Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 98 Worried Denmark

"The situation in Denmark is not good now. Prussia has already penetrated Schleswig and Holstein, especially Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck. He took advantage of the psychology of many people in the German Confederation towards Denmark's rule in Holstein. Inciting ethnic rebellion has become a certain climate."

Tolbeck said.

Schleswig and Holstein are located between Denmark and the Elbe River, bordering the North Sea and the Baltic Sea on the Atlantic Ocean. They have a very important economic and strategic position. The Kingdom of Prussia in the German Federation gradually encroached on Hanover's territory. , has connected to the edge of Jutland.

As the Junker landowners and bourgeoisie in the Kingdom of Prussia have long coveted this place,
These were originally two small principalities. They had been subordinate to the king for a long time. Yes, they only belonged to the king, not the kingdom. Moreover, these two small principalities had their own administrative structures and were unwilling to merge with Denmark.

William IV remembered that the Congress of Vienna in 1815 affirmed the status of the two principalities and even incorporated the small principality of Lauenburg into the territory of the King of Denmark.

However, it is precisely because of this that Denmark is hated by many people in the German Confederation, because in Holstein and Lauenburg, the German Confederation members account for the vast majority of the population, and they have always been members of the Holy Roman Empire. In part, according to the provisions of the Congress of Vienna, they were also members of the German Confederation, and the King of Denmark, as the sum of the rulers of Holstein, was naturally recognized as a member of the German Confederation.But not the Kingdom of Denmark.

However, in contrast, in Schleswig, the residents are overwhelmingly Danish. Although the southern part of the principality, like Holstein, was assimilated by Prussia and other members of the German Confederation, Schleswig Georg was not a member of the German Confederation, it was only a Danish fief.

Originally, the current king of Denmark, Frederick VII, also agreed to Holstein's plan to join the German Confederation and Schleswig to fully join Denmark. However,
The Treaty of Ribe in 1460 stipulated that Schleswig and Holstein would never be separated, further complicating the situation.
Starting from the late 19s, Denmark began a national movement to strive for the complete integration of these two principalities into Denmark. This tendency aroused strong repercussions in the German Confederation. Resistance to Danish invasion even became a common goal of the entire German Confederation. A sound, a call to arms.

In the end, the war started. After three years of fighting from 1848 to 1851, the self-reliance activities in Schleswig and Holstein failed. These people belonged to Germans, and they all I hope to integrate Denmark into the territory governed by the members of the German Confederation. The Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire, which were the first to be populated in these two places, are also good.

In addition, the countries of the German Confederation, especially Prussia, were very dissatisfied with the shipping fees charged by Prussia for shipping through the Denmark Strait between the Baltic Sea and the Bei Sea. In order to avoid this fee, Prussia planned to build the Kiel Canal, especially because Prussia wanted to use this to break out of the The Atlantic also passed through a Danish-supervised strategy, but Denmark ruled Holstein, so the canal could not be built, and Prussia was firmly locked in the Baltic Sea.

This naturally makes it difficult for the strategic position of the Kingdom of Prussia to affect places outside the Baltic Sea. Especially when watching other countries colonizing the Atlantic Ocean, people including William are anxious, fearing that if they go too late, what is left in the world will The colony will be gone.

Forcibly separate the two?

On the surface, this seems to be a reasonable method, but in fact, both parties are not very satisfied with the result. Besides, Schleswig and Holstein have always been united together in history, and now they are called apart. Belonging to two countries, everyone will feel very confused.

As a result, Denmark's rule began to be affected by the German Confederation's frequent interference in the affairs of Schleswig and Holstein. This made Denmark even more angry. No one here would doubt that the German Confederation had no ambition to annex Schleswig. This is something everyone knows.

Hesbert von hesitated for a moment, and finally after taking a look at Tolbeck, he bit the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, although you have a close relationship with Crown Prince Christian and his family of the Danish royal family, Denmark is now in Schleswig. support has dwindled."

"Why the reduction?" The speaker was Army Secretary Pat Derong. "Do I look like a person who doesn't distinguish between seriousness and importance?"

William IV glared at Hesbet angrily, and then explained to Peter de Jong: "Since 1860, Schleswig and Holstein have once again become a hot topic of international debate. But this time Denmark received less support than last time.

The Crimean War weakened the national power of the Russian Empire, making Alexander dare not act unscrupulously, and at the same time offended the entire German Confederation, including Austria and Prussia.

The French Empire, Napoleon III, was prepared to no longer support Denmark's rule in the region because he wanted to exchange it for concessions and exchanges with the German Confederation's interests elsewhere.

Because Prince Albert was from Saxe, Gotha, and Coburg in the German Confederation, and Queen Victoria's mother was also from Coburg, therefore, both Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, agreed with the position of the German Confederation.

However, internal British officials have tempered their sentiments at home, believing that the German Confederation's naval expansion in the Baltic Sea has threatened the British Empire's maritime hegemony.

Although Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert agreed with the German position, British officials moderated their sentiments and believed that the expansion of the German navy in the Baltic Sea threatened British maritime hegemony. Those who held this view included the Tories and Whigs. Almost all the leaders of the two parties, in this case, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert could no longer insist, so the result was that the British Empire supported Denmark, but now they are looking for a reason.

It is rumored that the British Empire cabinet and nobles are planning to marry the Prince of Wales and Crown Prince Edward to Princess Alexandra, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Christian of the Kingdom of Denmark, or to let Princess Alice or Princess Helena marry. To his eldest son, King Frederick.

In this way, the British Empire had an excuse to intervene in Denmark and the German Confederation.

This is also the reason why Queen Victoria called her eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, who married to Prussia as the Crown Princess, to lead Prince Edward and Alexandra.

When the explanation came to this point, William IV felt the strange eyes around him, and suddenly understood what these animals were thinking, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Alexandra, you girl has done me a lot of harm."

It turns out that some time ago, the European royal family believed that during the conference, everyone here knew one thing, that is, the princess actually asked to see William IV, and the time for the request was during the Dutch Privy Council meeting. So they all knew about it.

Although he explained that this was a junior sister who was also learning to write fairy tales as a disciple of Guoan, the response he got was that whoever believed it was a fool!

(End of this chapter)