dominated by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and like the United Kingdom, advanced the economic system by acquiring overseas colonies.

Southern and Eastern Europe could only become a source of food, raw materials, cheap labor, and a controlled market for industrial goods. "

Speaking of this, William IV couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, Prince Jacques next to him asked: "The German Empire is currently catching up with the United Kingdom and our Kingdom of the Netherlands in European industry. What is the position of the German Empire in industrialization?"

"But I don't want you to be interested in the German Empire, Jacques."

A major contradiction faced by the German Empire in its previous life was that although it had become the most dynamic country in industrialization, it was unable to obtain corresponding colonies due to political and timing reasons.

After the reunification of the German Empire in 1871, it immediately established close economic ties with Eastern European countries. In order to compensate for the failure in the colonies, if the earlier division of Western Europe and Northern Europe was largely a religious and political division, now it has a strong economic color.

Now, due to the rise of the Netherlands, which has attracted the attention of Britain, the German Empire has been able to expand a lot in its overseas colonies. Therefore, the German Empire has not yet reached a real reconciliation with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The future alliance formed by the two countries has not yet appeared. On the contrary, because the French Empire was divided into two, the alliance formed by the German Empire and the Southern French Third Republic became an accident. If history remains unchanged, the future German Empire With coercion and leverage, Italy also became an ally of the German Empire. Together with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this World War I alliance camp was much larger than in the previous life.

The camp formed by Britain and Napoleon III's French Second Empire, which was also supposed to disappear, was greatly weakened because of this, and the final pattern seemed unpredictable.

William IV replied: "At present, the industrialization of Eastern Europe is limited to some local areas. These areas are like islands in a vast sea of ​​backward rural areas. North Bohemia, Lodz, Warsaw, the Dombrowa Triangle, The textile factories of Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg, the oil fields of Galicia, Romania, and the Caspian Sea are among such industrialized islands.

Not only that, these islands were not only geographically isolated, but even by the end of the 19th century, their power was still not enough to push the entire country's economy into the critical point of take-off. This undoubtedly had major social and strategic consequences. The vast majority of the rural population is becoming increasingly poor. They are no longer burdened with various land obligations in the past, but they do not have enough opportunities to improve their situation in cities and towns.

They benefited neither from the development of modern agriculture nor from the significant employment opportunities that industrialization brought. What's worse is that in a poor and weak society, the country still has to impose heavy taxes on its subjects who are suffering from poverty. This is tantamount to sowing the seeds of social unrest and political rebellion.

In view of this, coupled with concerns about the bursting vitality of the German Empire, investment in the Tsarist Russian Empire from the United Kingdom, the Second French Empire, Spain, and the Netherlands increased dramatically, boosting the railway mileage, industrial output, and foreign trade of the Tsarist Russian Empire. substantial growth.

The question remains whether there is a agreed European economy. The answer is probably no. If it is determined that there is such a European economy, and Western Europe's large investment in the Russian Empire indicates the continuous development of economic integration, then the German Empire obviously plays a role in it. A key player, after all, by 1878 the German Empire now had both huge investments in Western European industry and trade and an important role in the economies of Eastern Europe. "

Speaking of this, William IV sighed: "The geographical location of the German Empire is not much better than that of the Netherlands. The difference is that the German Empire has a wider European territory, and there are more and stronger countries around it, so the German Empire is also unfortunate."

Prince Albert's eyes flashed slightly when he heard this and asked: "Father is not optimistic about the situation of the German Empire?"

William IV shook his head. Under the curious eyes of several people, William IV said: "I am even less optimistic about the future of the German Empire."

Princess Mary asked: "Why? At present, the German Empire is rising so fast. After the Dutch center left Europe, it is unparalleled. Even the United Kingdom has a major sense of crisis. It will be just around the corner for the German Empire to catch up with the United Kingdom, not to mention that the German Empire is on the European continent. , when there is more room for development and expansion, why would my father not be optimistic about the German Empire?"

Looking at Princess Mary with inquiring eyes, William IV suddenly felt a huge wave in his heart.

There is an old saying in my motherland in my previous life that you should look at eighty at the age of three, which means that a child’s character and way of doing things cannot change much even when they grow up. This is because the child’s nature is not hidden and exposed to you. When you grow up, It will hide itself so that others cannot see it.

From the questions asked by the children just now, we can see that Albert is more upright and royal, Anna is biased and likes to watch, Jacques likes to get to the bottom of things, and Mary brings her own questioner and has the ability to ask herself. answer function.

Of these four children, it seems that the one with the most political talent is the youngest daughter, Princess Mary.

William IV couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

Grand Duchess of Kenya, I wonder if in the future when the world enters colonies and establish their own countries, if I am still alive at that time and let these children manage their own country, will Princess Mary in front of me be the most successful?

Thinking about it, I feel a little hopeful. It seems that it is time to give some more homework to a few people, especially Albert. It is not enough to be a king. To manage so much territory in the Netherlands, you must be an almighty king of the Netherlands. Done.

But just when he thought this, Prince Albert asked: "Father, if the Netherlands is at war with Britain now, it seems that the most advantageous thing for us at this time is land. However, due to the existence of submarines, the sea does not belong to the British navy, and even the operation of the sea does not belong to the British navy. -If done properly, using a surprising approach to defeat Britain's strongest side will make them more likely to surrender, so I think the Netherlands can think about this."

William IV was immediately confused. Okay, I take back my guess. The eldest son is still the best.