The Belgian Revolt of 1830 never became a revolt

[Parma]

Second son Pince Frederick ( ATL crown prince)

 

[Tocomocho]

The language question in the 1830 was not such a high tensed question as it is today. This language question in OTL Belgium is caused by the French minority at that time who declaered straight after independence that French is the ruling language in Belgium. One of the first acts of the new gouverment was to close down all the state school, were children were teached in their own language. French in French parts Dutch in Flemish parts.
No body gives a thing about Luxembourg, but at that time rulers needed a Causus Beli.
I personaly think the combination of heavy industry, steel works, and a colonial empire, Indonesia, would trigger the need for a real fleet of ironclads. If it was not only for the benefits of the heavy industry.

I wasn't talking about the 1830s but about an alternate 1870 with an unified Netherlands. Napoleon III needs something to clean the shame left by the Mexican campaign and he wants a "natural border" anyway. A powerful Netherlands is also a contender for influence with Prussia, so it's not that hard to see France and Prussia jumping on the UKN with the pretext of liberating "French" and "Germans" from the Dutch monarchy, especially if Dutch is the only language of the Dutch government.

The Netherlands need a very good relation with the British to stand successfully, but I think that they would share the fate of Denmark sooner or later.

 

[pompejus]

I wasn't talking about the 1830s but about an alternate 1870 with an unified Netherlands. Napoleon III needs something to clean the shame left by the Mexican campaign and he wants a "natural border" anyway. A powerful Netherlands is also a contender for influence with Prussia, so it's not that hard to see France and Prussia jumping on the UKN with the pretext of liberating "French" and "Germans" from the Dutch monarchy, especially if Dutch is the only language of the Dutch government.

The Netherlands need a very good relation with the British to stand successfully, but I think that they would share the fate of Denmark sooner or later.

The British would never allow the French to get their "natural border" of the rhine and I doubt think they would accept a French Belgium or even Wallonia.
The Dutch and the Prussians always had good relations and I see no reason for that to change.
An alliance between France and Prussia seems strange, because Prussia will still want Alsace-Lorraine.
I think that an alliance with Prussia against France is more likely, The Dutch gain French Flanders and Hainaut, while the Prussians get A-L.
Luxembourg still is a problem though. The French want it, the Prussians want it and the Dutch have it.

 

[Parma]

Thanks for this update Tocomoco and Pompeus. This gives me a new point of few for potential crises in the second half of the 19th century.
It is an intersting idea that Napoleon III makes up a crises with the United Netherlands to clean his reputation which he damaged in Mexico in stead of a Spanish trone.
As in this time line the UKN fleet will be up to date I wonder with the army. In OTL with the French -Prusian war of 1870 the mobilisation of Netherlands army was total chaos. The Belgian army was a bit faster.
How ever there is not a real need to have a war. The Victorians were not really keen on warfare against each other except the Crimian war they kept it to small colonial affairs.
The war of 1870 came up also as sudden, as a thunderstorm after a sunny day. There was no sign of war a week before the outbreak of it.
Any more idieas?