The Netherlands, and Alternate History. Part I
Oh it would be, simply that it'd never reach Anglophone or Iberian levels of idiocy.
The Dutch were not shy of Interracial relationships, and they wouldn't allow their children to be treated like dirt just because their mother as was a Native.
That's the main point here, in the Americas the child of a female slave was a slave regardless of the father's ethnicity, and even fathering a child off of a Slave/black was Taboo, something that continued well into the 1950s in the US until the Civil Rights. The Dutch never practiced that and it isn't about to change just because of higher volumes of colonists.
These children, the Cape Coloureds as they're called, will be equal to the European colonists in South Africa under the Dutch. This must be taken into account when writing a Dutch South Africa, as the Coloureds would greatly soften racism and division in the colony, making it much larger and stronger than OTL South Africa.
Part I, Chapter III
Passing of the torch and reform. 1840-1850
In 1840 after many years on the throne William I abdicated in favor of his son William II. Early on William would attempt to continue his fathers policies of rule. Even in the face of a strong liberal movement opposing him. Eventually, with revolution sweeping the continent, William would give in to the liberals and ask Johan Rufolf Thorbecke, a major leader of the liberal movement, to draft a constitution. On the third of November 1848 the document was ratified, turning the Netherlands into a constitutional monarchy with the powers of the king significantly reduced, and much more authority given to the Staaten General.
Thorbecke in crafting his Constitution had been inspired by the American system of checks and balances in their government. In the Dutch constitution however the role of executive branch was to be filled by the king, who would wield extensive powers, rather than by an elected official. While there was a Prime Minister, who was elected, he was at the head of the Staaten General, which fulfilled the role of legislative branch. His powers were designed to act as a counter to those of the crown, in case whomever held the position ever attempted to rule as a tyrant. Elections were to be held every dive years and there was no limit to the number of terms the PM could serve, though he had to rule with the approval of the crown.
The third major part of government was the court. The judicial branch, They were responsible for passing and enforcing laws, hearing the people. Enforcing the legal code. As well as acting as a counter to the executive and judicial branches. The positions were for life. There were twelve members in the courts. Six were appointed by the crown, while the other six were appointed by the Staaten General. If any member of the court needed to be dismissed it would have to be voted on by the Staaten General, though the crown could counter any such vote if they desired.
After the Constitution had met with the approval of the king it was quickly ratified by the Staaten General, which then assumed its new powers. Thorbecke was appointed to serve as the Prime Minister, at least until 1850 when proper elections would be held. Thorbecke would manage to secure election in 1850 and for the next decade he would serve as the nations Prime Minister.The new government would, with little change, remain until well into the twentieth century. Only recently replaced by a stronger legislative branch and a weaker crown.
In 1849 William II would abdicate in favor of his son. Who would succeed as William III. The third William wanted to rule like his grandfather, as an absolute monarch. He attempted to undermine the Constitution and replace Thorbecke with a man he could control. When the Prime Minister heard about it he approached the king about it and a confrontation resulted. Thorbecke would come out on top of the argument, and William would abandon his efforts to take back power. The two would remain political enemies until Thorbecke left politics following the 1860 election, afterwards William would begin to once again move to take back power. Only to be stopped by a firm and united opposition from the Staaten General which stopped him in his tracks and the equilibrium would once more be restored in the government.
In 1840 after many years on the throne William I abdicated in favor of his son William II. Early on William would attempt to continue his fathers policies of rule. Even in the face of a strong liberal movement opposing him. Eventually, with revolution sweeping the continent, William would give in to the liberals and ask Johan Rufolf Thorbecke, a major leader of the liberal movement, to draft a constitution. On the third of November 1848 the document was ratified, turning the Netherlands into a constitutional monarchy with the powers of the king significantly reduced, and much more authority given to the Staaten General.
Thorbecke in crafting his Constitution had been inspired by the American system of checks and balances in their government. In the Dutch constitution however the role of executive branch was to be filled by the king, who would wield extensive powers, rather than by an elected official. While there was a Prime Minister, who was elected, he was at the head of the Staaten General, which fulfilled the role of legislative branch. His powers were designed to act as a counter to those of the crown, in case whomever held the position ever attempted to rule as a tyrant. Elections were to be held every dive years and there was no limit to the number of terms the PM could serve, though he had to rule with the approval of the crown.
The third major part of government was the court. The judicial branch, They were responsible for passing and enforcing laws, hearing the people. Enforcing the legal code. As well as acting as a counter to the executive and judicial branches. The positions were for life. There were twelve members in the courts. Six were appointed by the crown, while the other six were appointed by the Staaten General. If any member of the court needed to be dismissed it would have to be voted on by the Staaten General, though the crown could counter any such vote if they desired.
After the Constitution had met with the approval of the king it was quickly ratified by the Staaten General, which then assumed its new powers. Thorbecke was appointed to serve as the Prime Minister, at least until 1850 when proper elections would be held. Thorbecke would manage to secure election in 1850 and for the next decade he would serve as the nations Prime Minister.The new government would, with little change, remain until well into the twentieth century. Only recently replaced by a stronger legislative branch and a weaker crown.
In 1849 William II would abdicate in favor of his son. Who would succeed as William III. The third William wanted to rule like his grandfather, as an absolute monarch. He attempted to undermine the Constitution and replace Thorbecke with a man he could control. When the Prime Minister heard about it he approached the king about it and a confrontation resulted. Thorbecke would come out on top of the argument, and William would abandon his efforts to take back power. The two would remain political enemies until Thorbecke left politics following the 1860 election, afterwards William would begin to once again move to take back power. Only to be stopped by a firm and united opposition from the Staaten General which stopped him in his tracks and the equilibrium would once more be restored in the government.
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Part I, Chapter III
Alliance.
For most of the post Napoleonic war period the Netherlands had managed to stay largely free of alliances with other powers. It was thought that all an alliance with a major power would do is to drag the Netherlands into another costly European war they had no business being in to begin with. Better the thinking went to remain free of alliance and instead deal with all nations fairly. Trading and banking with them in the process. The only real exception to this policy had been Russia which had been an ally for some ten years after the congress of Vienna.
Things changed however when during the Belgian revolt the British and French sent in forces to calm the situation. The average person on the street, and indeed the crown itself, viewed the Franco-British intervention as little more than an interestingly named invasion. Soon theories abounded that the two nations were attempting to weaken the Netherlands and then gobble up their colonies for themselves. As a counter to any plans on the empire (both real and imagined) some in the Staaten General suggested forming an alliance with a neighboring nation to oppose the French army in a future war. Leaving the Netherlands free to focus on its naval programs to oppose the might of the British Royal Navy.
Soon the Staaten General became hotly divided over the topic of alliance. Its supporters claimed it would allow the nation to focus on the maintenance of its empire rather than the levying of a large army. Protect itself from the intentions of any other. And also allow the Netherlands to negotiate with others from a position of greater strength in future diplomatic pursuits.
Detractors of alliance were even quicker to point out that all an alliance would do is to drag the nation into some petty squabble over land. Or worse, a major war involving most of the continent. It was also suggested that all an alliance would do is make the kingdom a target for those nations which did not like the nation they choose to ally with.
Debate raged in the Staaten General. arguments and insults flew in equal number across the chambers of the body. Eventually though a decision would be made on the issue when the Kingdom of Prussia independently offered an alliance to counter the French. William III would step into the debate and quickly put an end to it. The Netherlands would ally with Prussia. That was the end of it, there was no point in debating any longer.
Painting of the Staaten General.
A formal treaty of alliance would be drawn up and then ratified on the second of August 1850 by the Staaten General, passing by a very narrow majority of just six percent. In order to get the necessary majority for the treaties ratification a clause was inserted which allowed either power to choose to not take part in a conflict if a three quarters or better majority of the house voted against war. Furthermore the Prussian government announced that it would not seek the assistance of the Netherlands in its ongoing war with Denmark as that conflict had been going on at the time of the treaties drafting.
The new treaty of Amsterdam would ensure that nations thought twice about antagonizing the Netherlands. It also ensured that the Netherlands not need to divert its treasure to building both an army and a navy both. The Prussian army would serve the purpose. Only a small fifty thousand man strong force would be maintained for defensive and joint operations with the Prussians.
Out of the alliance Prussia received major loans from Dutch banks, access to Dutch ports and goods with no tax placed on goods entering or exiting the Netherlands from Prussia. Prussia also received access to the ships of the Dutch navy. Allowing them to for many years ignore their own naval sources and focus on the growth of the army.
For fourteen years the alliance would profit in peace. Neither nation wishing to involve itself, and their ally, in any fighting. However soon events in the north would lead to the first test of the alliance...
For most of the post Napoleonic war period the Netherlands had managed to stay largely free of alliances with other powers. It was thought that all an alliance with a major power would do is to drag the Netherlands into another costly European war they had no business being in to begin with. Better the thinking went to remain free of alliance and instead deal with all nations fairly. Trading and banking with them in the process. The only real exception to this policy had been Russia which had been an ally for some ten years after the congress of Vienna.
Things changed however when during the Belgian revolt the British and French sent in forces to calm the situation. The average person on the street, and indeed the crown itself, viewed the Franco-British intervention as little more than an interestingly named invasion. Soon theories abounded that the two nations were attempting to weaken the Netherlands and then gobble up their colonies for themselves. As a counter to any plans on the empire (both real and imagined) some in the Staaten General suggested forming an alliance with a neighboring nation to oppose the French army in a future war. Leaving the Netherlands free to focus on its naval programs to oppose the might of the British Royal Navy.
Soon the Staaten General became hotly divided over the topic of alliance. Its supporters claimed it would allow the nation to focus on the maintenance of its empire rather than the levying of a large army. Protect itself from the intentions of any other. And also allow the Netherlands to negotiate with others from a position of greater strength in future diplomatic pursuits.
Detractors of alliance were even quicker to point out that all an alliance would do is to drag the nation into some petty squabble over land. Or worse, a major war involving most of the continent. It was also suggested that all an alliance would do is make the kingdom a target for those nations which did not like the nation they choose to ally with.
Debate raged in the Staaten General. arguments and insults flew in equal number across the chambers of the body. Eventually though a decision would be made on the issue when the Kingdom of Prussia independently offered an alliance to counter the French. William III would step into the debate and quickly put an end to it. The Netherlands would ally with Prussia. That was the end of it, there was no point in debating any longer.
Painting of the Staaten General.
A formal treaty of alliance would be drawn up and then ratified on the second of August 1850 by the Staaten General, passing by a very narrow majority of just six percent. In order to get the necessary majority for the treaties ratification a clause was inserted which allowed either power to choose to not take part in a conflict if a three quarters or better majority of the house voted against war. Furthermore the Prussian government announced that it would not seek the assistance of the Netherlands in its ongoing war with Denmark as that conflict had been going on at the time of the treaties drafting.
The new treaty of Amsterdam would ensure that nations thought twice about antagonizing the Netherlands. It also ensured that the Netherlands not need to divert its treasure to building both an army and a navy both. The Prussian army would serve the purpose. Only a small fifty thousand man strong force would be maintained for defensive and joint operations with the Prussians.
Out of the alliance Prussia received major loans from Dutch banks, access to Dutch ports and goods with no tax placed on goods entering or exiting the Netherlands from Prussia. Prussia also received access to the ships of the Dutch navy. Allowing them to for many years ignore their own naval sources and focus on the growth of the army.
For fourteen years the alliance would profit in peace. Neither nation wishing to involve itself, and their ally, in any fighting. However soon events in the north would lead to the first test of the alliance...
Part I, Chapter III
War. 1864
Though Prussia did not seek any Dutch help in the first Schleswig war they did ask for it during the second which began on the first of February 1864. The war had begun as a result of the kingdom of Denmarks attempt to integrate the duchies of Schlewig, Hollstein, and Saxe-Lauenenburg into the kingdom proper. Prussian objected saying the act violated the London protocol.
In the Staaten Generaal the request to fight alongside their Prussian ally became a major issue, no less hotly debated than the choice to ally with Prussia in the first place. Debate would rage on until a vote was finally held on the twelfth of March, by which time the Danish army still clung desperately to their fortifications in the Danevirke, despite the efforts of the Prussian and Austrian armies. The vote would pass with only a majority of nine percent, a testament to the viciousness and opposition to the act. An official declaration of support for Prussia was issued in the 14th and the Netherlands found itself at war for the first time since the breakaway of Belgium.
Contribution of the army.
Upon the declaration the Dutch army stood at fifty thousand men arranged into five corpses, each with ten battalions. It could field seventy two pieces of field artillery had a total of around seven thousand cavalry. Only a fraction of this force would be sent to fight. The third corpse of ten thousand men, nineteen field guns and a thousand horsemen. The army, under the command of General Johann van der Keplen would arrive at the front on the second of April and be sent against the Danish fortifications around Dybbol on the fourth. They would be pushed back by a determined Danish defense and sent back with losses.
Another attack on the 18th, with eight thousand Prussians and three thousand Dutch, would finally succeed in taking the city after a six hour long bombardment by artillery. Just as the army was moving into the city proper an attack by the Danish 8th Brigade managed to send the entire force into retreat and the Danes reoccupied the city by the end of the day. The Prussian commander Field Marshal Friedrich graff Von Wrangel praised the Dutch troops for courage and collectedness under harsh enemy fire.
The Danish 8th brigade retaking Dybbol for the first time. The unit would become the most famous of all Danish units. Today the 8th is at the core of the Danish armored force.
A final attempt at taking the city finally succeeded on the 25th after four hours of bitter close quarters action. Total casualties for the battle amounted to over five thousand. 2,078 Prussians, 1,302 Dutch and 1,752 Danes. On the same day the Austrian army captured the city of Fredericia, which the Danes had abandoned after a siege. Soon after a ceasefire was called and peace negotiations were began with the aim of partitioning Schleswig between the Danish Prussians and Austrians.
The ceasefire would break down after the Prussians bombarded the city of Sonderborg led to a return to war.
The Prussians had not liked the direction the negotiations were going and thinking the Danes were on the verge of defeat they attacked and tried to take Sonderborg. Only to be repulsed on the fifteenth by brutal Danish use of artillery and hand to hand fighting. The Prussian decision to return to fighting led to the breakdown of the peace negotiations in London, as well as the end of Dutch support for the war. The Netherlands would withdraw its support and troops from the war on the 16th of May. The third corpse would arrive back home in the Netherlands on the 30th of the month.
Naval Contribution.
Out of the three allied navies the Dutch navy was undoubtedly the largest. Having at the time nine modern ironclads and several older ships of the line. This navy would dispatch four ironclads and nine wooden frigates to the war zone in support of the meager Austro-Prussian forces present. For the most part this force bombarded Danish shore positions, transported men, food and ammunition around the peninsula. However Dutch forces would take part in actions with the Danish navy on several occasions. The most notable of which was the battle of Helgoland, in which Dutch vessels, arriving late to the battle due to mechanical issues, managed to save several Austrian ships from sinking by chasing off the victorious Danes.
When the ceasefire was called the entire Dutch naval squadron was recalled. Arriving back in the Netherlands just in time to hear that war had resumed with the Prussian bombardment of Sonderborg.
Depiction of the battle of Helgoland in which ships of the Dutch navy narrowly staved off the defeat and likely annihilation of a allied Austrian squadron at the hands of the Danish royal navy.
Danish resurgence.
The withdrawal of Dutch troops and ships from the warzone led to a major boost in Danish moral. Leading to a bitter series of battles around Sonderborg in which the Prussian army suffered heavy losses for absolutely no gain. The Austrian army fared no better in the battle of Fredericia, in which six thousand Danes retook the city from a considerably larger Austrian force. Meanwhile on the naval side of things the withdrawal of the Dutch navy led to a major defeat for the Austrian navy in the battle of Jutland in which three Austrian ships were sunk and another captured. With the bulk of the allied navy neutralized the Danish navy began a blockade and bombardment of major Prussian cities.
Danish battery defending the city of Sonderborg. In total over half a million rounds would be fired at alliance warships and men. The deadly accuracy of the Danish gunners became legendary after the war, giving berth to the German term Dämonenschütze (demon gunner).
Following the loss at Jutland Austrian support for the war crumbled and their forces would be withdrawn on the second of the month. Though the Prussian army was still in the field the Austrian withdrawal led to the Danish army having room and men to launch a bitter counterattack into the city of Dybbol which took the city on the seventh of July. The defeat at first Sonderborg, and then Dybbol led to a noticeable drop in the moral of the Prussian forces. And an upsurge in the confidence of the Danish army which held the city against repeated attacks from the Prussians.
Treaty of London.
Faced with a newly confidant Danish army which had repulsed numerous Prussian attacks the German chancellor Otto Von Bismark was forced to seek a resolution to the conflict. Under the terms of the 1866 treaty of London the Danes would remain in control of Schleswig, while the duchies of Hollstien and Saxe-Lauenburg would go to Prussia. Neither side was blamed for the war and no reparations were to be paid to either nation.
As a result of the withdrawal of both the Dutch and Austrian armies from the war the Prussian chancellor immediately rethought his alliance with both nations. The Netherlands was told under no uncertain terms that Prussia could no longer be considered an ally. Austria was given a similar message. Once more the Netherlands found itself alone, now facing an possible additional threat.
Though Prussia did not seek any Dutch help in the first Schleswig war they did ask for it during the second which began on the first of February 1864. The war had begun as a result of the kingdom of Denmarks attempt to integrate the duchies of Schlewig, Hollstein, and Saxe-Lauenenburg into the kingdom proper. Prussian objected saying the act violated the London protocol.
In the Staaten Generaal the request to fight alongside their Prussian ally became a major issue, no less hotly debated than the choice to ally with Prussia in the first place. Debate would rage on until a vote was finally held on the twelfth of March, by which time the Danish army still clung desperately to their fortifications in the Danevirke, despite the efforts of the Prussian and Austrian armies. The vote would pass with only a majority of nine percent, a testament to the viciousness and opposition to the act. An official declaration of support for Prussia was issued in the 14th and the Netherlands found itself at war for the first time since the breakaway of Belgium.
Contribution of the army.
Upon the declaration the Dutch army stood at fifty thousand men arranged into five corpses, each with ten battalions. It could field seventy two pieces of field artillery had a total of around seven thousand cavalry. Only a fraction of this force would be sent to fight. The third corpse of ten thousand men, nineteen field guns and a thousand horsemen. The army, under the command of General Johann van der Keplen would arrive at the front on the second of April and be sent against the Danish fortifications around Dybbol on the fourth. They would be pushed back by a determined Danish defense and sent back with losses.
Another attack on the 18th, with eight thousand Prussians and three thousand Dutch, would finally succeed in taking the city after a six hour long bombardment by artillery. Just as the army was moving into the city proper an attack by the Danish 8th Brigade managed to send the entire force into retreat and the Danes reoccupied the city by the end of the day. The Prussian commander Field Marshal Friedrich graff Von Wrangel praised the Dutch troops for courage and collectedness under harsh enemy fire.
The Danish 8th brigade retaking Dybbol for the first time. The unit would become the most famous of all Danish units. Today the 8th is at the core of the Danish armored force.
A final attempt at taking the city finally succeeded on the 25th after four hours of bitter close quarters action. Total casualties for the battle amounted to over five thousand. 2,078 Prussians, 1,302 Dutch and 1,752 Danes. On the same day the Austrian army captured the city of Fredericia, which the Danes had abandoned after a siege. Soon after a ceasefire was called and peace negotiations were began with the aim of partitioning Schleswig between the Danish Prussians and Austrians.
The ceasefire would break down after the Prussians bombarded the city of Sonderborg led to a return to war.
The Prussians had not liked the direction the negotiations were going and thinking the Danes were on the verge of defeat they attacked and tried to take Sonderborg. Only to be repulsed on the fifteenth by brutal Danish use of artillery and hand to hand fighting. The Prussian decision to return to fighting led to the breakdown of the peace negotiations in London, as well as the end of Dutch support for the war. The Netherlands would withdraw its support and troops from the war on the 16th of May. The third corpse would arrive back home in the Netherlands on the 30th of the month.
Naval Contribution.
Out of the three allied navies the Dutch navy was undoubtedly the largest. Having at the time nine modern ironclads and several older ships of the line. This navy would dispatch four ironclads and nine wooden frigates to the war zone in support of the meager Austro-Prussian forces present. For the most part this force bombarded Danish shore positions, transported men, food and ammunition around the peninsula. However Dutch forces would take part in actions with the Danish navy on several occasions. The most notable of which was the battle of Helgoland, in which Dutch vessels, arriving late to the battle due to mechanical issues, managed to save several Austrian ships from sinking by chasing off the victorious Danes.
When the ceasefire was called the entire Dutch naval squadron was recalled. Arriving back in the Netherlands just in time to hear that war had resumed with the Prussian bombardment of Sonderborg.
Depiction of the battle of Helgoland in which ships of the Dutch navy narrowly staved off the defeat and likely annihilation of a allied Austrian squadron at the hands of the Danish royal navy.
Danish resurgence.
The withdrawal of Dutch troops and ships from the warzone led to a major boost in Danish moral. Leading to a bitter series of battles around Sonderborg in which the Prussian army suffered heavy losses for absolutely no gain. The Austrian army fared no better in the battle of Fredericia, in which six thousand Danes retook the city from a considerably larger Austrian force. Meanwhile on the naval side of things the withdrawal of the Dutch navy led to a major defeat for the Austrian navy in the battle of Jutland in which three Austrian ships were sunk and another captured. With the bulk of the allied navy neutralized the Danish navy began a blockade and bombardment of major Prussian cities.
Danish battery defending the city of Sonderborg. In total over half a million rounds would be fired at alliance warships and men. The deadly accuracy of the Danish gunners became legendary after the war, giving berth to the German term Dämonenschütze (demon gunner).
Following the loss at Jutland Austrian support for the war crumbled and their forces would be withdrawn on the second of the month. Though the Prussian army was still in the field the Austrian withdrawal led to the Danish army having room and men to launch a bitter counterattack into the city of Dybbol which took the city on the seventh of July. The defeat at first Sonderborg, and then Dybbol led to a noticeable drop in the moral of the Prussian forces. And an upsurge in the confidence of the Danish army which held the city against repeated attacks from the Prussians.
Treaty of London.
Faced with a newly confidant Danish army which had repulsed numerous Prussian attacks the German chancellor Otto Von Bismark was forced to seek a resolution to the conflict. Under the terms of the 1866 treaty of London the Danes would remain in control of Schleswig, while the duchies of Hollstien and Saxe-Lauenburg would go to Prussia. Neither side was blamed for the war and no reparations were to be paid to either nation.
As a result of the withdrawal of both the Dutch and Austrian armies from the war the Prussian chancellor immediately rethought his alliance with both nations. The Netherlands was told under no uncertain terms that Prussia could no longer be considered an ally. Austria was given a similar message. Once more the Netherlands found itself alone, now facing an possible additional threat.
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Part I, Chapter III
Close ties.
Following the end of the second Schleswig war the Netherlands found itself one again without allies in Europe. But that did not mean they were surrounded by enemies either. Quite the opposite was true in fact as over the 1860s relations with both France and Great Britain had improved significantly. A number of treaties had been signed between the nations settling several long standing border disputes in the Indies for good. As well as establishing definite spheres of influence for the three powers. Thus the Prussian severance of the alliance had not caused much concern in the Staaten Generaal as the original intent of the alliance had evaporated by that point. While it was true that Prussia was no less than cordial, relations were not so strained that it would lead to war in the foreseeable future.
With the threat of war now gone the readiness and power of the military was gradually allowed to dwindle. Both branches would slowly become obsolete, this was especially true of the navy which from the mid 70`s until 1903 would not lay down a single capital ship. Choosing instead to build only small cruisers and destroyers, suitable for colonial police work and nothing else. The navies existing capital ships, by 1870 some thirteen ironclads, were kept in service until the turn of the century, by which time they were hopelessly outdated and of no use to any respectable navy.
Cruiser Java dressed for review around 1880. The ship was by this time the most powerful ship in the navy, as still would be by 1900.
With the military no longer taking up such vast sums of money the government decided to invest heavily in infrastructure and transportation. Hundreds of miles of new rail lines were built, and many older, smaller gauge tracks were widened. New canals dikes and levies were dug, and the nation was crisscrossed in telegraph lines. Perhaps most beneficial of all however were the numerous jobs the projects created. Not only building railroads and digging ditches, but in the new factories and mines which sprang up. The last quarter of the nineteenth century would see the Netherlands become one of the most industrialized nations on earth, surpassing Belgium in industrial output by 1889, and growing to become the fifth largest economy in the world by 1900, a position the nation would maintain until the late 1940s.
Aside from the growth of the nations economy the Netherlands under the last years of William IIIs reign would see a revival of Dutch culture, literature and education. Dutch painting especially exploded in the period with the emergence of the Hague school and men such as Vincent van Gogh, Piet Mondrian and Johan Jongkind. The sciences also saw a revival with Dutch scientists making important discoveries in a vast range of fields from agriculture to medicine. Among them were Hendrick Lorentz made important discoveries in the field of thermodynamics. Hugo de Vries rediscovered Mendelian genetics. Just to name a few.
Some experts claim that the cultural revival the Netherlands faced was due to the tremendous changes the nation was experiencing. Claiming that the sudden explosion of culture and art was due to a reaction by a public seeking to re-establish the old days.
Whatever the reason the Netherlands benefited tremendously as a result of the sudden upsurge in culture and high society. Painters, sculptures, authors and poets turned the nation into a center of culture, art and fashion while architects turned tired city streets into symbols of mans advances with the building of giant ten and fifteen story sky scrappers. And in the background was the quiet hum of progress and innovation.
Following the end of the second Schleswig war the Netherlands found itself one again without allies in Europe. But that did not mean they were surrounded by enemies either. Quite the opposite was true in fact as over the 1860s relations with both France and Great Britain had improved significantly. A number of treaties had been signed between the nations settling several long standing border disputes in the Indies for good. As well as establishing definite spheres of influence for the three powers. Thus the Prussian severance of the alliance had not caused much concern in the Staaten Generaal as the original intent of the alliance had evaporated by that point. While it was true that Prussia was no less than cordial, relations were not so strained that it would lead to war in the foreseeable future.
With the threat of war now gone the readiness and power of the military was gradually allowed to dwindle. Both branches would slowly become obsolete, this was especially true of the navy which from the mid 70`s until 1903 would not lay down a single capital ship. Choosing instead to build only small cruisers and destroyers, suitable for colonial police work and nothing else. The navies existing capital ships, by 1870 some thirteen ironclads, were kept in service until the turn of the century, by which time they were hopelessly outdated and of no use to any respectable navy.
Cruiser Java dressed for review around 1880. The ship was by this time the most powerful ship in the navy, as still would be by 1900.
With the military no longer taking up such vast sums of money the government decided to invest heavily in infrastructure and transportation. Hundreds of miles of new rail lines were built, and many older, smaller gauge tracks were widened. New canals dikes and levies were dug, and the nation was crisscrossed in telegraph lines. Perhaps most beneficial of all however were the numerous jobs the projects created. Not only building railroads and digging ditches, but in the new factories and mines which sprang up. The last quarter of the nineteenth century would see the Netherlands become one of the most industrialized nations on earth, surpassing Belgium in industrial output by 1889, and growing to become the fifth largest economy in the world by 1900, a position the nation would maintain until the late 1940s.
Aside from the growth of the nations economy the Netherlands under the last years of William IIIs reign would see a revival of Dutch culture, literature and education. Dutch painting especially exploded in the period with the emergence of the Hague school and men such as Vincent van Gogh, Piet Mondrian and Johan Jongkind. The sciences also saw a revival with Dutch scientists making important discoveries in a vast range of fields from agriculture to medicine. Among them were Hendrick Lorentz made important discoveries in the field of thermodynamics. Hugo de Vries rediscovered Mendelian genetics. Just to name a few.
Some experts claim that the cultural revival the Netherlands faced was due to the tremendous changes the nation was experiencing. Claiming that the sudden explosion of culture and art was due to a reaction by a public seeking to re-establish the old days.
Whatever the reason the Netherlands benefited tremendously as a result of the sudden upsurge in culture and high society. Painters, sculptures, authors and poets turned the nation into a center of culture, art and fashion while architects turned tired city streets into symbols of mans advances with the building of giant ten and fifteen story sky scrappers. And in the background was the quiet hum of progress and innovation.
All they need is a reason. And with things like the Spanish American war coming up they will soon have one.
Part I, Chapter III
Illness and death
William III, after a long and healthy reign contracted an infection in his kidneys which caused him increasing amounts of pain. He would withdraw into seclusion at the time, taking less and less of a role in the daily affairs of his realm. He did emerge on occasion to take part in special occasions, such as important holidays and memorials. However his public appearances became increasingly fewer and farther apart as the pain from the infection increased. Doctors were unable to find a cure, able only to prescribe painkillers and rest.
As the pain worsened William became increasingly demented. It got to such a degree that in 1888 his second wife Emma was appointed as as regent, hopefully until he recovered his sanity. However the king only slipped further and further away from reality. This was largely kept from the public, the government saying only that the king had contracted an ailment and had appointed Emma to rule while he recovered. The half truth became increasingly hard to perpetuate though as the king only got worse, both physically and mentally. As he stayed away from public events some even questioned if he would get better.
When the king died in Het Loo on the 23rd of November of 1890 the entire nation mourned for him. An elaborate state funeral was held for him which thousands of people attended and many more lined the streets to watch silently as his funeral procession went bye.
The throne passed onto Williams only surviving son Alexander, who took the throne as Alexander I I am hardly an expert on the subject of reigning names and if he would take the throne as William IV let me know The day after his fathers death. Alexander would oversee his fathers funeral arrangements before his own official coronation on the the 30th of November 1890. The new king was unmarried, but a search was soon begun to find the forty nine year old king a queen.
However before anything could come of the search a second tragedy occurred when Alaxander died in his sleep on the night of the 9th of September 1891. The throne then passed on to his half sister Wilhelmina, At eleven years old she was to young to rule without a regent and her mother queen Emma again took up the role. Wilhelmina would be officially crowned in the Hague on the 12th of September. She would take the throne fully on her eighteenth birthday on the 31st of August 1898. Her long reign was characterized mostly long periods of peace punctuated by bitter hardship. She would choose to abdicate due to illness in favor of her daughter Juliana on the 4th of September 1948.
William III, after a long and healthy reign contracted an infection in his kidneys which caused him increasing amounts of pain. He would withdraw into seclusion at the time, taking less and less of a role in the daily affairs of his realm. He did emerge on occasion to take part in special occasions, such as important holidays and memorials. However his public appearances became increasingly fewer and farther apart as the pain from the infection increased. Doctors were unable to find a cure, able only to prescribe painkillers and rest.
As the pain worsened William became increasingly demented. It got to such a degree that in 1888 his second wife Emma was appointed as as regent, hopefully until he recovered his sanity. However the king only slipped further and further away from reality. This was largely kept from the public, the government saying only that the king had contracted an ailment and had appointed Emma to rule while he recovered. The half truth became increasingly hard to perpetuate though as the king only got worse, both physically and mentally. As he stayed away from public events some even questioned if he would get better.
When the king died in Het Loo on the 23rd of November of 1890 the entire nation mourned for him. An elaborate state funeral was held for him which thousands of people attended and many more lined the streets to watch silently as his funeral procession went bye.
The throne passed onto Williams only surviving son Alexander, who took the throne as Alexander I I am hardly an expert on the subject of reigning names and if he would take the throne as William IV let me know The day after his fathers death. Alexander would oversee his fathers funeral arrangements before his own official coronation on the the 30th of November 1890. The new king was unmarried, but a search was soon begun to find the forty nine year old king a queen.
However before anything could come of the search a second tragedy occurred when Alaxander died in his sleep on the night of the 9th of September 1891. The throne then passed on to his half sister Wilhelmina, At eleven years old she was to young to rule without a regent and her mother queen Emma again took up the role. Wilhelmina would be officially crowned in the Hague on the 12th of September. She would take the throne fully on her eighteenth birthday on the 31st of August 1898. Her long reign was characterized mostly long periods of peace punctuated by bitter hardship. She would choose to abdicate due to illness in favor of her daughter Juliana on the 4th of September 1948.
Quick question. The more astute of you may have noticed that the thread title says part one. Well that is because I intended to write this TL in three parts, 1800-1900, 1900-19-40, 40-present. Originally I had meant to make each part a separate thread, but I realize that could become cumbersome. So I want to know what you guys think. Should I make the next two parts separate threads, or at least make a second thread for everything happening post 1900. Or should I just keep the whole TL as one big thread?
Why?
if you were going into the hundredths pages I'd get, but this?
Part II, Chapter I
Part II. 1900-1935.
The Spanish American war. 1898.
In 1898 the kingdom of Spain and the United States went to war. The US claimed it went to war over the Spanish sinking of the battleship USS Maine, though all, even the average American knew the real reason for the war was the conquest of the remnants of the formerly dominant Spanish empire. The US navy squashed the Armada Espana in a pair of battles in the Caribbean and Philippines in which the majority of the Spanish fleet was sunk. American troops were then landed in Cuba and Manila, defeating the Spanish army in short order and forcing the surrender of a sizable colonial empire to the United States.
In American cities across the nation the war was seen as a happy affair. Dubbed a "splendid little war" by the media. Many people saw the conflict as proof of American entry into the great powers, the dawning of a new age in which the United States was prepared to play an active role in global politics rather than hide in quiet isolation. Separated from the rest of the world by the vast Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Internationally the war was seen in a very different light. Rather than seeing an equal most nations saw the United States as little more than a bully which had invented an excuse to wage a war of conquest against a nation to feeble to pose a serious threat.
This was how the Netherlands saw the war. They saw clear parallels between themselves and Spain. Like Spain the Netherlands possessed a colonial empire. And like Spain the Dutch navy was small and largely outdated. What was more after the conclusion of the war a number of incidents with American warships sighted well within Dutch colonial waters convinced the government that they were to be the next object of American imperialism.
Fleet law of 1900.
In late 1899 the Staaten Generaal approved several million guilders to go towards the construction of a sizeable navy. Eight battleships, Eight Armored and twelve protected cruisers were ordered. As well as twenty destroyers and twenty four torpedo boats. Half the cruisers and all of the destroyers and TBs would be build abroad, with the battleships and remaining cruisers constructed in the Netherlands itself. The German firm of Krupps supplied most of the guns while the British firm of Vickers provided much of the machinery for the ships. The first vessels would arrive from British yards in 1902 with the last ships of the bill arriving in 1906.
Battleships
De zeven Provincen class BB.
De zeven Provincen
Holland
Zeeland
Friesland
Gelderland
These four ships were all laid down in 1901 and completed 1903-1905. Displacing fourteen thousand tons these British designed ships were influenced heavily by the ships of the RNs Majestic class. Though they carried German 11" guns rather than the typical twelves of the British fleet. These ships carried slightly less armor than British ships, but as a result had better range and speed than most ships of the RN. These vessels made up the first battle squadron upon their completion and served until the mid nineteen twenties when they were scrapped.
The Holland pictured in 1906 during a fleet review.
Koning William class BB
Konig William
William van Oranje
Admiraal Tromp
Koning Alaxander
Laid down in 1903 these four ships were improved and enlarged versions of the zeven Provincens carrying more armor and better secondary batteries. The added weight of equipment led to the ships displacing a thousand tons more than their predecessors, which was compensated by an increase in the length and width of the ships compared to the Provincens. Completed in 1906 the four ships of the class would form the second squadron until 1910 when they would be reformed as the Indies squadron and based in Batavia as the main elements of the fleet defending the east indies.
Other ships
The Dutch naval commission would order four armored cruisers from Italy in 1900. Known as the improved Pisa class these ships carried four eight inch guns in two twin turrets in an arrangement which made them resemble miniature battleships. They would form the first cruiser squadron after completion in 1902-03 and serve for many years with the home fleet. These ships were known as the city class and were named after Dutch cities. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Nijmegen and the Hague.
In 1902 thefour ships of the river class were built domestically in the Netherlands to a German design. These twelve thousand ton ships were quite impressive. When completed in 1904-05 they were among the most powerful ships of there type in the world. Forming the second cruiser squadron they served in the east Indies for most of their careers. Returning to the Netherlands in 1924 to be scrapped.
Six protected cruisers of the Java class were laid down in the Netherlands in 1901 while another six cruisers of the cape colony class were built in the Elswick yard in the UK. These cruisers, each displacing seven thousand tons formed the third, fourth and fifth cruiser squadrons. All would see extensive service in the Indies. Typically a single squadron would be stationed with the homefleet while the other eight were stationed in the Indies. All ships were scrapped in the early thirties, by which time the ships were long past their prime.
Cruiser Java pictured on patrol in 1907. The ship spent most of her career in the Indies and was still there when she foundered on a reef in 1919.
For destroyers the Netherlands turned to the British, ordering all twenty of their destroyers to one design. These five hundred ton ships were small, fast and well armed with four tubes and eight torpedoes. Half were sent to the Indies while the remainder were stationed with the home fleet. Twenty four torpedo boats were meanwhile ordered in Germany. Based on the latest designs these small ships were stationed in small six ship squadrons in Cape colony and the east and west Indies. Six vessels were also stationed in the Netherlands itself.
The destroyers and torpedo boats were crapped in the early 1920s and replaced by more capable designs.
Abroad the response to the Dutch naval expansion was mixed. Since the Netherlands built the ships for defensive purposes the reaction was minor, if any. The only significant results of the Dutch expansion was the British and French dispatching of a few extra cruisers to their Asian colonies. The reaction in the United States was even more nonexistent. The US ambassador to the Netherlands did mention to officials in the Netherlands that the new ships were quite powerful, and that it was hoped that they would never face American ships. Otherwise the reaction was quite minimal and was swallowed up in the greater noise of the arms race between Britain and the German empire.
The Army
In addition to the naval bill the Staaten Generaal also provided funds for a major reform of the army which had not received significant attention since the forties and was now hopelessly obsolete compared to the forces of France or Germany. Rather than base the new army on the large conscript armies of the Belgians or Germans Dutch generals choose to model the new army on British army with five divisions of fifty thousand men apiece. Each division was then split into two divisions of twenty five thousand men. Which are then split further into five regiments, each with five thousand men. A Regiment was then further split into ten five hundred man strong Battalions and fifty one hundred man platoons.
The Spanish American war. 1898.
In 1898 the kingdom of Spain and the United States went to war. The US claimed it went to war over the Spanish sinking of the battleship USS Maine, though all, even the average American knew the real reason for the war was the conquest of the remnants of the formerly dominant Spanish empire. The US navy squashed the Armada Espana in a pair of battles in the Caribbean and Philippines in which the majority of the Spanish fleet was sunk. American troops were then landed in Cuba and Manila, defeating the Spanish army in short order and forcing the surrender of a sizable colonial empire to the United States.
In American cities across the nation the war was seen as a happy affair. Dubbed a "splendid little war" by the media. Many people saw the conflict as proof of American entry into the great powers, the dawning of a new age in which the United States was prepared to play an active role in global politics rather than hide in quiet isolation. Separated from the rest of the world by the vast Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Internationally the war was seen in a very different light. Rather than seeing an equal most nations saw the United States as little more than a bully which had invented an excuse to wage a war of conquest against a nation to feeble to pose a serious threat.
This was how the Netherlands saw the war. They saw clear parallels between themselves and Spain. Like Spain the Netherlands possessed a colonial empire. And like Spain the Dutch navy was small and largely outdated. What was more after the conclusion of the war a number of incidents with American warships sighted well within Dutch colonial waters convinced the government that they were to be the next object of American imperialism.
Fleet law of 1900.
In late 1899 the Staaten Generaal approved several million guilders to go towards the construction of a sizeable navy. Eight battleships, Eight Armored and twelve protected cruisers were ordered. As well as twenty destroyers and twenty four torpedo boats. Half the cruisers and all of the destroyers and TBs would be build abroad, with the battleships and remaining cruisers constructed in the Netherlands itself. The German firm of Krupps supplied most of the guns while the British firm of Vickers provided much of the machinery for the ships. The first vessels would arrive from British yards in 1902 with the last ships of the bill arriving in 1906.
Battleships
De zeven Provincen class BB.
De zeven Provincen
Holland
Zeeland
Friesland
Gelderland
These four ships were all laid down in 1901 and completed 1903-1905. Displacing fourteen thousand tons these British designed ships were influenced heavily by the ships of the RNs Majestic class. Though they carried German 11" guns rather than the typical twelves of the British fleet. These ships carried slightly less armor than British ships, but as a result had better range and speed than most ships of the RN. These vessels made up the first battle squadron upon their completion and served until the mid nineteen twenties when they were scrapped.
The Holland pictured in 1906 during a fleet review.
Koning William class BB
Konig William
William van Oranje
Admiraal Tromp
Koning Alaxander
Laid down in 1903 these four ships were improved and enlarged versions of the zeven Provincens carrying more armor and better secondary batteries. The added weight of equipment led to the ships displacing a thousand tons more than their predecessors, which was compensated by an increase in the length and width of the ships compared to the Provincens. Completed in 1906 the four ships of the class would form the second squadron until 1910 when they would be reformed as the Indies squadron and based in Batavia as the main elements of the fleet defending the east indies.
Other ships
The Dutch naval commission would order four armored cruisers from Italy in 1900. Known as the improved Pisa class these ships carried four eight inch guns in two twin turrets in an arrangement which made them resemble miniature battleships. They would form the first cruiser squadron after completion in 1902-03 and serve for many years with the home fleet. These ships were known as the city class and were named after Dutch cities. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Nijmegen and the Hague.
In 1902 thefour ships of the river class were built domestically in the Netherlands to a German design. These twelve thousand ton ships were quite impressive. When completed in 1904-05 they were among the most powerful ships of there type in the world. Forming the second cruiser squadron they served in the east Indies for most of their careers. Returning to the Netherlands in 1924 to be scrapped.
Six protected cruisers of the Java class were laid down in the Netherlands in 1901 while another six cruisers of the cape colony class were built in the Elswick yard in the UK. These cruisers, each displacing seven thousand tons formed the third, fourth and fifth cruiser squadrons. All would see extensive service in the Indies. Typically a single squadron would be stationed with the homefleet while the other eight were stationed in the Indies. All ships were scrapped in the early thirties, by which time the ships were long past their prime.
Cruiser Java pictured on patrol in 1907. The ship spent most of her career in the Indies and was still there when she foundered on a reef in 1919.
For destroyers the Netherlands turned to the British, ordering all twenty of their destroyers to one design. These five hundred ton ships were small, fast and well armed with four tubes and eight torpedoes. Half were sent to the Indies while the remainder were stationed with the home fleet. Twenty four torpedo boats were meanwhile ordered in Germany. Based on the latest designs these small ships were stationed in small six ship squadrons in Cape colony and the east and west Indies. Six vessels were also stationed in the Netherlands itself.
The destroyers and torpedo boats were crapped in the early 1920s and replaced by more capable designs.
Abroad the response to the Dutch naval expansion was mixed. Since the Netherlands built the ships for defensive purposes the reaction was minor, if any. The only significant results of the Dutch expansion was the British and French dispatching of a few extra cruisers to their Asian colonies. The reaction in the United States was even more nonexistent. The US ambassador to the Netherlands did mention to officials in the Netherlands that the new ships were quite powerful, and that it was hoped that they would never face American ships. Otherwise the reaction was quite minimal and was swallowed up in the greater noise of the arms race between Britain and the German empire.
The Army
In addition to the naval bill the Staaten Generaal also provided funds for a major reform of the army which had not received significant attention since the forties and was now hopelessly obsolete compared to the forces of France or Germany. Rather than base the new army on the large conscript armies of the Belgians or Germans Dutch generals choose to model the new army on British army with five divisions of fifty thousand men apiece. Each division was then split into two divisions of twenty five thousand men. Which are then split further into five regiments, each with five thousand men. A Regiment was then further split into ten five hundred man strong Battalions and fifty one hundred man platoons.
The men comprising the army were to be trained to a very high standard, able to fire sixty rounds a minute with their rifles, and accurately hit a target at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards away. Due to the time and money it took to bring each individual up to such a standard of training the men enlisted for a period of five years, before spending an additional five years in the reserve. Thus the new army was to be a well trained and disciplined fighting force, in stark contrast to the armies of their neighbors which maintained large conscript armies of poorly trained troops. It was felt that a small, professional army would be best suited to the kind of defensive war envisioned by strategists.
The training of the army was largely overseen by British advisers, and many of the new armies officers served some time in the British army to gain experience in operations and leadership which they would otherwise lack. The force was considered fully operational by 1910 and was remarked on by the German general Hindenburg as being "Among the finest and best drilled fighting machines I have ever seen" when he attended a royal review of the third division in 1912 as the official observer of the Kaiser.
negende peloton tweede holland divisie (Ninth platoon, second Holland Division) on parade through Amsterdam in 1914 just after the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. The army undertook many such parades in early 1914 both to ease the publics fear of war, and to show the rest of Europe that the Netherlands was not weak.
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Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday. I was working working on the next part of the time line and so did not have any content until today.
Anyway the Netherlands now has a powerful and modern navy, at least for now...
Anyway the Netherlands now has a powerful and modern navy, at least for now...
Part II, Chapter II
The Arms race. 1908-1916.
The battleships of the 1900 law were at the time of their commissioning among the largest and most powerful battleships in the world. The eight ships of the act brought the Netherlands into the new century with a bang and insured their position among the other great powers of the world. By 1906 the Netherlands was the worlds fifth or sixth largest navy, either slightly ahead of or behind Italy. This navy had a truly global scope in its operations. With major bases in Europe, Africa and Asia. And many smaller bases scattered around the Caribbean, Africa and China. Its powerful fleet of modern ships was seen by many in the public as proof of the nations re-ascendance to great power status.
This power was seen to be taken away with the launch of the British superbattleship Dreadnought which with its ten twelve inch guns rendered every existing battleship in the world obsolete. Including the ships of the Dutch navy. Immediately following the launch of the ship every major naval power immediately made plans to lay down their own examples, lest they loose their place among the great naval powers. Even nations lacking an existing fleet of battleships got involved in the race. Seeing the acquisition of new ships as their chance to become a great navy. Brazil, Spain, Greece, Turkey and others all placed orders for a handful of these new vessels. Meanwhile the major powers planned ambitious programs to build very large numbers of ships.
HMS Dreadnought herself pictured shortly after her commissioning.
The Dutch government was torn about entering the developing global arms race. Some wished to build at least a few Dreadnoughts to maintain the effectiveness of the navy. Others wished no such involvement, stating that building even a few new ships would cause a reaction from the surrounding powers, making the construction of new even more powerful vessels necessary to maintain the nations position. The debate would rage in the Hague all through 1906 and 1907 before a growing public support of new construction convinced the government to order a pair of Dreadnoughts in 1908. The ships of the Nederlands class were funded in part by public donations collected during the previous year by advocates of building the ships. Overall donations would account for around a fifth of the total cost of the vessels.
The Nederlands class were large ships by Dutch standards. Displacing seventeen thousand tons and carrying a powerful main armament of eight eleven inch Krupps guns in four twin turrets, two superfiring over the others. The new ships carried over twelve inches of armor over their turrets, machinery and conning tower. And ten to seven inches over the rest of the armored belt. The ships carried sixteen four inch guns in casemates and open mounts along the deck to protect against torpedo boats and destroyer attacks.
They were propelled by sixteen boilers and three steam turbine engines propelling the ship along at a speed of twenty knots. Their bunkers held enough coal to give the ships a range sufficient to sail from the Netherlands to the cape colony without refueling, though by the time they reached the cape the bunkers would be very nearly empty.
USS South Carolina, Dutch designers drew heavily from the design of Americas first Dreadnoughts.
The ships were completed in November 1910. Just in time to take part in the new years celebrations of 1911, where free tours of the ships were offered to the public. The completion of the ships was not ignored as with the previous ships. Britain and France would each order an additional pair of ships to counter the Nederlands and Staaten Generaal. While Germany would order a sister for their first battlecruiser the Seydlitz, Japan would also respond with the ordering of a third ship of the Settsu class battleship.
As anticipated the foreign reaction to the ships was to build ships to counter. These vessels were larger and more powerfully armed than the small Nederlands, and if the nation was to maintain a reasonably potent fleet they would have to build more ships of a larger displacement, greater guns and more powerful armor.
The battleships of the 1900 law were at the time of their commissioning among the largest and most powerful battleships in the world. The eight ships of the act brought the Netherlands into the new century with a bang and insured their position among the other great powers of the world. By 1906 the Netherlands was the worlds fifth or sixth largest navy, either slightly ahead of or behind Italy. This navy had a truly global scope in its operations. With major bases in Europe, Africa and Asia. And many smaller bases scattered around the Caribbean, Africa and China. Its powerful fleet of modern ships was seen by many in the public as proof of the nations re-ascendance to great power status.
This power was seen to be taken away with the launch of the British superbattleship Dreadnought which with its ten twelve inch guns rendered every existing battleship in the world obsolete. Including the ships of the Dutch navy. Immediately following the launch of the ship every major naval power immediately made plans to lay down their own examples, lest they loose their place among the great naval powers. Even nations lacking an existing fleet of battleships got involved in the race. Seeing the acquisition of new ships as their chance to become a great navy. Brazil, Spain, Greece, Turkey and others all placed orders for a handful of these new vessels. Meanwhile the major powers planned ambitious programs to build very large numbers of ships.
HMS Dreadnought herself pictured shortly after her commissioning.
The Dutch government was torn about entering the developing global arms race. Some wished to build at least a few Dreadnoughts to maintain the effectiveness of the navy. Others wished no such involvement, stating that building even a few new ships would cause a reaction from the surrounding powers, making the construction of new even more powerful vessels necessary to maintain the nations position. The debate would rage in the Hague all through 1906 and 1907 before a growing public support of new construction convinced the government to order a pair of Dreadnoughts in 1908. The ships of the Nederlands class were funded in part by public donations collected during the previous year by advocates of building the ships. Overall donations would account for around a fifth of the total cost of the vessels.
The Nederlands class were large ships by Dutch standards. Displacing seventeen thousand tons and carrying a powerful main armament of eight eleven inch Krupps guns in four twin turrets, two superfiring over the others. The new ships carried over twelve inches of armor over their turrets, machinery and conning tower. And ten to seven inches over the rest of the armored belt. The ships carried sixteen four inch guns in casemates and open mounts along the deck to protect against torpedo boats and destroyer attacks.
They were propelled by sixteen boilers and three steam turbine engines propelling the ship along at a speed of twenty knots. Their bunkers held enough coal to give the ships a range sufficient to sail from the Netherlands to the cape colony without refueling, though by the time they reached the cape the bunkers would be very nearly empty.
USS South Carolina, Dutch designers drew heavily from the design of Americas first Dreadnoughts.
The ships were completed in November 1910. Just in time to take part in the new years celebrations of 1911, where free tours of the ships were offered to the public. The completion of the ships was not ignored as with the previous ships. Britain and France would each order an additional pair of ships to counter the Nederlands and Staaten Generaal. While Germany would order a sister for their first battlecruiser the Seydlitz, Japan would also respond with the ordering of a third ship of the Settsu class battleship.
As anticipated the foreign reaction to the ships was to build ships to counter. These vessels were larger and more powerfully armed than the small Nederlands, and if the nation was to maintain a reasonably potent fleet they would have to build more ships of a larger displacement, greater guns and more powerful armor.
Well sort of. The Netherlands at the time has a small, yet well trained army which dates from William III. In some ways the Dutch army is like the BEF that went to France in 1914. It is however not as modern as could be wished and this will come to bite them later on.
Been working on this today. It is the world as it appears 1914. Note that the Netherlands has colonies in New Zealand and has kept Ceylon, I don't know if I mentioned either of them in the TL but they are Dutch colonies here.
blackswordzero
Donor
I am a bit late but i wanted to ask what impact the defeat of the Prussian again the Danish had on the career of Bismarck? Probably it has damaged it and maybe change the event after the war?