The Low Countries Join The German Empire in 1871
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Napoleonrules
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Dutch developed from the Franconian spectrum of German dialects. It is actually false that Dutch is a corruption of the German word Deutsch. Dutch as a word is a corruption of an Old German word that meant "the languange we speak" or literally "language", which yes is also the root for German word for their language Deutsch, but it also a word that had found its way into many languages including Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, even English meaning different things.
Dutch and German developed independently of each other from the same dialect continuum, but have different roots. Saying Dutch was a German dialect is as incorrect as saying German is a Dutch dialect.
It is a different situation from for example Afrikaans, which actualy did develop from a Dutch dialect.
Actually Dutch/Deutsch/Diets more properly means 'of the people' (possibly with the addition 'the people that speak our language' or 'THE people' / 'our people'). Deutsch/Dutch is derived from that root as a people (Dutch, Deutschen), a language and as a country name (Deutschland).
Of course that still makes English 'Dutch' a narrowing, but it's hard to pinpoint just where they derived (did they derive 'Dutch' as general 'of the Dutch Republic' and apply it to everything, or did they derive the use as a derivative from 'the language of the Dutch' and expand it again similar to the German/Dutch usage?).
And of course Diets/Dutch/Deutsch has analogy also in Irish (Tuatha has the same root, easier to see with Theod, an older version of Dutch/Deutsch).
Also, English is a German dialect if Dutch is
What if they lost Indonesia. They would become more dependent of trade with Germany, especialy if the Ruhr-area has a quicker industrialization.
Napoleonrules
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A language is a dialect with an army to back up the claimActually Dutch/Deutsch/Diets more properly means 'of the people' (possibly with the addition 'the people that speak our language' or 'THE people' / 'our people'). Deutsch/Dutch is derived from that root as a people (Dutch, Deutschen), a language and as a country name (Deutschland).
Of course that still makes English 'Dutch' a narrowing, but it's hard to pinpoint just where they derived (did they derive 'Dutch' as general 'of the Dutch Republic' and apply it to everything, or did they derive the use as a derivative from 'the language of the Dutch' and expand it again similar to the German/Dutch usage?).
And of course Diets/Dutch/Deutsch has analogy also in Irish (Tuatha has the same root, easier to see with Theod, an older version of Dutch/Deutsch).
Also, English is a German dialect if Dutch is
That is not good enough reason. Indonesia was not important enough. You have to realise that the Netherlands in the 19th century already was a poor and backwards country. Increased trade with Germany could certainly have been beneficial for the Netherlands, yet they did not want to join. Actualy, as I said, a major part of Dutch international politics was to avoid falling into the German sphere of influence. The Dutch did not want to become part of Germany, even if it would be economic beneficial, even when they were poor.
Poor's pretty relative. Until around 1850 Dutch GDP/capita was higher than Britain's, according to most statistics I've seen.
You could say it´s a dialect IF you have it meaning something like "related but relatively bigger language in the same spectrum", a definition people do often seem to use for some reason. A stupid definition given that somehow there is still attached the hierarchy you would have with other definitions(by hierarchy I mean that dialects are considered like subordinates to the language or being born from it)
Absolutely true. Many rich dutch had enormous wealth which they invested in foreign companies. In the first half of the century mostly in english, but when industrialization started in Germany, they switched.
That's one of the reasons the goverment didn't like entering the german free trade zone, because they were afraid that that would mean that even more would be invested in german industry and not in the dutch industry.
I know other people have talked about it a lot quite vehemently, because it's a touchy subject, but no-one's actually answered this linguistic question, which his actually a pretty good one that's worth asking. Surprisingly, the answers is about 2000 years or 1500 years, depending on how you look at it. Things were already separating pretty wildly in 17AD ('Western Germanic' is more a geographic term, its three branches are as different from each-other as they are from North and East Germanic) and the High German Consonant shift only exacerbated it. Most Dutch dialects share very little developments that German had, have their own unique developments separate from the other Germanic languages (including High German languages), or have influences from North Sea Germanic. Even at the border of the language area the dialects are pretty different, only sharing a few areal features instead of blending into each-other. The precise political borders are a bit random and not directly tied into linguistics, but the difference between the languages isn't quite as much a political construct as 'Flemish' is.
The Netherlands joining a united Germany on a permanent basis in the modern era is very unlikely for a variety of reasons (Not even the most imperialistic of Germans wanting it is a big one), but the extension of German economic and political soft power over the Netherlands isn't unlikely, even surprisingly late (even into the 20th century with a German victory in WW1). In the 19th century, especially compared to the relationship with France, Dutch-German relations were rather good for the most part.
If king William I of the United Netherlands would have got the aid he expected from his Prussian relatives (IIRC in law and uncle), then he would pretty much be tied to them. Especially since that means Prussian involvement, and that would mean the UK can not condone French support an instead will have to support the status quo, if only to stop further escalation.
ASB.
Best chance you got is some freak Personal Union with the Netherlands and or Belgium.
Otherwise you have to make them join.
Neither country is German. Belgium is Catholic and the Netherlands is predominately Calvinist. They don't speak German. They don't use German Currency. They Both have their own Colonial Empires. They Both don't rely on Germany for Trade. They both have a distinct, non-german culture. Belgium and the Netherlands willingly joining Germany would be a shock and go against everything we thought about Belgian, Dutch and even German politics.
Best chance you got is some freak Personal Union with the Netherlands and or Belgium.
Otherwise you have to make them join.
Neither country is German. Belgium is Catholic and the Netherlands is predominately Calvinist. They don't speak German. They don't use German Currency. They Both have their own Colonial Empires. They Both don't rely on Germany for Trade. They both have a distinct, non-german culture. Belgium and the Netherlands willingly joining Germany would be a shock and go against everything we thought about Belgian, Dutch and even German politics.
There's no willingly in the challenge. If the countries are conquered, occupied and the prussian military governors in charge of those regions join the new german emprie that would fullfill the challenge.
False the elite was Calvinst, but the populace of the Netherlands kept in many regions a small and in some regions a large Catholic majority.
Join implies they do so willingly.
Conquered by Germany implies they get absorbed unwillingly. And even then, you'd have to have an incredibly weakened Britain and France to just let Germany gobble the Netherlands and Belgium up.
But sure, if you wank Germany enough a lot of things are possible. I don't think thats what he was asking for though.
In places yes; but I was always under the assumption that atleast a pluraity of the Netherlands was Calvinist. And regardless, why would a Catholic be particuarly wishful to join a Protestant doninated nation? The Germans, while having a large Catholic Minority, were ruled by a Protestant Evangelical Kaiser and most officials were as such.