Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Chapter 41 Europe has entered a troubled period from now on!

In 1831, Greece, which nominally belonged to the Ottoman Turks but was actually autonomous, had their Greek governor Ioannis Kapotislia assassinated, and Greece suddenly fell into anarchy.

The Ottoman Turks prepared to send troops to conquer the center of Eastern Rome, but they were stopped by other powerful countries.

In the end, the Ottomans compromised in front of the three major powers of Britain, France, and Russia, and they did so to the end.

In 1832, when British Foreign Secretary Palmerston was at the height of his fame for helping Belgium establish its country, Britain, France and Russia, led by him, completely cut off any attempt by the Ottoman Turks to intervene in Greece again. The three countries jointly decided to separate Greece from the Ottoman Turks. The Ottoman Empire finally became an independent kingdom after many compromises.

The 17-year-old Prince Otto, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria of the German Confederation, became the king of the newly established Kingdom of Greece.

But they requested that the king's heir be the descendants of Prince Otto. If there were no descendants, Otto's brother and his descendants could be the heirs of the Greek king, but they could not share the same throne with the throne of Bavaria.

He officially succeeded to the throne in 1833. When he succeeded, he was escorted by the armies and navies of Britain, France and Russia. The purpose was naturally to prevent Ottoman from taking risks.

Since he was a minor, Greece was governed by a council of regents, all three of whom were Bavarians.

The three advocated strong governance and introduced many policies that caused public dissatisfaction. Otto's reputation fell into a downward trend before he even started taking office.

And the Greeks soon discovered that they now paid more taxes than before, even much heavier than during Ottoman rule.

What is dissatisfactory is that Greece has to rely on borrowings from Britain, France and Russia to survive, which has turned into heavy taxation and chaotic management for the Greeks.

The Ottoman tyranny turned into the Bavarian bureaucratic rule, so the Greeks despised what they called the "Bavarian bureaucracy". They were all sad that they still had no say, and therefore they were even more dissatisfied with Otto, the new king arranged by the great powers.

In particular, the Greeks are all Orthodox believers, but the Catholic Otto I did not change his Catholic faith even after being beaten to death, which made the Greeks think that he was a heretic.

Even more unpopular.

The next year, Greece moved its capital to Athens. Although there were many twists and turns, the people were still willing to give Otto I a chance. People continued to tolerate it, and more than 10,000 people moved their capital to Athens.

I originally thought that after moving the capital, Greece would be prosperous and strong under the rule of the new King Otto I, but the reality is very ugly. In the Greek government, basically more than two-thirds of the cabinet members are from Bavaria, and even the key minister of defense is from Bavaria. The positions are all Bavarians.

It was this situation that the Greeks no longer wanted to tolerate.

They took to the streets. The pro-Russian faction demanded that an Orthodox prince be re-elected to replace Otto I, while the pro-British faction strongly demanded that all Bavarian officials be expelled from Greece.

So the three countries asked Otto I to implement a constitutional monarchy constitution.

I thought everything was over, but on September 3, 1843, a protest broke out in Athens, demanding that Athens be replaced by Greeks to manage the Greeks. It was eventually suppressed, but as a result, Otto I became an "outsider" to the Greeks.

Otto I tried to win over public opinion and finally agreed to completely remove his Bavarian advisors and agreed to convene a parliament to promulgate a new constitution in 1859.

But in 1859, a war broke out between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Otto I had his first diplomatic disagreement with his subjects.

The Greeks sided with the Kingdom of Sardinia, but Otto I sided with his relative, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.

In the end, the Kingdom of Sardinia won the victory with the support of Napoleon III of the French Empire.

This caused his prestige to be completely swept into the trash can. However, Otto I did not want to be abandoned by people like this, and was preparing to launch a war against the Ottoman Turks that would reverberate in the hearts of the Greeks, in order to stimulate their inner hatred. , it is a pity that due to the lessons of the last Austro-Saharan War, they Greeks no longer trust this second son from the King of Bavaria, a "foreigner" who only serves his motherland.

It was under such circumstances that many students in Greece took to the streets to demand that Otto I step down and that Greece should be replaced by a new king. Their voices became louder and louder.

It was under this circumstance that William IV just revealed to several people in the Russian Empire for the first time that he had been planning a plan for William III to succeed Otto I to the throne of Greece.

Because he still clearly remembered in his previous life that it seemed that before the end of the year, Greece really succeeded in deposing Otto I, and his successor would arrive in 1863. He was King Christian IX from the British Empire who would inherit the throne of Denmark next year. 's second son.

Because Christian IX will take over the throne of Denmark at the beginning of next year. At the same time, after he becomes Christian IX, his eldest daughter, Alexandra, the eldest princess of Denmark, married Edward of Queen Viglia in the same year. Crown Prince.

This is truly a woman's way of saying that her father and brothers can go to heaven, and all three of them have become kings.

Compared with her, Cinderella is simply unworthy of support!

William IV secretly thought: The British are indeed the most calculating group of people. They are digging holes everywhere and making maximum profits everywhere.

Compared with them, the Netherlands is far behind in terms of strength and ability!

February 19, 1862, exactly 10 o'clock in the morning.

Outside the British Empire's Embassy in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, carriages began to drive out of the most luxuriously decorated British Empire Embassy gate in the Netherlands, and slowly moved towards the Royal Palace of the Netherlands.

This is a simple small army. The first 10 people are walking with guns on their backs, followed by four carriages, and then 10 soldiers riding horses. At first glance, the horses from England are tall and handsome.

Along the way, many passers-by were pointing and pointing when they saw this scene. Especially some knowledgeable people recognized that one of the carriages was a high-ranking official's carriage, and the other three were dressed as members of the royal family.

"Amsterdam has been really lively in the past two days. Dignitaries from all over Europe have come here, especially those unmarried members of the European royal family who were rarely seen in the past. From now on, it is even more rare.

Let’s not talk about the current development of the Netherlands. This scene alone is something I, a native of Amsterdam, have never seen before. It seems that the Netherlands, as mentioned in the recent newspapers, is rapidly rising and may be able to recover in the near future. Maybe the glory of the 17th and 18th centuries. "

"Who says it's not? Especially in the past five or six years, with the participation of our Crown Prince William IV and Assistant III in politics, the Netherlands has begun to operate rapidly. In industrial factories alone, the Netherlands now employs more than 500,000 people. What kind of plastic factory? , there are also hardware factories, etc., they are all the most advanced classification factories in Europe now."

"Who says it's not the case? There are many new companies emerging now, such as Heineken Beer Company, Shell Oil and Electrical Company, Mesocare Dairy Products Company, Nouron Food Manufacturing Company, Amsterdam Bearing Company, Netherlands Industrial Advanced Equipment Manufacturing Company, KPMG Accounting Company, Dutch Shipbuilding Company, etc.”

"Not satisfied with everyone, I am now working at Philips as the workshop director of our company's latest product, Philips bicycles."

"Ah, is it the European bicycle manufacturer Philips that has caused a sensation recently?"

"Yes"

"That's great. I'm a seller from Rotterdam. I want to buy some Philips bikes from your company. I don't know if this will work. Philips bikes are very popular there. I'm even thinking about buying them in Rotterdam." For the South Center, if Philips agrees, I am willing to help sell Philips bicycles in Belgium.”

"Of course it's no problem. Let's go back to the company headquarters first. I think our Philips company will definitely welcome your arrival."

In one of the carriages, Princess Louise listened with keen ears to the various comments of passers-by on the roadside. She started learning Dutch at the age of 10. It should be said that not only Dutch, she also has the official languages ​​of the top ten powerful countries in Europe. Dabble.

"Philips? Is that the bicycle that is now sold on the streets of London? The Philips bicycle with the single phoenix logo on the front? Philips? Phoenix? Is there any connection?" Princess Louise was full of questions.

"William IV is said to have been born in 1840 and is only 22 years old this year. It is said that he has a strong body and the unique short red hair of the Netherlands makes him look even more heroic.

The most important thing is that he created many companies in his own name.

The ones I just talked about, according to the information I received, are now developing rapidly in their respective industries, and even account for one-third of the industrial production capacity in the Netherlands, which is terrifying.

As "The Financial Times" introduced some time ago, William IV is a mysterious man. Such a man is the most fascinating and the most challenging, isn't it? "

Princess Louise's carriage is the fourth. Just like the succession of the throne, except for Prime Minister Viscount Palmerston, the three princesses all drive in order of age. This is the ironclad tradition of the European royal family. Laws and regulations are common in Europe.

"A flying phoenix?"

In the first carriage, Viscount Palmerston savored these words,

"Does it mean that the Netherlands will be like the phoenix in the east, putting itself to death and then resurrecting from the ashes?"

"Anyway, William IV, who started making so many foreshadowings during his time as crown prince, seems to be a really ambitious man.

Europe has a Queen Victoria as a stabilizing needle, which has led to a lot less wars in Europe recently.

But with the rise of Bismarck, there was also Napoleon III who was ambitious but not powerful.

Coupled with the great ambition of Alexander II, now there is also a mysterious William IV in the Netherlands.

William IV was able to recognize the capabilities of the Netherlands, know how to build relationships and hide his low profile. These four things alone are enough to make Europe bloody. It seems that dark clouds are coming over Europe. .

Wait a minute, if meeting and being famous are what he is, Europe will be in troubled times from now on. "

The current collection is 2100. Yesterday the collection was very impressive, reaching 350, so I hope to reach 3000 collections before 14:00 on the 19th.

This will allow you to create new goals for the coming week.

Because, just received a text message from the site, this book has been strongly recommended by the new version of the website - History Channel at 2021.12.19 -14:00. I hope you will give me your help and support.

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