Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 665 Australia with unlimited potential

The Netherlands was once ruled by Spain, and in the 16th century, William I, Prince of Orange, led the people of the Netherlands to launch a war of independence. They designed an orange-white-blue tricolor flag. This color originated from Orange. As long as you look at the micro seal of the ruling family, you will know: there is a white horn on the blue ground, and it is decorated with an orange rope.

After 1630, because the colors were not bright enough and difficult to identify on the battlefield, some people proposed changing the color of the national flag from red to orange and deepening the blue color. However, over the years, neither the government nor the royal family were willing. Make changes.

On September 1878, 9, the Ministry of the Interior of the Dutch cabinet government announced that starting from October 28, 1978, the Dutch flag would change. Although it is also a tricolor flag, it will consist of orange, white, and blue from top to bottom. Change to red, white, and blue.

This time His Majesty King William IV of the Netherlands issued a decree officially stipulating that the colors of the Dutch flag are vermilion, white, and cobalt blue, and starting from October 1878, 10, all Dutch institutions or organizations around the world will be replaced by the new flag.

The flag change was just a matter of conforming to the trend, and for William IV, it was just a small thing.

The recent news about Greece has made William IV relieved.

As for Melbourne, Alexandra didn't seem to care, as if she didn't know such a thing happened.

However, it is obvious that the relationship between the husband and wife is no longer as "harmonious" as it used to be. This can be seen from the fact that the two of them have been spending more and more time sleeping in separate rooms recently.

Well, William IV knew that he had already anticipated this scene since he slept with Princess Louise when he visited Athens, Greece in 1872. What he had been worried about for more than six years had finally "come true."I am somewhat mentally prepared.

But when I think about it, the incident has gradually calmed down, and the situation in Athens has also gradually calmed down.

Karel, his "cheap" son, also took the position of Duke of Sparta. It seems that his father William III was completely disappointed with Frederick. You must know that the title of Duke of Sparta has always been held concurrently by the crown prince. Now But it was given to the grandson of William III.It seems that the future heirs of the Kingdom of Greece have entered an era of two powers.

And by doing this, at a glance, you can tell that William III is preparing to escort his grandson Karel.

William IV remembered the history of William III in his previous life. It seemed that his cheap father William III lost his wife Queen Sophie on June 878, 6, and married a woman 3 years younger than him in 1879 at the age of 61. Princess Emma of the Duchy of Waldeck-Pyrmont, under the German Empire, who was only 41 years old, finally gave birth to the famous Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 20. After the death of William III in 1880, due to the decline of the Dutch royal bloodline After being cut off, she thought that the only royal bloodline to inherit the throne of the King of the Netherlands was only 1890 years old.

Now William IV himself has changed his destiny. Historically, he died as the Crown Prince of Orange on June 1879, 6, while his third brother Frederic inherited the position of Prince of Orange and Crown Prince of the Netherlands, but also in 11 Years passed away with him.

In just 6 years, William III lost his wife, welcomed a 20-year-old young wife, and lost his eldest son in 1879. In 1880, at the age of 62, he gave birth to his eldest daughter Wilhelmina. When Wilhelmina was four years old, The third son, Frederick, the only male heir, also left him.

Only Wilhelmina and his young wife Queen Emma remained with him. After his death in 1890, Wilhelmina's status as king was established.

What William III didn't know was that as Wilhelmina ascended the throne and became Queen of the Netherlands, her mother, Princess Emma, ​​followed Berlin's orders and gradually turned the originally neutral Netherlands into a vassal of the German Empire.

Obviously, this was a huge conspiracy, and even William IV suspected that when his brothers passed away one after another in history, perhaps the German Empire "contributed" a lot.

With the arrival of William IV in this life, Dutch history has changed. William III has also moved to Greece to become the king, and Prince Karel, who was born to Princess Louise, became the Duke of Sparta in Greece. The daughter born in 1876 was also named Wilhelmina. William IV had absolutely no involvement in the naming. William III helped to choose it as his grandfather.

The wheel of history seems to have changed its course with its arrival, just like the current situation in Europe.

However, as he left Europe with most of the Netherlands' strength and went to the Far East where Australia is located, after the Netherlands' European strength weakened, Europe seemed to have returned to its original historical track.

As for South America, it is unfortunate that it has become a touchstone for the Netherlands and Britain to test their current strength. This is sad, but poor people must be hateful, which is good.

Paraguay's expansion ambitions, Argentina and Brazil's multiple struggles to compete for the top position in South America, etc., have caused South Americans to catch fire like firewood.

It is far away from Europe and Australia, but it will not affect the territory of the British and the Dutch. Therefore, although the British and the Dutch declared war, they chose Chile as the battlefield in a tacit understanding.

Naturally, talking about diplomacy every day was not the only thing William IV did.He still needs to eat, sleep, go to mass, and deal with difficult and complicated diseases in the country. In addition, he still needs to set aside time every day to pave the way for the development of all aspects of the Netherlands.Yes, no success is achieved in one step. It requires hard work and paving the way to go further.

Telegraphs, telephones, high-voltage transmission lines, mechanical lathes, electric lights, water pumps, etc. are all enough to change the course of human development.

Of course, steel was made, and the prosperous Dutch steel industry provided high-quality and cheap steel for the Dutch railway era.

Steel is not only used in lathes to promote the electrical machinery process in the Netherlands, but is also widely used in bridges, ships, building structures and weapons and ammunition.

In short, with the advancement of William IV, various iron mines across the Australian continent and the Far East blossomed and entered a prosperous mining era.

On September 1878, 9, the Dutch United Industries Company announced in Melbourne that its experts had jointly proposed the theory of allotropy and had made significant developments in experiments. The company stated that it would provide the metal market with specialized tools for tool manufacturing and Military cannons are made of high-quality alloys.

The Socialist Party has given great support to United Industries in the Dutch Parliament. With the support of the Socialist Party, more than 500 million Dutch guilders (£20) will be allocated in the Dutch Ministry of Finance budget to support the market of United Industries' experiment. Practicality.

Due to the strong support of the Dutch government, starting from the end of 1878, electrometallurgy greatly increased the output of aluminum. At the same time, various alloy metals came on the scene, making the world's metal ranks shaky.

If the iron manufacturers were the giants of the first industrial revolution, then their real successors are the current steel kings of various countries, such as the current steel kings outside the Netherlands, Schneider of Leclerc and Krupp of the German Empire.

In the Netherlands, it is almost monopolized by three major consortiums.

In this era, steel output has also become a key indicator to measure the industrial strength of countries around the world.

At the same time, transportation in the Netherlands has rapidly improved in speed, efficiency, and comfort.

John McAdam, a new immigrant and currently a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, invented the gravel asphalt pavement in Sydney in January 1878, marking a new era in road construction.Especially now that Dutch bicycles, motorcycles and even cars have appeared on the streets, especially the three major car brands of Dai-Rham, Otto and Mercedes-Benz. More often than not, the appearance of asphalt pavement is a way of putting things to good use.

Sydney Harbor Bridge, this bridge was built to connect the north shore of the city and the central area. It is located in Sydney, Australia. The construction period was 7 years. It was completed in 1876. It is the largest single-gong steel bridge in the world today. Depending on the temperature, the bridge may It will expand and contract, resulting in a height difference of 18 cm.

This is currently the most famous bridge in the Far East. It transports buses and cars, and also carries bicycle lanes and pedestrian paths. Because of its unique shape, it was called a coat rack by the Dutch. At the same time, the Sydney Opera House, completed in 1877, is located Next to the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the landscape combined with it is famous around the world.

At the same time, Dutch bridge expert Telford built the first suspension bridge across the river connecting the two banks on the Murray River in South Australia, marking a new height in bridge technology in the Netherlands.

At the same time, because the railways built in the Far East and Australia in the Netherlands are of the latest type, the tracks and speed used are more technologically advanced than those in Europe.Therefore, the island-circulating railway in the Netherlands and Australia, the north-south railway at the headquarters, and numerous railways in the east carry more passengers and goods more quickly than in Europe.The price is also cheaper.

In 1800, the journey from Paris to St. Petersburg took 20 days. By 1877, it only took 40 hours.

On the Australian side, it also takes a month to go west from Sydney to Perth in Western Australia, but with the advanced railway technology of the Netherlands, it only takes 30 hours.

Precisely because of the convenience brought by railways, all of Europe is obsessed with the efficiency of the railway and its fascination with railways.Now, the Netherlands has the densest railway network in Europe, with 32.8 kilometers of railways per square kilometer, compared with 15 kilometers in the United Kingdom and 12 kilometers in Germany. Sweden had the longest railway network per capita at that time, with 21 kilometers per square kilometer. The per capita railway mileage is 17 kilometers, the European mainland of the Netherlands is 1.5 kilometers, Siberia has the lowest per capita railway mileage, only 3.7 kilometers, and the European part of the Tsarist Empire has a railway mileage of [-] kilometers per [-] people.

The entire Kingdom of the Netherlands, taking the Australian continent as an example, has an average of 5 kilometers per square kilometer. This is mainly because the Australian continent is too big, and the average Australian per capita is 11 kilometers. This is also forgivable. After all, the Netherlands has only ruled Australia for 14 years. .

All these technological innovations are opportunities for the Netherlands. William IV believes that the potential of the Netherlands in the future will be absolutely top-notch.

(End of this chapter)