Dutch South Africa

[Friedrich der Große]

In 1842, the Boer Republic of Natalia was under pressure. They had a conflict with the British, and they were afraid to be annexed by them.

As a result, they sent king William II of the Netherlands an offer. They wanted that Natalia became a Dutch colony. But, William II refused.

But what if he accepted? What if Natalia became a Dutch colony. What would have happened? Would more Boer Republics have joined the Dutch?

 

[galik]

The UK would send an ultimatum if the Natal went to the Dutch, and they had the military power to win so the best solution if you want a Dutch S.A. go for an earlier POD.

 

[TheLionOfJudah]

The UK would send an ultimatum if the Natal went to the Dutch, and they had the military power to win so the best solution if you want a Dutch S.A. go for an earlier POD.

Yeah like if the British returned it after Amiens or the Congress of Vienna.

 

[funnyhat]

Yeah like if the British returned it after Amiens or the Congress of Vienna.

They did actually return it at Amiens but not at Vienna.

If the Suez canal had been built sooner, the British may not have wanted South Africa. Controlling the Cape was key when it was the only passage to Asia.

 

[Mechadogzilla]

The Netherlands was no longer a great power, they would be in no position to challenge Britain for ownership of any part of South Africa. Willem knew this, that's presumably why he declined. If he for some reason decides to accept and picks a fight with the UK, well, not much changes. Britain would still overrun the colony in the 1840s. Then the Dutch surrender and go home embarrassed.

If you want a Dutch South Africa you need a PoD several decades earlier.

 

[rfmcdonald]

For this POD to be viable, you would have to make a much stronger Netherlands. Just a dozen years before, that same king lost half of his kingdom—the arguably richer and definitely more populous half—to the Belgian rebels. The Netherlands was a battered and humbled state, far from being (as it was before 1830) a potential European Great Power.

Beyond this, you would also have to make a weaker Britain, or at least one disinterested in a resurgence of Dutch power in South Africa. Why would Britain allow the former owner of the Cape to regain nearby territory?

All said, even if the Boer republics did submit to the Dutch, I am skeptical this would have lasted for long. Would they really have accepted becoming Dutch folonies?

 

[H.Flashman(VC)]

The Netherlands was no longer a great power, they would be in no position to challenge Britain for ownership of any part of South Africa. Willem knew this, that's presumably why he declined. If he for some reason decides to accept and picks a fight with the UK, well, not much changes. Britain would still overrun the colony in the 1840s. Then the Dutch surrender and go home embarrassed.

If you want a Dutch South Africa you need a PoD several decades earlier.

Exactly. The only reason the DEI existed was because there was a silent diplomacy between Great Britain and the Netherlands. GB had favorable trading rights in exchange for diplomatic protection of the area. The Netherlands will not risk that.

 

[Dingus Khan]

In order for this to work, you would need to go back further and prevent the Netherlands from losing their South African colonies to Britain in the first place. They're not really in a possession to retake lost territories from the British Empire.

Anyhow if Dutch South Africa managed to last longer, then I think that the Afrikaners/Boers will not develop such a distinct ethnic identity, or at least not to the same extent as they did under British rule. They and their language would be largely considered as just Dutch.