PC/WI: The Netherlands conquers French Empire in Asia.

WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
With a post 1600 pod.

How could the Dutch Empire conquer French possessions in Asia such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and join them to the Dutch East Indies in the same way as they conquered lands from the Portuguese Empire?

Bonus points if you also get them to gain Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and form a pan-Asian Dutch Empire.

Regards filers
 
With a post 1600 pod.

How could the Dutch Empire conquer French possessions in Asia such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and join them to the Dutch East Indies in the same way as they conquered lands from the Portuguese Empire?

Bonus points if you also get them to gain Burma, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and form a pan-Asian Dutch Empire.

Regards filers

Your timing is problematic.

French Indochina was only really established in the late 19th C. It's a totally different political setup from the 1600s- the Dutch capture of Portuguese colonies was part of the wider wars of religion and it was much more free for all. By the time the French enter Indochina there's a much more systematic body of international law.
 
ignoring the timing, the Portuguese don't have a easy path to invade the Netherlands except by sea, France being right next door and 15 times larger just kicks in the front door
 
ignoring the timing, the Portuguese don't have a easy path to invade the Netherlands except by sea, France being right next door and 15 times larger just kicks in the front door

Yes, this too. Also, invasion distance aside Portugal is much more in the same weight class as the Netherlands.
 
France's presence in Asia was not very large at the time when the Dutch were at their pinnacle of power. In 1672, the French did challenge the Dutch presence in Ceylon, by sending a huge fleet to Trincomalee, but this lasted no more than a few months. The French East India Company was only founded in 1664, with the first factory being a Surat in 1668 and another a Masulipatam in 1669. But these were mere trading houses, not forts. In 1673 they acquired their first factory in Pondicherry, taking it from the Danes. In 1692, Chandernagore in Bengal was acquired from the Nawab. In 1692, the Dutch did take Pondicherry, only returning it in 1699.

By the mid-18th century when the French were at their peak in India, forming alliances with local rulers, the VOC was fighting a war against Travancore and in no position to fight against the French. Also after the Six Years War, the French were relegated to their five possessions in India of Pondicherry, Chandernagore, Karikal, Mahe and Yanam. French missionaries arrived in Vietnam in the 17th century, and the King of Siam sent an embassy to Louis XIV in 1686, but compared with Portugal and England, France's position in Asia before the 18th century was limited.
 
Agreed with all the above, when the Dutch are powerful, the French barely have tiny specks, mostly in the hands of private merchants rather than centralised companies. y the time the French have something that can qualify as an Empire, the Dutch have been rigorously stomped by the Brits for the last half century and are in no shape to try anything
 
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