Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Incidents of support for and opposition to Jews within the German Empire became more and more intense, and countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, the Russian Empire, France, and other countries showed signs of panic.

After all, in various countries, the fact that Jews control the finance of various countries makes them panic. In particular, the example of Germany is right in front of us.

So governments began to restrict speech to prevent what happened in Germany from being replicated in themselves.

At the same time, what is happening in the Netherlands has attracted attention from the outside world.

According to the Kingdom of Greece's "Athens News" report, Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koumundoulos secretly arrived in Melbourne, the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on the Australian mainland for a visit on January 20, 1881.

This powerful Prime Minister of Greece is a direct descendant of William III who came to Greece from the former King of the Netherlands to become the King. He has always been different from the other faction. He is the most powerful person among the liberals, while other conservatives take turns to take the seat - Zhuang Cheng Prime Minister who competes with him.

Moreover, his opponents took William III's loyalty less seriously than he did.

Therefore, from the first time he took office in 1865 to when he was re-elected as the tenth Prime Minister on October 25, 1880, you must know that at this time, the Greek Prime Minister was elected every two years, not four years as in countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Although some of them were part-time during the transitional period, it can be said that he almost occupied the position of prime minister for nearly half of the time after William III became King of Greece in 1865.

Coupled with his loyalty to William III, today when the Netherlands is competing with the United Kingdom, he, William III's pawn, has indeed begun to openly support the Netherlands less than two months after taking office.

This greatly displeased Britain.

Greece's surrounding areas include Ottoman Turkey in the east, the Kingdom of Italy across the sea in the west, the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the northwest, which is almost adjacent to it, and the Tsarist Russian Empire across the sky from the Kingdom of Serbia.

Plus the British occupation of Christ Island. Almost controlling the central part of the Eastern Mediterranean, it can be said that Greece's every move is very sensitive to the countries in the Balkans that are very concerned about it.

According to the Greek "Athens News" report, Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Kumundoulos was invited by Baron Caslen, Speaker of the Privy Council and Speaker of the House of Commons, on the 19th to deliver a speech in the House of Commons of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on January 20, 1881. , and said that before coming to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, he had already received support from the Budget Committee of the Greek House of Representatives. The Greek government planned to purchase 100 "Dutch-made" rear rifled guns, 20 Dutch second-generation submarines, and at least two ironclad battleships of more than 5,000 tons.

According to information disclosed by the "Athens News", the Greek ruling party stated at the House of Representatives Budget Committee on January 5, 1881 that the government planned to purchase up to 100 of the most advanced breech rifled guns manufactured in the Netherlands to serve as Greek shore firepower. Provide new elements. It is also used as equipment to have a counterattack force when other countries invade the Greek coastline.

Various countries also learned from Greek reports that at the time, the Greek government responded at the Budget Committee of the Greek House of Representatives when the opposition parties asked for specific examples of measures to exercise counterattack capabilities: "Because it may endanger national security, it is in a state of security." "It is difficult to consider specific examples due to political considerations." However, we are also grateful to the opposition parties for their concern for national security, which proves the consensus that everyone is responsible for the current national crisis. Therefore, after careful consideration, we proposed to order 20 second-generation submarines from the Netherlands. and two 5,000-ton steam ironclads to patrol our coastline and improve our overseas enemy defense strategies. "

It is said that the Budget Committee of the Greek House of Representatives hurriedly reviewed the budget for the fiscal year 1881-1882 submitted by the Greek government on January 7. According to the timetable proposed by the Greek ruling party, the budget began on January 9, 1881. It was immediately submitted to the plenary session of the House of Representatives for a vote, and was finally passed. The deputy prime minister of the ruling party presided over the entire process, and William III also supervised.

The Financial Times of the British Empire reported vigilantly that the Greek Ministry of Defense had previously decided to purchase 100 advanced breech rifled guns from the Netherlands at one time in fiscal year 1881. The quantity was huge, and the annual budget had included procurement funds from special channels. , plus the submarines and warships are from the Netherlands, it is obvious that Greece has completely embarked on the warships of the Netherlands' close ally.

The newspaper also quoted the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, General George, as saying that he warned the Greek government that it should pay attention to the presence of the British Mediterranean Fleet on Krast Island, and said that Greece should meet the British halfway, at least not to take sides in the conflict between the British and the Netherlands. .

The owner of Britain's largest naval force in southern Europe said forcefully that if Greece harms British interests, then the distance between Christ Island and Athens will not be an obstacle for Britain to attack Greece, nor will the hundred breech rifled guns. A daunting obstacle to the British Empire.

He told the Financial Times that the British Mediterranean Fleet would fully support London's defense policy and complete all tasks accurately.

Unexpectedly, the United Kingdom actually followed the example of the Netherlands and used military personnel to publish their opinions in newspapers. For example, the Dutch Director of International Intelligence, McKay Sean, directly announced information about the joint naval exercises around the British Isles in Amsterdam. And publicly expressed the Dutch views, which surprised various countries.

Now, when the British Prime Minister visits Melbourne, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom is using the same method to let General George, the British Mediterranean Supervisory Commander, break the situation. It can be said that it is an extremely precise counterattack.

For a time, all countries understood that although Britain was surrounded by joint exercises, it would not easily let go of retaliatory actions. The fun is yet to come.

Therefore, countries that originally liked to watch were naturally secretly happy.

On January 21, 1881, William IV and his wife officially received the visiting Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Kumundoulos at the Dutch Palace in Melbourne.

Alexandros Kumundoulos was already nearly 50 years old when William III visited in 1864. Now, 17 years have passed and the 67-year-old has been hit by the gentle sea breeze of the Mediterranean all year round. Looks old.

It's just that the practice of growing a long beard is popular in Europe, but it's still a capable old man.

In particular, serving as Prime Minister of Greece 10 times for varying lengths of time has cultivated the temperament of a leader.

William IV took Queen Alexandra to meet with the latter and his wife for a welcome ceremony at the palace.

Then a palace banquet was held in the palace.

Afterwards, Queen Alexandra took the initiative to invite the wife of the Greek Prime Minister to the palace to watch, leaving William IV and Alexandros Koumunduros alone.