Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 73 The United States is in a dilemma?
Such news was like a tornado, sweeping across not only Northern and Eastern Europe, but also the entire Western Europe and the United States, causing huge controversy.

Countries are just like people. They view one thing from different perspectives because of their different interests.

"European Times" reported neutrally that France was a little jealous, Spain was completely dissatisfied, and Tsarist Russia was the beneficiary of this deal.

Therefore, the reporting angle of the above-mentioned national newspapers will be biased towards the will of the country. When reporting, they will report based on the interests of the country where they are located.

Every country has a different perspective, and the position under your butt determines how you look at things!
Therefore, the following national newspaper reports are more consistent with the above statement.

The Financial Times of the United Kingdom: “The private transfer of territories between the Netherlands and the Russian Empire has caused dissatisfaction in countries including Kalimantan and the Alaska Peninsula.

Especially in the province of North Kalimantan on the island of Kalimantan, people there were originally dissatisfied with the strict control of the Netherlands, and there have been many dissatisfaction movements against Dutch rule.

There were more than 5 cases last year. As for the Alaska Peninsula, many people in Canada originally had doubts about the ownership of the Alexander Islands. The British and Tsarist Russian governments negotiated this matter.

But unexpectedly, Tsarist Russia and the Netherlands are now conducting direct transactions. For this reason, the British government is preparing to send diplomacy to the two countries?Protest to express dissatisfaction. As for whether to escalate and carry out more actions, it depends on the situation."

“The actions of the Netherlands and the Russian Empire have allowed people to see that each country has its own different interests. Many times, it is necessary to face reality, each takes what it needs, and meets the current real needs.
Perhaps, we can have fewer conflicts and create more conditions and contributions to world peace, just like the friendship and support provided by the two countries to the United States some time ago.
The United States may also carry out similar activities in the near future. After all, this is a good method."

Unexpectedly, the United States did not show any intention to refute the deal between the two countries. This was far beyond expectations. This is what the American "New York Post" reported.

"National interests outweigh everything else. Although this transaction between the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia is a bit sudden, it is reasonable.
Perhaps this can really open the door to peace among European countries in the future, allowing European countries to reduce armed conflicts and focus on territorial disputes from a business perspective. After all, this is not the era of Napoleon."

Prussia's "Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" reported this. Many people seemed to see something from this, that is, Prussia was obviously also moved by the deal between Tsarist Russia and the Netherlands.

It turns out that territory can be traded in this way. The Netherlands used Kalimantan, a small Pacific tropical colony, to impress the Russian Empire, which was in urgent need of a tropical seaport, in order to acquire Alaska.

In particular, although another 150 million pounds may seem like a lot, for a country, especially a rising industrial power like Prussia, it will only increase its finances a little at most.

If Prussia can use this as a model to purchase overseas territories from other countries, such as the Netherlands, well, it is said that the island of Kalimantan is divided into four parts, the four provinces of east, west, north and south, and it is said that in addition to the core of the Netherlands there Besides Java, there are also desolate places like Sumatra. If Prussia asks the Netherlands
It is this idea that makes Prussia focus on the benefits of reporting transactions.

Not to mention the major media and newspapers, the camera came to the United States, where the New York Post is located this time.

"Your Excellency, if we do this, it is likely to cause other countries to doubt the Monroe Policy implemented by our country in 1820.

This may have cast doubt on the practice established by our forefathers that Latin Americans can only be governed by Latin Americans.

And in this way, we will also have different policy conflicts with our previous policies, which will cause considerable dissatisfaction in other European countries."

U.S. Secretary of State Seward said worriedly: "The most fearful thing is that other European countries will increase their interference in the Americas. After all, taking advantage of the civil war between the north and the south of the United States, both France and Spain are intervening in the United States in different ways. France in Mexico That’s the perfect example.”

When Lincoln heard this, he was silent, but his mind turned to the administrative records of past presidents of the United States, especially the records of President Monroe.

President Monroe was elected in 1816 and re-elected in 1820. The two parties in the country harmoniously entered the "era of peace". Therefore, Monroe promoted various policies that were beneficial to the U.S. economy and were well implemented.

Especially as the domestic transportation conditions improved, the domestic population flow in the United States was promoted, and a large number of immigrants poured into the western region of the United States. With the increase in the number of people in the west, between 1816 and 1820, states such as Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, and Alabama They were established one after another and successively joined the American Federation.

The increase in population and land in the west has expanded the domestic market and production base, and promoted the development of agriculture in the west of the United States. Stimulated by the expansion of the west, the domestic market's demand for machinery and other industrial products has gradually increased. , also promoted the development of eastern industry and even triggered the outbreak of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.

This virtuous economic cycle has prompted the United States to gradually enter the track of rapid economic development.

But the economic success and political harmony in the United States during this period do not seem to match well.

Because although the economic development of the United States has laid the foundation for the national economy, politically, it has caused a fierce power struggle between the federal government and local states.

But fortunately, at least it hasn't happened to the dangerous east.

The main reason is that the federal government retreated and gradually delegated power. As a result, the conflicts between the states not only did not reduce, but expanded, and finally formed the current situation. One south and one north successfully formed an alliance, and only then did the Civil War 40 years later.

During this period, the United States discovered that the world should not only pay attention to its own country, but also the world pattern.

Because the world is undergoing violent turmoil, the national liberation of residents in Latin America is in full swing. Many places in South America have successively declared themselves independent countries. After the bourgeois revolution broke out in Spain and Portugal in 1820, Latin American countries The pace of independence has accelerated significantly.

In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spanish colonial control.

In the same year, the Republic of Strangers was also proclaimed.

The following year, Brazil successfully liberated itself from Portuguese colonial rule.

With the United States watching with trepidation, a series of self-reliance in Latin America has shaken the dominance of the old colonial empires in the world. As one of the major powers in the new pattern, the United States has naturally begun to pay more attention to the development trend of this new Latin American region. .

It was under such circumstances that President Monroe realized that the opportunity for the United States had arrived, and that an opportunity for Latin America to enter the backyard of the United States was in front of him, so his ambitions grew. After careful calculation, he was afraid of the counterattack of the established European powers, and thus came up with the Monroe Doctrine. The introduction of policies.

As early as 1810, the British began large-scale economic penetration into Latin American countries and gradually expanded their trade scale. With the expansion of trade, the policy towards Latin American countries gradually became an important component of the British Empire's general foreign policy. part.In 1822, George Canning, who once again served as the Foreign Secretary of the British Empire, incorporated America into the British balancing system and expressed support for the independence movement of Latin American countries.

Other European countries, like the Americans, see clearly that the real purpose of Britain's attitude is to bring emerging Latin American countries into its own protection system and make the region a raw material dumping ground and commodity dumping ground for the British Empire.

Due to the strength of the British Empire in Latin American affairs, France was even forced to make a promise not to interfere in Latin American affairs.

Faced with such pressing pressure from the United Kingdom, the United States, which was gradually growing, also responded quickly.

Although Madison enacted the "Neutrality Act" in 1815 that prohibited American citizens from participating in the Latin American independence movement, the United States has always paid close attention to this movement and was ready to take action at any time.

The U.S. State Department not only sent two large missions to inspect the east and west coasts of South America in 1817, but also took advantage of the chaos in South America the following year to successfully occupy the East Florida area.

Completed the integration of East and West Florida into the territory of the United States.

In addition, in order to ensure its absolute freedom in Latin America, the United States also began to implement an isolationist policy and wanted to isolate the Americas from Europe.

However, things naturally did not go so smoothly. In the second half of 1817, the annual meeting of the Holy Alliance of Europe was held. At the meeting, the ambassador of the Russian Empire threatened to intervene in the Latin American self-reliance movement. In addition, a series of revolutions broke out in Spain and other countries. The situation in Latin America has caused chaos, and the United States has also seen a rapid decline in total trade due to the chaos in Europe.

However, as a result, it paid more attention to Latin American trade. Under the pressure of the United Kingdom, the United States had to change its previous neutral attitude and began to recognize the independence of Latin American countries.

Lincoln read the records of Monroe during this period from the administration records of previous presidents. He clearly saw that Monroe recorded this:

The main purpose of the United States under my leadership to recognize the independence of Latin American countries is to eliminate the influence of European forces on Latin America, so that we can gain a good image in the region, and then gradually realize the dominance of the United States in Latin America for a certain period in the future. Base.

Moreover, the British have changed now. Their domestic forces are complicated and their policies have diverged. Therefore, we only need to wait a little longer. After they lose the initiative on Latin American issues, will the U.S. forces be able to take advantage of the opportunity? The region will rise sharply, but at that time, the conflict between the United States and the United Kingdom will be unprecedentedly intense.

Monroe's notes later did record the fighting between Britain and America.

In addition to Latin America, Monroe also recorded that the northern border issue also troubled the United States during the same period.

Especially as early as the end of the 18th century, the Russian Empire began to colonize Alaska.

By 1816, the forces of Tsarist Russia had gradually penetrated into the California area, and declared the sphere of influence of the Tsarist Russian Empire in the North American waters. Tsarist Russia's influence in North America extended southward, which once troubled American presidents including President Monroe, and made the entire American political arena The top management was sitting on pins and needles. Even Lincoln after he took office was very wary of this. This was also the reason why American presidents in the past formulated the plan to have good relations with the Russian Empire. In this way, they privately proposed the idea of ​​​​purchasing Alaska to Russia. It is to prevent Tsarist Russia from influencing the United States southward.

Of course, in the name of cooperation between the two countries, the United States wanted to fight against Britain, but in fact it was guarding against Tsarist Russia.

In the past 40 years, the United States has been opposing the intervention of established European countries in Latin America. However, unexpectedly, it used to focus on the actions of Britain, France, Spain, and Pujevo in Latin America. Over the years, it has become accustomed to it, but this time it was caught off guard. , the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia secretly completed the territorial transaction in North America, which made the United States a little dissatisfied, but Lin Lincoln secretly breathed a sigh of relief, because with the Netherlands taking Alaska, it means that the Tsarist Russian Empire will be in North America Cut off the influence.

In this way, the United States can finally let go and focus only on Britain and Latin America in the south.

This is the president's record. No one else can see it. It is a top state secret.

However, Lincoln still needs to do his best on the surface, so this is the scene in front of him.

However, the Netherlands and the Russian Empire have just helped the United States. If they react too much, they will be dissatisfied by the two countries.

Lincoln knew the reason for Seward's overreaction. He understood in his heart that Seward represented the interests of the consortiums engaged in western development including road construction in the United States. The United States was currently undergoing a stage of rapid expansion of various transportation projects. He was in the government Naturally, they represent the interests of these consortiums, but just like the Minister of War represents arms dealers, these consortium businessmen also seem to be more enthusiastic about the current Civil War.

Lincoln understood that these people claimed that they hoped to end the Civil War as soon as possible. In fact, the current international market for American weapons was very small, and even the backward countries in the Far East looked down upon American weapons.

After all, those in Europe have experienced actual combat, but the United States is just a flower in the greenhouse. Maybe it is just boasting, and others do not believe in the capabilities of the American server.

Therefore, these people may wish that the war would continue for a few more years, and it would be better to sell weapons and end it after making enough money.

Lincoln then said to his right-hand man: "The Dutch control of Alaska is better for us. After all, facing Tsarist Russia, I still prefer the Netherlands. The Secretary of State should not go there. We also have enemies in the north. Since the Netherlands is so keen Alaska, then the greed of the British allows us to watch the drama between them, right?"

Hearing this, Seward was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the west had always felt the influence of Tsarist Russia, especially the Alexander Islands, which accounted for almost half of the west coast of Canada.

Now that the Netherlands has taken over, this is a blessing and a curse for the United States. It is a bad thing, but it may also be a good thing!
Thinking about it this way, Seward understood what Lincoln meant.

Seeing this, Lincoln continued seriously: "The most important thing for the United States right now is to get the South done. Put everything else aside and wait until the energy is freed up to do this slowly, right?
If the South can't handle it, then it's useless for us to think about it, it's all in vain, isn't it? "

Siward responded: "Yes"

With the exchanges between Seward and Lincoln, and the transactions between the Netherlands and Tsarist Russia, the American newspapers set the tone, that is, to relax and not to offend the two countries, so the world saw the reports in newspapers such as the New York Post. .

However, compared to the calm mood in the United States, the British side is thunderous!

(Chapter 1, 4236 words, I just remembered now that the monthly ticket seems to be doubled. If you don’t have a monthly ticket, I hope everyone will actively support various tickets and give rewards! There will be another chapter later, and it is predicted to be around 23 o’clock. In addition, this There are also many people who have provided rewards and various votes for support in the two days. I would like to express my gratitude. Guess, how will William IV of the Netherlands deal with the possible anger in the UK?)
(End of this chapter)