Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Because the Dutch-born Secretary-General of the Union of South America, Martinas, visited the Spanish colony of Cuba and Washington, the United States, and issued a series of words criticizing Britain, pointing out the threat that Britain's challenges brought to the world, the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands was extremely low. , suddenly dropped to freezing point.

Sure enough, the British Foreign Secretary Greville's soft-but-hard anti-Dutch terminology later caused the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to speak back one by one.

The major countries stayed out of the matter and chose to sit on the sidelines. Even the Stephen Cabinet government of the United States where Martinas visited did not make any comments on this.

Perhaps because of the closeness of the Netherlands and Japan, the Qing Dynasty selectively pretended not to see it this time. Li Hongzhang even asked the Prime Minister's Yamen not to make any comments on this.

However, France and Belgium chose to publicly accuse the Netherlands of provocation and stated that they would stand on the British side.

As for the Netherlands, the entire Union of South America and the Kingdom of Siam have supported the Netherlands. Sweden and Denmark expressed their understanding of the Netherlands' concerns and hoped that Britain could ease tensions with the Netherlands and maintain peace in the North Atlantic.

The various gestures of various countries make people understand the reality of world politics.

As powerful countries, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary were surprised that the two countries actually chose the same diplomatic stance, stating that they would send relevant teams to visit the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to coordinate the reduction of tense relations between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

This made many common people in Britain and the Netherlands very happy with the actions of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. Some small countries also began to set their sights on the two countries, and even in southern Bulgaria, they asked Germany and Austria-Hungary to coordinate the influence of the King of Bulgaria, Russia and the United Kingdom. .

Seeing that the situation is becoming increasingly tense, all countries are eager to expand their national strength and influence.

On October 20, 1880, the Crown Prince of the British Empire, Prince of Wales, and Prince Edward publicly commented in the Financial Times on Martinas's practice of provoking Britain everywhere.

"Martinas, the Dutch Secretary-General of the Union of South America, gave a speech at the National Defense University of the United States on October 18, 1880. As always, he said that Britain is a challenge to all countries in the world. If we are allowed to Use three words to describe this speech, that is, 'low level, bad influence, and evil intentions'. It is not worth mentioning, but the negative trends of South American Union and Spain exposed in its content , which deserves high vigilance in the entire American region, and should also make European countries be careful about the Netherlands and Spain. It can be said to be full of ominous omens.”

Crown Prince Edward said in the Financial Times that before visiting Washington, D.C., Martinas first went to Havana, the capital of the Spanish colony of Cuba. Although he also exaggerated the "British threat" in Cuba, he could not do so with malicious intent. It ties Britain and France together, but the words are far less straightforward and explicit than in China-Washington. Facing the American Defense Department audience sitting in the audience, Martinas spent a lot of space attacking the British. He said in a sensational tone, "Everything that happened in the Far East and Southeast Asia today, including the British and French encirclement of the Kingdom of Siam, will happen tomorrow." It may happen in Europe and North America.' He hypocritically stated that 'Britain is not the enemy of the Netherlands and the South American Union', but what he said next was basically smearing and slandering Britain. He pointed to 'London has made huge changes without any transparency. "To enhance its military strength, including the most powerful warships of any country in the world," it said that Britain is trying to control the strategic chokepoint of all navigation routes around the world, trying to control the maritime development capabilities of countries around the world, controlling maritime trade in wars between countries, and threatening the Netherlands and the South American Union. including other countries.

Martinas' words and deeds in Cuba, Spain, and Washington, the United States, are very different. This reflects many deep-seated problems and illustrates the different roles played by the United States and Spain in the strategic designs of the Union of South America and the Netherlands.

In Washington, he mainly spoke to the domestic audience in the United States, and was the target of persuasion and incitement during the American government; in Cuba, he spoke to the entire America and even Europe, with the Spanish authorities standing by as accomplices and accomplices. . "

The Financial Times adds context after these words:

After meeting with the President of the United States on October 16, Martinas, Secretary General of the Union of South America, issued a joint statement. The common position against Britain and France is very prominent, and their intention to interfere in the situation in Southeast Asia is very strong. These will undoubtedly create camp confrontations on both sides of the Atlantic, including Europe and the Americas, and create the risk of dividing the white race as the dominant race in the world. In contrast to the role played by South American Union on European soil, that is to say, in fact, it is South American Union itself that promotes "what happens in Southeast Asia today will happen in Southeast Asia tomorrow."

Not only Crown Prince Edward, but Queen Victoria, the helm of the royal family who has not shown her face directly for many years, also publicly criticized Martinas, the Netherlands and the South American Union in the British House of Commons:

"A wolf whose base camp and activity range have been in the far West and Far East for a long time has found a foothold in South America with great ambitions. The United States is the one who lured the wolf into the house, and it also seeks high-sounding reasons. As the Secretary-General of the South American Union, Martina Sri Lanka is simply not qualified to dictate matters in Southeast Asia, let alone speak nonsense. To a certain extent, it was the allies of the Netherlands in South America who created such opportunities for him, the South American Union and the Netherlands behind them.

Martinas also spoke sweetly to South American countries, saying that among the Netherlands' global allies and partners, few countries are as capable or more capable than the allies of South American Union. He also praised America for significantly increasing its defense budget. , revising the national defense and military strategies and other actions have been questioned by the United Kingdom and many European countries in North America. There was a vicious mutual reinforcement between UNASUR and the United States, plus Mexico, which had recently begun to become more assertive and aggressive toward Britain. "

Queen Victoria finally said in the House of Commons: "Obviously, the Union of South America is an unwelcome 'guest' to the Far East and the Americas. Most countries in the region view the arrival of the Secretary-General of the Union of South America with suspicion and worry. These doubts and worries are not unfounded, and are very necessary.

Probably only small countries in South America that have no autonomy will be infiltrated by the Netherlands. The Netherlands has the most positive attitude towards Dutch intervention in American countries. Their thoughts are not difficult to guess. The crux is that there is a problem with their understanding of Britain. They Seeing Britain as a powerful maritime force as a threat, it also took measures to block the development of other powers like Melbourne. In particular, the power brought by the American Alliance was alarming, so these countries began to work hard to introduce foreign forces into South and North America. "To unite to build military, diplomatic and political pressure on the South American Union led by the Netherlands"