The ancient Greek historian Thucydides put forward a famous law: a newly emerging country will inevitably threaten the former world hegemon, and the former world hegemon will inevitably initiate wars in order to safeguard his dignity and vested interests. Fight, the world will be in a huge disaster.
Britain and the Netherlands are the old and new overlords in Thucydides's words.
has gone through a century of struggle in the development process of the UK and the Netherlands. As the early hegemons of the world, the power changes of Britain and the Netherlands witnessed the first change of world hegemony.
Ready before the storm
In the first half of the 17th century, the Netherlands took the lead in completing the bourgeois revolution and established a sound political system. With the country’s stability, the Dutch economy is developing rapidly. At the same time, there is a large accumulation of finished products in the Dutch country, but labor and resources are in short supply.
Since then, the Netherlands has started its overseas expansion and overseas trade.
What kind of national power did the Netherlands at that time have? According to historical records, Holland has 16,000 commercial ships, and one country alone accounts for 3/4 of the world's commercial ships. Compared with other countries' maritime trade power, the Netherlands has an overwhelming advantage. At that time, the Netherlands was the monopolist of world maritime trade, and the Dutch had their footprints all over the five continents of the world.
The 17th century Holland was called the sea coachman, and that was the most glorious moment in the history of the entire Dutch development.
In 1649, Cromwell became the leader of Britain. After
came to power, Cromwell carried out drastic reforms. He unified the territory of the United Kingdom through war, and a peaceful development environment was born.
At the same time, the Cromwell government reorganized the navy, and the British naval forces were equipped with 60-80 artillery shells, which was extremely powerful.
Britain rose rapidly in various emerging countries, the British began to expand their colonies frantically, and maritime trade also developed.
If the Dutch sea coachman title is their pinnacle, then the British title of the sun never sets empire is the pinnacle of the pinnacles.
The veteran maritime power, the Netherlands, monopolizes the world's maritime trade, but the new maritime power, the United Kingdom, has urgent requirements for overseas expansion and development of maritime trade.
The contradiction between Britain and the Netherlands is very sharp, and the war between the two sides is about to start.
Incompatible maritime overlord
In 1651, the United Kingdom promulgated the "Navigation Regulations", which stipulated that the Netherlands could not participate in British maritime trade, and the Netherlands suffered huge losses.
In 1952, the first fierce conflict broke out between the Dutch and British maritime fleets.
had a head-on conflict for the first time, and both sides of the war were in a stage of mutual probing, so this conflict did not cause a great war.
In July 1652, Britain suddenly ordered the blockade of the Strait of Dover, and the Netherlands was also cut off from the outside world.
This British move completely angered the Netherlands. In order to allow merchant ships to go to sea, the Netherlands sent a fleet to open the gap first.
On August 26, the Dutch merchant ship was approaching the English Channel. At this time, 40 British warships were dispatched, and the two sides lined up on both sides of the sea, and the war was about to start. The number of Dutch warships is large and their combat effectiveness is extremely strong. They cleverly used maritime war strategies to successfully break out of the English Channel. The failure of
raised the vigilance of the British naval forces. The British increased their strength near the English Channel. They patrolled day and night to monitor the actions of the Netherlands.
In 1653, when Dutch merchant ships passed through Portland for trade, 70 British warships suddenly appeared and then launched a fierce offensive. Not to be outdone, the 80 Dutch warships escorting the merchant ship immediately launched a counterattack.
The battle between the two sides was fierce, and it was difficult to tell the winner at a time.
Three days later, the Netherlands broke through the British blockade and left Portland, but Portland was controlled by the British, and Dutch maritime trade was reduced by one more route.
Britain’s siege and interception caused huge damage to the NetherlandsUnder the pressure of the country, merchant ships were unable to trade, and the Dutch domestic economy has stagnated.
The long-term military confrontation has exhausted the Dutch people. If they cannot break through the current constraints, the Netherlands will have only a dead end.
In 1653, the Netherlands sent 104 warships to break through the British blockade. However, the number of British warships was large and the equipment was advanced, so the Netherlands gradually fell into a disadvantage.
The Netherlands hurriedly retreated to shallow waters, seeing that major events were not good. The British warships were too large to pursue, and the war came to an end.
The Dutch army launched a counterattack again after restoring, and the British fleet also tried their best. On August 10, the leader of the Dutch fleet was killed in the battle, and the Netherlands was in a state of chaos. They retreated steadily.
In 1654, the Netherlands was unable to fight against Britain. They signed a contract with Britain to pay huge war reparations. The status of British maritime supremacy was initially established.
In 1664, Britain succeeded in acquiring the Dutch colonies in North America and Africa.
In 1665, the Netherlands and Britain fought fiercely again. They regained part of the colony that was stolen by Britain, but were forced to hand over them shortly afterwards.
In 1666, in order to prevent the development of Britain, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands formed an alliance to attack Britain.
In 1667, the Allied forces entered the Thames River to launch a general offensive against London, the British capital. Britain was forced to make concessions, negotiate with the Netherlands, and transferred part of its maritime trade rights.
In 1672, Britain and France formed an alliance to attack the Netherlands. The Netherlands fought alone and its power weakened.
However, in the following two years, the Anglo-French alliance became more and more separated for their own interests, and their combat effectiveness was greatly weakened. In 1674, the two sides signed an armistice agreement and the sea restored calm.
In 1688, Britain, which completed the bourgeois revolution, entered a new historical stage. Britain and the Netherlands fought the third major war, and Britain achieved a phased victory.
In 1780, Britain launched another war. The Netherlands was already unable to resist and completely surrendered its status as maritime supremacy.
Since then, the Anglo-Dutch War that has lasted for a century has come to an end.
The Hundred-Year Anglo-Dutch War involved not only the economic interests of the country, but also the dignity of the two countries and the situation of the entire world.
First of all, the outcome of the war between Britain and the Netherlands determines where the world hegemony belongs. As a veteran maritime hegemon, the Netherlands originally had absolute control over maritime trade.
However, with the development of Britain, the world situation has undergone earth-shaking changes. In the fierce international competition, only strength can truly convince people.
In order to defend their dignity and to protect their tomorrow and future, both parties can only do their best.
Secondly, the Anglo-Dutch war also reflected the state of the world.
Britain and the Netherlands were the main forces in the Anglo-Dutch War, but there were still other countries involved.
However, in the relationship between countries, has no permanent enemies, no permanent friends, only permanent interests.
The Anglo-Dutch War was not just a simple war confrontation, but also involved various aspects of national camps and international relations. In the world, the Anglo-Dutch War was a large-scale Shura field.
We cannot predict changes in the world situation, but a strong comprehensive national strength is our unchanging goal.
The Hundred-Year Anglo-Dutch War is of profound significance. From the history of hegemony change, we can gain more experience.
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