Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Chapter 967: War-striving for wealth is the way to go

After the European Industrial Revolution began, the Silesian region subsequently became one of the famous industrial areas in Europe. The German Empire's control of this region naturally contributed to the industrial development of the German Empire.

The second one is the Rhine Industrial Area. After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria held the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 to discuss the post-war pattern of Europe. Prussia wanted to be like the Rhine and expand its power.

For this reason, Prussia at that time actively sought help from Tsarist Russia and agreed to cede Warsaw and other places that were formerly part of Poland to the Tsarist Russian Empire in exchange for Tsarist Russia's support for Prussia on the issue of the Rhine River region.

With the support of Tsarist Russia, the British unwillingness to offend Prussia, its long-supported ally, and the fact that France was a defeated country and had no right to object too much, Austria was unhappy but could not hold on alone. Prussia's demands were met in Vienna.

After 1815, Prussia's sphere of influence expanded to the Rhine region. Later, Prussia discovered a large amount of coal resources in the Rhine River region. As we all know, coal was an important resource for the steam revolution initiated by the United Kingdom. The famous local Ruhr Industrial Zone developed rapidly with the support of coal resources.

After France was defeated in 1871, Paris was forced to agree to compensate the newly formed German Empire for the Alsace-Lorraine industrial area.

You must know that this area is an important area rich in coal and iron resources in France. After Napoleon III signed this treaty, there was a huge protest in the south of France. Bismarck used this to push Thiers in the south of France to come to power and oppose the rule of Paris. With the establishment of the Third French Republic, Bismarck effortlessly split France, which was originally a headache for Germany, into two. The German Empire established its dominance in the central and western parts of Europe, even panicking Alexander II of the Tsarist Empire at the time. In a hurry to find allies, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was afraid of being beaten and did not dare to go against Germany, so it ignored the olive branch thrown out by Tsarist Russia.

So Alexander II had to get closer to the Netherlands.

Britain was anxious, but because of the marriage, Victoria's eldest daughter was the Crown Princess of Germany. I'm anxious to be calm on the surface.

However, Germany's acquisition of the Alsace-Lorraine region allowed German industry to obtain sufficient resources. In addition, France, which was defeated in 1871, also paid a huge compensation of 5 billion francs to the German Empire. This was also a great deal for Germany's industrial development. Good.

Sometimes William IV thought that if Germany had not been unified, there would not have been huge changes in the balance of power in Europe, and even the old Austria would not have become the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Britain would not allow the Netherlands such a peaceful space to rise.

The competition between Prussia and Austria within the German Confederation, Britain and France intervened, causing trouble. The Netherlands took the opportunity to disrupt Europe, Britain's balance of power diplomacy failed, Tsarist Russia continued to be anti-British, Nordic Denmark and Sweden were anti-British, Germany and France were on guard against Britain, etc. These were the most significant diplomatic changes in the 1860s and 1870s.

Without these, it would have been difficult for the Netherlands to rise to become a first-class power in Europe before 1870 (the overall strength was behind Britain, Russia, Germany, France, and Austria-Hungary, on par with Spain, and better than the Ottomans, sixth place). .

What's more, after Enron moved its capital to the Far East, the surrounding security environment changed dramatically. The Netherlands jumped over the dragon gate, and the sea became brighter. After moving its capital to Melbourne, Australia, in 1871, within 10 years, the Netherlands developed faster than the German Empire. Much more.

It even overwhelms the United Kingdom in terms of industrial strength, national economy, etc., and is comparable to the United Kingdom in military terms. Don't say that there are only 25 million white people in the Netherlands and 35 million in the United Kingdom.

Of the 25 million white people in the Netherlands, 19 million are of Dutch origin, and the remaining 6 million white people are white European and American immigrants and their descendants. The Dutch assimilation policy is the most concrete and consistent in the world, and it is much more complete than the United States.

Didn’t you see that Edison, the most important inventor of the American Federation, came to Dutch Australasia? Every year, no less than 300,000 Americans immigrate from Europe to the United States, but no one knows specifically that the number of Americans who immigrate to the Netherlands is no less than 50,000 every year. In other words, the number of immigrants from the United States to the Netherlands is one-sixth of the number of immigrants from Europe to the United States.

In fact, many people do not know that the population of European immigrants who immigrated directly to the Dutch Australian continent and other Far Eastern and European Dutch territories was no less than the number of people immigrating to the Commonwealth of America every year.

In other words, the entire United States and Europe have no less than 350,000 people immigrating to the Netherlands every year. In this alone, 3.5 million people have immigrated to the Netherlands from these places in the past 10 years.

What's more, unlike the United States, where all comers are welcome, Dutch customs patrols along the coast and borders are very strict. High-quality talents are the targets of the Dutch Immigration Bureau. Ordinary people, the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled should go to the United States to work for the Commonwealth. good.

As a result, in the past decade or so, the United States has become a destination for low-quality European white immigrants, while the Netherlands has become an ideal destination for high-quality and elite European immigrants.

It seems that Europe and the United States have become the base for cultivating talents in the Netherlands, and the Netherlands has become the last destination for countries striving to cultivate talents. This is why the German Empire promulgated the Immigration Act in 1878 to prevent high-end talents from the German Empire from immigrating overseas, although other countries seem to want it. They followed Germany's example, but they were afraid of offending the Netherlands, so they did not do it publicly. Of course, Britain was more ruthless. In 1878, the House of Commons and the House of Lords directly legislated to eliminate immigration to the Netherlands, and Queen Victoria and Gladstone quickly signed it. Take effect.

The Netherlands immigrated to the Far East in order to provide war-weary European talents, especially those from small countries, with a peaceful paradise to live in and engage in R\u0026D and innovation at ease. The Netherlands provides a huge market and super industrial and technological strength. In addition, Unparalleled manufacturing facilities.

What Britain, Germany, France, the United States and other countries have, the Netherlands must have. What the Netherlands has, Britain, France, Germany, the United States and other countries may not be able to have it. This is the strategy of scientific and technological power formulated by William IV.

"The 19th and 20th centuries were the last strategic buffer time for the Netherlands to continue to rise. If the Netherlands could not use these ten or twenty years to truly rise to the top of the world, then as the rise of Germany and the United States accelerated, the British would jump over the wall in a hurry. When the psychology is almost unbearable, and when the revolutionaries in the Tsarist Empire explode, Europe will definitely be in chaos, and Britain's balance of power diplomacy will be ruined.

France's war of unification will not continue to press the pause button, and the North and South of the United States will continue to grow stronger as Washington in the north and the British world management ability of southern supporters weaken, making a war inevitable. "

Thinking of this, William IV said with fierce eyes: "The 10-year civil war that divided France can allow the Netherlands to continue to suck blood and grow. French talents are top-notch. Well, even the reason why Britain is strong is because every time France is defeated After Germany was defeated, French talents would all go to London, and passengers would pay for their scientific research results.

The same goes for other small countries. In this case, the Netherlands should not let the United Kingdom dominate the United States. The same was true for the American Civil War. When the war broke out, the Netherlands could make war fortune and become a fan of the white population. Perhaps this way it would not have to wait until the beginning of the 20th century. With these two wars, the Netherlands can become more powerful. In addition, with Austria-Hungary in front and Germany behind in the Latin American war, the opportunity for the Netherlands may have arrived early."