Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

On May 10, 1864, Britain, Tsarist Russia, France, Austria, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Sweden and other large and small kingdoms and principalities all sent heavyweight government members to participate in relevant discussions held in London. Conference on the status of countries in Africa.

This conference was also known by later generations as the notorious conference of powerful powers used by colonizers to carve up Africa.

The war in Africa made all countries realize that European countries must stop, otherwise the war will burn to the European continent.

As a result, the London Conference, which was supposed to mediate the Netherlands and Portugal, turned into a feast for Europe to carve up African colonies.

A meeting of all stakeholders was held in London. The six major countries were competing for it, and other countries were also arguing fiercely.

At the same time, in the past few months, the Kingdom of Portugal, which has been active and passive in the crisis with the Netherlands, has now taken action.

During the London meeting, Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto publicly called on Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck to hold talks between the two countries on the dispute between the Netherlands and Portugal.

Portugal has also formally asked the Netherlands to increase military transparency and explain the reasons for its current incursions into Angola and Mozambique, two Portuguese colonies.

And asked the Netherlands to withdraw from Portugal from these two places.

The Portuguese prime minister in London said Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeek had rejected Portugal's demands and would not explain the large-scale Dutch incursions in those two places.

Barreto said his Portuguese cabinet government had asked the Netherlands last week to hold a prime ministerial-level meeting between the two countries on the sidelines of the London conference to explain its intentions to him.

Barreto told reporters from various newspapers in London: "In response to the Dutch discussion about the Portuguese invasion of the Congo first, we reiterated that we have been there longer than the Netherlands. We have been there since the 16th century, and the King of Congo at that time In recognition of this, the Netherlands did not appear until the 17th century.

The Dutch had not occupied it until more than two years ago, so we have reason to disapprove of Dutch rule.

But there are no disputes between Angola and Mozambique. I don’t understand why the Netherlands launched an attack on us there, causing such huge casualties.

If the Netherlands is serious about peace, it should fulfill its commitments to maintain its commitments, be more transparent on its military, and withdraw from Angola and Mozambique to ease tense confrontations and provide countries with recognition of the Netherlands."

King Louis I of Portugal also spoke to William IV of Amsterdam in Lisbon and even invited William IV to visit Lisbon. He proposed a reconciliation plan between the two countries to the Netherlands.

Louis I said: "If William IV comes to Lisbon in the near future, it will be a strong signal that will help ease and stabilize the current tense situation between the two countries."

However, William IV did not respond directly.

When William IV was invited to address members of the Dutch Parliament in Amsterdam, he said that the Dutch government must protect the interests of the Netherlands to the utmost, and Portugal must be responsible for the losses of the Netherlands, even if a Dutch soldier is killed in this war launched by Portugal. Death, Portugal, the instigator, must also be responsible to the end.

William IV's statement received many fierce applause responses from the parliament and strong support from the members. This obviously shows that the Netherlands still has a strong foundation for Portugal and they are angry with Portugal.

However, in London, Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto held talks with Italian Prime Minister Marco Minghetti.

The two leaders held talks for a morning, and they agreed to more cooperation in the Atlantic. At the same time, in the defense of Angola, Italy was willing to send more than 5,000 troops to Benguela to show support for Portugal.

At the same time, the two believed that as the Dutch army continued to gather in Angola, a two-pronged response strategy of diplomacy and military deterrence should be adopted.

Marco Minghetti reiterated that once the Dutch army launched a war against Benguela, the Italian army would respond quickly and firmly.

The war between the Netherlands and Portugal in Africa was mentioned many times in London, and news about the war between the two countries was discussed in detail.

There are reports that Prussia will launch an attack on Namibe, a coastal city in southwestern Angola. This is frequently true and false.

All these made many people present look at Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck.

At the same time, Barreto was asked for confirmation, but Barreto only stated that he would share the intelligence he had to prevent Prussia's "surprise attack"

When questioned, Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria said that he once again warned Prussia that Prussia might invade Angola. He said: "We cannot accurately predict the day of the invasion, but we have always been in contact with Portuguese intelligence, because the Netherlands and Prussia We are allies. What the Netherlands is doing in the north, Prussia may also follow up in coordinated operations in Southwest Africa (now Namibia) in the south. Therefore, we remind our Portuguese counterparts to be more vigilant and avoid being caught off guard."

However, in addition to these countries, other countries have also made their own attitudes.

Other countries have also made statements. Some even offered diplomatic mediation.

Spanish Prime Minister Manuel Pando had bilateral meetings with Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto on May 17, and then held talks with Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck on the 18th. He expressed Spain's hope to prevent the two countries from engaging in another direct war.

Olivier, the French Prime Minister, also expressed the hope that the two countries could sit down and have a good talk, saying that France is willing to bring the two sides together.

But the United Kingdom is not happy because they are the host. Viscount Palmerston said that the United Kingdom also agrees that the time has come for reconciliation between the two countries, and the two countries need to use this conference to reach a reconciliation agreement.

Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 20, 1864.

"Luanda must be taken. Since the Kwanza River has entered our pocket, it belongs to us. Portugal wants to take it back, which is a good idea. How do we count our dead soldiers?"

When I think about the fact that the Netherlands lost more than 5,000 regular troops in the war this time, the mixed army composed of East Indians and other major African indigenous people also exceeded the indigenous army by more than 20,000 people.

This made William IV angry, who originally thought that the Netherlands had a small population and was thinking about how to increase the population.

Therefore, this time he must get back from Portugal the benefits that he thinks the Netherlands should get. It is not easy to compromise.

Even for this reason, they would not hesitate to destroy this London meeting.

The Privy Council meeting was held normally, but since Prime Minister Tolbeck was already in London preparing to attend the London Colonists' Conference, the Privy Council meeting was chaired by the Dutch Home Minister Joan Leer.

The Minister of Industry, Wem Kort, the Minister of Education, Lud Bales, and the Minister of Agriculture, Ernest Bevin, are in charge of the construction there in the Far East, so there are several new faces in the Privy Council.

They are Samuel Horch, the Under-Minister of Agriculture of the Netherlands, Philip Howe, the Under-Minister of Industry of the Netherlands, and Jeremy Harmon, the Under-Minister of Education of the Netherlands.