Start 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne

Chapter 862: Britain did not decline, but the Netherlands, Germany and the United States rose too fast
William IV also discussed with his eldest son Prince Albert at the Dutch Royal Palace in Melbourne, Australia, whether the international status of the Netherlands' rival Britain is declining or rising.

William IV: "Albert, I wonder if you have noticed the article titled "Can Britain Be Great Again" by Rowan Elson, President of the University of Oxford, published by the Financial Times? Commentary article?"

Prince Albert shook his head and said no.

William IV: "As a prince, you should read newspapers from all over the world, understand the reporting methods of countries around the world, and the different stances of different countries on things, so that you can find the information you need, rather than relying on partial beliefs. What is reported in the country’s newspapers”

Prince Albert: "Father, are you afraid that your country's newspapers will report good news instead of bad news?"

William IV nodded and said: "This is one of them, and the other is that you will be led in the wrong direction by the interest network behind newspapers in various countries."

Prince Albert looked awake.

William IV: "The president of Oxford University continued the view he once mentioned in his 1875 article "Revisiting the Economic, Political and Competition Methods of England and the Netherlands": the reason why Britain has experienced political decline and social polarization After the British Tories and Whigs came to power in turn, the new system and the so-called Progress became popular during the 1870s. -Progressive culture, liberalism”

Seeing Prince Albert's confusion, William IV explained: "In the opinion of the president of Oxford University, the Whig Viscount Palmerston and his successor Gladstone government have missed a once-in-a-lifetime internal opportunity. Given the opportunity to correct his mistakes, everything the Tory Disraeli did after that was nothing more than following in his footsteps.

In short, the liberalism led by the Whigs and the Tories had to follow has led Britain into a path of decline. "

Prince Albert: "Father, since he criticized the two parties in the UK so unceremoniously, he must be very direct towards our Netherlands." It is possible for the Germans to solve the problem accordingly.

William IV nodded and said: "When people gather, many problems may be solved accordingly. For example, the rise of Britain was closely related to his successful leadership of the first world industrial revolution (steam industry)."

Prince Albert: “What about us in the Netherlands?”

William IV: "The Netherlands? The reason why the Netherlands rose, like the German Empire and the American Confederation, came from what I call the electrical industry revolution. The reason why this electrical industry revolution broke out in the three countries of the Netherlands, Germany and the United States - development, and it is inseparable from its strong soft power that is different from other European countries. Among them, the Netherlands is at the forefront."

William IV: "Hugh Smith, president of the University of Cambridge and dean of the School of Political Science, once lamented to hundreds of British MPs in the House of Commons in the UK in 1875 that every basic industry in the Netherlands - textiles, mining, steel Industry. They all rely on the technology brought by craftsmen, workers, technicians, and managers from the Netherlands and European immigrants. Based on this, he has repeatedly emphasized in the British media and newspapers that many of the Netherlands’ achievements are due to for immigration.”

Royal Albert: "Father, it seems that the president of the top British university is using the Netherlands as a background to beat up members of both parties in his country?"

William IV agreed: "British academic openness to a certain extent only depends on the attitude of the royal family. The royal family needs some people to check and balance the British Tories and Whigs, so it is not surprising that these royal families are only loyal to the British Wettin dynasty. "

William IV returned to the topic just now and said: "But don't think that what he said is truly accurate. In fact, it is precisely because of their existence that Britain has been able to make great progress since Queen Victoria came to power in 1837, and the city has become "For example, now, although the United Kingdom has conducted joint maritime exercises around the British Isles through four countries including the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden, countless people are talking about the decline of the United Kingdom.

But in fact?Even today, Britain is still the unquestionable number one power in terms of hard power. Its military, population, area, economy and other comprehensive strengths are still the first in the world.More importantly, the British are very united to the outside world. Even the Irish and Scots are now assimilated and waving flags around Queen Victoria."

Prince Albert asked: "Holland?"

William IV said with bright eyes: "The Netherlands has a population disadvantage, so the Netherlands must continue to maintain it so that among the Netherlands' allies, there are not a few low-level and elites from various countries who dream of becoming Dutch.

In other words, we need allies in the Netherlands to cultivate elites and then continuously deliver high-quality blood to our Netherlands."

William IV asked: "Have you read Professor Herman Van Peiron's recently world-famous new book, The Rise and Decline of Great Nations?"

Albert nodded hurriedly, indicating that he had read it.

William IV: "In this regard, our Dutch President of the University of Sydney, Hermann Van Peron, has a very clear view. In his book, he gave an extremely optimistic prediction for the German Empire: In 1890, the German Empire relied on industrial strength to replace Britain becomes the largest economic power in Europe, and the American Commonwealth will become an economy not inferior to that of Britain.

In 1880, the Netherlands relied on its industrial strength and financial strength to replace the United Kingdom as the world's most powerful economic power. As for the military, the Netherlands relied on a reliable network of allies to gain an advantage over the United Kingdom.

Herman once mentioned publicly that the UK did not decline, but that the other three countries, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States, rose too quickly. Therefore, after the inherent pattern of global power and strength was broken, the UK lost the largest share of global power. The pattern underwent fundamental and irreversible fission, and began to shift from Britain and France in Western Europe to other countries such as Central Europe and even the United States and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. "

When William IV said this, he thought of the relationship between his motherland and the overlord the United States in later generations, which is like the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands now.
Thinking of this, William IV lamented the similarity of fate. The countries he lived in were all rising powers, while his opponents were all established superpowers.

Prince Albert saw William IV pulling out a document from the drawer behind him.

When William IV stretched out his hand in front of him, he saw clearly what was written on it.

I saw clearly written above: "Research Report on Measuring National Strength"

(End of this chapter)