Chapter 191

On May 10, 1864, Britain, Tsarist Russia, France, Austria, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, and other large and small kingdoms and duchies sent heavyweight government members to participate in London to discuss the status of each country in Africa. The problem.

And this conference was also called by later generations the notorious conference of great powers in which the colonists carved up Africa.

The war in Africa has made all countries realize that Europe must stop, or it will set fire to the European continent.

As a result, the London Conference, which originally mediated the Netherlands and Portugal, became a feast for Africa to carve up African colonies.

A meeting of all stakeholders was held in various countries in London, and the five major countries were all competing, and other countries were also arguing fiercely.

At the same time, the Portuguese Kingdom, which has been active and passive in the crisis between Portugal and the Netherlands in the past few months, has now moved.

During the London meeting, Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto publicly called for Dutch Prime Minister Tolbek to hold talks between the two countries on the dispute between the Netherlands and Portugal.

Portugal has also formally asked the Netherlands to improve both transparency, explaining why Angola and Mozambique are now deeply invading the two Portuguese colonies.

And asked the Netherlands to withdraw from Portugal in both places.

The Portuguese prime minister in London said Dutch Prime Minister Tolbek had rejected Portugal's demands for no explanation for the large-scale Dutch incursion in those two places.

Barreto said his Portuguese cabinet government had asked the Dutch clarinet-faced to explain its intentions to him during a meeting in London last week.

Barreto told London-based newspaper reporters: "In response to the Dutch talk about the Portuguese invasion of the Congo, we reiterate that we have been there longer than the Netherlands, we have been there since the 16th century, when the Congolese king It is also recognized that the Netherlands only appeared in the 17th century, and the Netherlands occupied there more than two years ago, so we have reasons to disagree with the sovereignty of the Netherlands.

But Angola and Mozambique don't have any disputes, I don't understand why the Netherlands attacked us with huge casualties.

If the Netherlands is serious about peace, it should fulfill its commitments to maintain this, be more transparent militarily, and withdraw from the two places to ease the tense confrontation and provide countries with a sense of Dutch identity."

When King Louis I of Portugal also addressed William IV of Amsterdam in Lisbon, he even invited William IV to visit Lisbon and proposed a two-state reconciliation plan to the Netherlands.

Louis I said: "The arrival of William IV in Lisbon in the near future will be a strong signal that will help to de-escalate and stabilize the tension between the two countries."

However, William IV did not respond positively.

When invited to the Dutch parliament, William IV said that the Dutch government must protect the interests of the Netherlands to the utmost, and Portugal must be responsible for the loss of the Netherlands. Even if a Dutch soldier died, Portugal, the initiator, must Responsible in the end.

William IV's remarks have been responded to by many intense applause from the parliament, and received strong support from the parliamentarians. Obviously, the Netherlands still has the foundation to be tough on Portugal.

In London, however, Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto held talks with Italian Prime Minister Marco Mingotti.

The two leaders had a morning meeting, and they agreed to cooperate more in the Atlantic, and in the defense of Angola, Italy is willing to send your troops of more than 5,000 troops to Benguela to show support for Portugal.

At the same time, the two men believed that a two-pronged response strategy of diplomatic and military deterrence should be adopted as the Dutch army and Angola continue to build up.

Marco Mingotti reborn Once the Dutch army goes to war on Benguela, the Italian army will respond quickly and firmly.

The war between the Netherlands and Portugal in Africa was frequently brought up in London, and news of the war between the two countries was discussed at length.

There are rumors that Prussia will launch an attack on the coastal city of Namibe in southwest Angola, or something is going on.

These have made many people look at Bismarck, the Prime Minister of Prussia.

At the same time, I also wanted to ask Barreto for confirmation, but Barreto only indicated that he would share the information he had in order to prevent a "sudden attack" in Prussia.

When asked by me, Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria said again that he warned Prussia of a possible invasion of Angola, saying: "We cannot predict exactly when the invasion will occur, but we have always been in contact with Portuguese intelligence because the Netherlands has Prussia is an ally, what the Netherlands does in the north, Prussia may follow suit in the south to conduct coordinated operations, so we remind our Portuguese counterparts to be vigilant and avoid being caught off guard."

However, in addition to these countries, other countries have also made their own attitudes.

Other countries have also made statements. Some even made diplomatic mediation.

Spanish Prime Minister Manuel Pando met bilaterally with Portuguese Prime Minister Barreto on May 17, and then held talks with Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck on May 18, where he expressed Spain's desire to prevent further direct war between the two countries.

Olivier, the French Prime Minister, also expressed the hope that the two countries would sit down and have a good talk, and expressed that France is willing to match the two sides.

But the United Kingdom is not happy, because they are the hosts. The Viscount Palmerston said that the time has come for the United Kingdom to agree to the reconciliation between the two countries, and the two countries need to use this conference to reach a reconciliation agreement.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

"Luanda must get it. Since the Kwanza River has entered our pocket, it is ours. Portugal wants to take it back, and it is very beautiful. How can we count the dead soldiers?"

When I think of the fact that the Netherlands lost more than 5,000 regular troops in this war, the mixed army composed of East Indians and other major African natives also exceeded the native army by more than 20,000.

This made William IV, who thought the population of the Netherlands was small and thought about how to increase the population, annoyed.

Therefore, it is not an easy compromise to supplement Portugal this time to get back what he thinks the Netherlands should take.

Even so, sabotage the London meeting would be at all costs.

The meeting of the Privy Council was held as normal, but since the Prime Minister was already in London preparing to attend the London General Assembly, the Privy Council meeting was chaired by the Dutch Home Secretary Jonrell.

The Minister of Industry, Wem Cotter, the Minister of Education, Rude Bells, and the Minister of Agriculture, Ernest Bevin, are also in charge of the construction there in the Far East. Therefore, several new faces have come to the Privy Council.

They are Samuel Horch, the under-minister of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Philippe Howe, the under-minister of the Dutch Ministry of Industry, and Jeremy Harmon, the under-minister of the Dutch Ministry of Education.