Is there a way to make the Dutch Empire stronger / larger but let WW1 still occure as OTL. I was for example thinking about a remaining Dutch Ceylon, but are there more possibilities?
Your thoughts?
Your thoughts?
Dutch Empire and the Great War
- Thread starter Friedrich der Große
- Start date
If the Dutch somehow manage to put down the Belgian Revolution and the country stays united as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, it'd be a lot more powerful. The Netherlands would have a significantly larger population and it'd begin industrializing sooner thanks to still having Wallonia, a region rich in coal which would become the home of steel industry. It'd also control three rather than two ports for exports to Germany (Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam). It wouldn't be a great power, but definitely a respectable middle power. It could get itself some dreadnoughts and have a bigger, stronger army. That said, this is likely to butterfly away WW I as we know it.
So will the Dutch keeping Belgium. After all, a Dutch belgium would remove the excuse Britain used to enter the war even if ignoring all other butterflies
Actualy, i would say so would the Dutch keeping Ceylon, since you need a Pre-Napoleon POD, thus changing the enire history of Europe.
If the Germans invade Belgium in this scenario then the Dutch are also in the war.
A much stronger Netherlands would butterfly the need for WW1. A stronger ally on the continent, particularly one controlling the channel ports of Belgium, would allay British concerns about German influence and would certainly calm tensions down.
The Dutch being as weak as they became IOTL, and the insecurity of Belgium, directly produced anxieties in London which brought about the Anglo-French rapproachment, making the Franco-German conflict a British one.
The Dutch being as weak as they became IOTL, and the insecurity of Belgium, directly produced anxieties in London which brought about the Anglo-French rapproachment, making the Franco-German conflict a British one.
Well, if Belgium remains part of the Netherlands there will be no treaty of London, meaning that Britain would not declare war on Germany, if Germany ggoes through "Belgium" to attack France. Also, the Netherlands had a good relationship with Germany OTL and the use of the neutral Dutch ports meant a big boon for Germany, meaning that it is certainly possible that Germany decides not to invade through the Netherlands to avoid the Netherlands getting involved in the war (not to mention that a Netherlands including Belgium, would be a stronger enemy for Germany than just Belgium was).
Also a Dutch Belgium means a Luxemburg that is an integrated part of the Netherlands, which means no Luxemburg crisis, leading to a different route towards unification of Germany.
A Dutch Belgium changes a lot.