Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

As Austria announced its intention to send troops to Ethiopia on June 20, 1863, all parties made statements.

"We are not opposed to countries increasing their strength, but we need to act according to rules. The rules established after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 are the truth, and we hope that countries will continue to abide by them."

Britain is siding with Austria. Obviously Britain supports Austria.

"France feels that Africa is big enough to accommodate the competition among European countries in Africa, so it hopes that European countries can resolve disputes peacefully."

It is indeed worthy of the French Empire, and its speech is enough to make Africans on a continent angry to death.

But who says people are confident now?

"Tsarist Russia feels that Africa can be more balanced, just like the European continent."

What does Tsarist Russia mean? Like Europe?

Tsarist Russia has the largest land area in Europe. Now you are living in a small place in Guinea. Are you unwilling to do so and complain that Europe and Africa are treated unequally?

But who cares about you?

"The Netherlands has always been a peace-loving country. Our national policy is to build a nation through transactions. Therefore, when it comes to matters in Africa, we still feel that we should use as little force as possible. Transactions can solve all worries and violence."

What the Netherlands said made other countries in Europe go berserk. The earliest colony in North America, New York, was snatched by the Netherlands from the Indians with their blood. The same was true for East India, one of the earliest countries that started violently overseas. First, speaking such peaceful words makes all countries feel itchy.

"Sweden only believes that Africa can be more peaceful and become a place for Europeans to live overseas. It does not believe that war in Africa will contribute to peace on the European continent."

No wonder Sweden is getting weaker and weaker. After the Nordic powers were defeated and replaced by Tsarist Russia, they began to give up on themselves and became a little partner who can only hang out with the Netherlands.

Although there is a beneficial army, the lack of fighting spirit has made Sweden feel that Sweden's threat has been minimized in European countries.

But no one knows whether this is the result Sweden wants.

But Prussia is eye-catching.

This time it was Bismarck himself who said:

"Austria has committed many tragic murders in Nigeria. We are disturbed by what happened there. This is not the style of a peaceful country. On the Ethiopian issue, we ask all countries to respect Ethiopia's sovereignty and at the same time ask all countries to act peacefully." means to conduct peaceful negotiations with Ethiopia and safeguard the interests of all countries.

Afterwards, Bismarck, the Prussian Prime Minister, still pointed out: "We are opposed to the invasion in Ethiopia. Our friendship with Ethiopia remains the same. We will continue to do everything we are doing now, including various transactions. and various planned cooperations”

When asked whether the plan included Prussia sending troops to support Ethiopia in fighting the invaders, Bismarck did not answer directly, but said that everything was possible.

Such an ambiguous answer surprised European countries. At the same time, they also felt more simple and confused about the situation in Ethiopia, and they became curious about the future direction.

On June 23, Austria's warship fleet, filled with 50,000 troops, officially set sail in the Adriatic Sea.

June 30, 1863.

When William IV of the Netherlands and Princess Alexandra, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Christian of Denmark, were having a grand wedding in Amsterdam that shocked Europe, the fleet finally arrived at the port of Djibouti after more than a week of sailing. .

After rounds of artillery bombardment, the Austrian army officially took over the location of the Italian Eastern Front Combat Command Headquarters half a month ago.

As 50,000 people disembarked from the fleet, Djibouti once again became another important hotspot for European powers to start wars in Africa.

However, what is incredible is that Djibouti did not launch any attack, and Ethiopia even announced Tewodros II's congratulations to William IV at the embassy in the Netherlands.

Austria also declared July 1 as Armistice Day to show support for the marriage.

The combination of the Netherlands and Denmark, especially the fact that William IV chose to marry a little princess in Denmark, has made many Europeans feel like Cinderella meets a prince.

They all admired Princess Alexandra's good luck.

However, everyone with a discerning eye understands that this is the smartest choice of William IV, because the marriage with other major powers has given the Netherlands too many ambitions to shoulder.

On the contrary, the marriage with Denmark allows the Netherlands to take more initiative in executing its own strategy.

This is the purpose of William IV. If he marries with Britain, imagine the huge marriage partner of Britain and the strength of Britain. The Netherlands can only be a follower, following wherever Britain goes.

In the end, even if the Netherlands has no heir, it will be a matter of minutes for the British to send a blood heir to annex it.

Alexander II sighed in St. Petersburg: "This is a smart choice. This is why I was asked not to marry Queen Victoria. If I form an alliance with her, other European countries will not be able to survive."

Also, the two countries are afraid of mixing their blood heritage, and the nobles do not allow such marriages between the royal families."

As William IV and Alexandra held a grand wedding, European royal families would attend. Even Joseph I sent Prime Minister Archduke Rainer Ferdinand to attend the wedding on his behalf.

The United Kingdom sent Crown Prince Edward, Belgium's Leopold II personally participated, Sweden's Prince Oscar supervised the country, and King Karl XV personally went south to Amsterdam.

In the Tsarist Empire, Alexander II personally attended and became the main witness of the wedding.

Interestingly, Alexander II came to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in advance to pay family greetings to his sixth aunt, Queen Anna Pavlovna, the grandmother of William IV, the only survivor among his elders.

This became an attitude expressed by Alexander II in the eyes of European countries. Look, this is our relative from the previous generation. She is in the Netherlands. The relationship between the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia is beyond doubt.

Just because of such a play, the status of the Netherlands has skyrocketed.

It also caused various countries to speculate more about the relationship between the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia.

It is worth mentioning that the new king of Greece, William IV's father, William III, came back to preside over the wedding in the name of the King of Greece, and has become a hot topic in Europe.

This wedding made the distinction between closeness and distance in the Netherlands very clear.

For countries that are closer to the Netherlands, the king personally comes to participate, while for other lower-level countries, they send the heir to the throne, and for the next-level countries, the prime minister and other cabinet members are sent.

It is worth mentioning that in the United States, which is currently at war, both the north and the south sent their own delegations to participate. In the north, Secretary of State Seward was present. As for the south,