Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 673: Are Dutch arms sales equal to the sum of Britain, Germany and France?

1878年10月9日，荷兰外交部宣布签下了向哥伦比亚出口5万支1875式毛瑟毛瑟步枪，帮助该国建成一个中型海军军港（为期两年），并转手荷兰军中5艘级别不一的风帆战舰，合同规模在1250万荷兰盾（50万英镑）左右。

Because the whole world has distribution points of the "European Times", when everyone picked up the newspaper on the morning of October 1878, 10, they were all occupied by the headline above: The Netherlands once again won the championship, and the scale of arms sales was overwhelming Countries around the world!
Attracted by the title, everyone couldn't help but open it and look down.

Looking at this, I was really shocked by the scale of Dutch arms sales.

上面写岛了1878年10月9日荷兰外交部宣布分别向厄瓜多尔4艘、秘鲁7艘和智利10艘二手风帆战舰，并在此基础上，三国分别购买荷兰的1875式毛瑟步枪超过10万支，三国军购价值在170万英镑左右，及4250万荷兰盾。

The landlocked country Bolivia also purchased 2 1875 Mauser rifles and 1870 breech-loading rifled guns from the Netherlands, worth about 20 pounds.

加上10月5日荷兰外交部宣布签下了向远东的暹罗王国出口2万支1875式毛瑟步枪、2艘铁甲巡航舰、1艘蒸汽战列舰、48门1870式后装线膛炮的军事合同，合同价值规模至少达到3000万荷兰盾（120万英镑）。

The combined total of these countries is 360 million pounds. Compared with the total amount of Dutch arms exports last year, which was 300 million pounds, the newly signed arms contracts reached 1.2 times.

In addition to the 150 million pounds exported to Europe, America, and Argentina in the first few months of this year, the Netherlands has exported 510 million pounds so far, 1.7 times. There are still more than 2 months before the end of the year. No one would think that the Netherlands The military business has stopped, so many people speculate that the scale of arms sales this year may be twice that of last year. These orders this month can be regarded as huge orders received by Dutch military factories.

It actually reached a scale of 510 million pounds?
Everyone was surprised by this number.

You must know that the Netherlands has the highest per capita GDP, which is only about 200 pounds. This contract can be worth the income of 2.55 people in the Netherlands.

The per capita income in the UK is £150 for 3.4 people.

Germany and the United States are countries that have just reached 100 pounds, and have more than 5 people.The Tsarist Empire had a per capita income of only 30 pounds and a population of 17.

As you can imagine, the income generated by the Netherlands in less than 10 months of this year is astonishing.

These contracts once again consolidated the Netherlands' position as the world's largest arms seller, surpassing Britain since 1870.In particular, the Netherlands sells arms to all countries around the world almost indiscriminately. Even the United Kingdom purchased the first-generation military submarine from the Netherlands a few years ago, which caused a sensation in the world.

This further proves the reliability of Dutch arms and establishes the Netherlands’ status as the leading weapons power.Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, and Spain signed new weapons purchase contracts with the Netherlands this year. The Russian Empire was also very interested in the Netherlands' 1875-style Mauser rifles, so it also purchased more than 20 of them last year.

The newly formed Romania, Montenegro, Bulgaria and other countries have also expressed their intention to purchase Dutch firearms and breech-loading rifled guns.In particular, Bulgaria seems to pay special attention to the Dutch second-hand sailing warships, and is one of the latest customers to potentially take over the Dutch second-hand sailing warships.

All countries in the world have become customers of Dutch-style weapons, which is critical to consolidating the Netherlands as the world's number one arms seller.

The Netherlands' status as a huge arms export supplier has made all countries politically pro-Dutch.

Experts from the newspaper analyzed above that the Netherlands has become a weapons supplier favored by countries around the world for the following reasons.First, the Netherlands has the ability to reliably and quickly supply the world with cutting-edge weapons.

When the King of Siam and the Supreme Military Marshal of the Kingdom of Siam, Chu Lalongkorn, recently signed an agreement to purchase weapons from the Netherlands in Bangkok, he said, "The French Empire invaded the Kingdom of Siam, and the British forcibly occupied Upper Burma. , causing turmoil in the Far East, and European countries also entered a state of war between France and the German Empire.

The Kingdom of Siam now faces the threat of the British in the west, British Burma and southern Malaya, and the French Second Empire in the east, which belongs to North and South Vietnam and South Laos. The Kingdom of Siam must have its own strong military force as soon as possible, so this time The Kingdom of Siam spent huge sums of money from its annual finances over the years to purchase weapons, of which Dutch weapons accounted for the largest share."

He also said that the fast arrival and high quality of Dutch arms transactions are his top priority.

Other customers of Dutch weapons also said the same. The Netherlands's rapid weapons supply capability is a major competitiveness of the Dutch military industry.This year, the number of Dutch 1875 Mauser rifles signed exceeds [-]. South American countries that have recently purchased Dutch weapons have also experienced the benefits of quickly obtaining weapons supplies.

This is perhaps the main reason why Bulgaria, Romania and Montenegro want to buy Dutch weapons.

In view of the fact that the Netherlands currently has unparalleled influence in the global military industry, the military equipment of the United Kingdom, which was the largest arms sales power before 1870, is not even comparable to the most sophisticated equipment of the Netherlands, but it is enough to suppress France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and America. and other arms exporting countries.

Therefore, the Netherlands has a harmonious relationship with other countries, does not threaten other countries, and does not want to have an extreme-skewed image. This is also a major advantage for the Dutch military industry.

The United Kingdom, Germany, and France are the top four arms exporters in the world, second only to the Netherlands.

However, as European countries, as the main arms importers, entered eight years of peace from 1871, especially the Second French Empire and the German Empire had extremely poor relations with neighboring countries, so all countries rejected the weapons of the two countries. Its share of the global arms export market has already suffered a huge blow. It is expected that the Netherlands’ arms sales this year will be greater than those of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany combined.
For the Dutch military industry, this year will be a landmark year. The Netherlands even has to thank the German Empire for annexing the surrounding German Confederation, breaking the trust of other countries and making surrounding countries fear it, which caused other countries to gradually stay away from Germany. The arsenal of the empire.

France's arrogance also scares away other countries.

As the former leading arms exporter, the UK sometimes causes controversy. In particular, the governments of some countries have always been very dissatisfied and wary of Britain's global colonial policy. Britain's ruthless plunder of overseas colonies is frightening, and many countries are There was pressure from British gunboat diplomacy.It is even more displeasing to the UK that countries on the European continent like to play a balancing act that is beneficial to their own interests.
Some countries that were colonized by the British in the past or had wars with the British tend to regard the British as a "colonial power" with the intention of colonizing themselves, so they are very wary.

The Netherlands does not have this problem, that is, it is impossible for all countries to fully agree that the Netherlands is completely non-threatening to other countries in the short term. South Korea can also gain an advantage by relying on its image as a neutral arms exporter that will not arouse the vigilance of purchasing countries.

In particular, the Netherlands has moved the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from Amsterdam, the center of Central and Western Europe, to Melbourne in Far East Australia. This neutral imagination has been maximized and consolidated, and this neutral image will become even more important.

The Netherlands has the closest military and political allies in Europe such as Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Greece. It also has an ambiguous attitude towards the Tsarist Russian Empire and is at odds with its allies and partners. It also maintains close ties with other surrounding European countries. In the UK and the Netherlands, the Netherlands has its closest military and political allies. Before the declaration of war, even Britain maintained frequent contacts with the Netherlands.

Outside of Europe, the Netherlands is an ally with almost all South American countries except Brazil.In the north, the Commonwealth of America was also a major ally of the Netherlands.

With the support of these close military and political allies, this has provided benefits to Dutch arms exports.

The Dutch weapon system uses a large number of the world's most advanced technologies. Although these technologies may not completely surpass those of Britain, France, Germany and other countries, everyone knows that the weapons exported are not the latest or the most cutting-edge technology of the Netherlands.But it is also quite exquisite, enough to compete with the active weapons of Britain, France and Germany, so that your country can catch up with the active weapons of European powers after purchasing them. This will help improve the military strength of various countries after purchasing Dutch military equipment.

Countries that import weapons produced in the Netherlands, especially those small and medium-sized countries, are well aware of this situation and are therefore willing to purchase Dutch weapons, even second-hand weapons that the Netherlands is preparing to eliminate, such as sailing battleships and the earliest Mauser guns.

This wave of purchases of Dutch weapons by South American countries and the Kingdom of Siam reflects this advantage.

Dutch military enterprises are happy to sell their own inventory or act as intermediaries to resell old weapons in the Dutch army in arms export contracts. This can not only obtain the income of the intermediaries, but also reduce inventories. At the same time, as the old weapons in active service in the Netherlands After they are eliminated, the Dutch government will follow them and take new orders from the domestic military. The company can say that it kills three birds with one stone.

The rapid delivery of the Netherlands' second-hand weapons, that is, spot weapons, gives the Netherlands a comparative advantage in the arms sales market that is far beyond the competitiveness of other countries.

"European Times" finally said that compared with other countries, the image of the Netherlands as being able to supply reliable and modern weapons relatively quickly has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although the Netherlands is an alliance with many countries in Europe and the United States, it is regarded as a fairly neutral actor and has Currently, the relationship between European countries is also very close, and there are also huge trade and political connections in countries outside Europe. This provides the Netherlands with continuous advantages to gain more competitiveness as the strongest country in industrial exports.

Finally, the conclusion is that judging from this year's amount, the Dutch military industry has gradually recovered, but it has also proved that the world may be plunged into turmoil again.

Everyone didn't take it seriously, but when the time crossed to October 10th, they were immediately stunned by the speculation of "European Times". It was so accurate!

(End of this chapter)