v3 Chapter 288： Sanctions on the French Empire

In the Dutch-Portugal African War, the British opposition Tories supported Portugal, while the ruling Whigs supported the Netherlands.

So the Tories coming to power will not be good news for the Netherlands.

Relations between the Tories and the Netherlands will not be as warm as those of the Whigs.

Therefore, the Kingdom of the Netherlands will probably not continue the Whig concessions during the period of the Tory cabinet government. Many people think that the Netherlands will be very cautious in the next period to avoid becoming a The attacking opponent of the Tory government has become the target of Liwei.

Of course, France is worse than Holland, which is at least Germanic at the same time, but France is a thorn in the side of the Tories.

Therefore, when the North American Armistice Agreement was reached, the new British Prime Minister could not wait to intervene in Far East affairs.

The pattern of the Far East, with the change of the British cabinet, this made Napoleon III have to stop and wait and see. Perhaps even Napoleon Napoleon III understood that the next anti-French pioneer Tory party is likely to compete with France in a global battle. , France, perhaps, will pay the price.

Sure enough, the new British Prime Minister Disraeli made a move.

On February 29, 1867, Sir Lawrence, the Governor of India, first accepted the invitation of the Crown Prince of Siam to visit the Kingdom of Siam. The British Governor in India later stated that the United Kingdom firmly respects the kingdom of Siam, It will not invade, let alone allow other countries to invade.

The red line has been drawn so far, giving Britain an excuse to intervene in the struggle between the Far East Kingdom of Siam and the French.

Therefore, on March 10, 1867, the British Indian Ocean Combined Fleet began to patrol outside the Bay of Bangkok. Even on the 13th, the fleet began to gradually advance to the eastern coast of Cambodia, and then, France blocked the coast of Cambodia. The fleet withdrew to the east, and finally on March 16, 1867, the French naval fleet all withdrew from the Cambodian waters.

Great Britain has swung its prestige in the Far East, but the stepping stone is the French Empire.

France's retreat made Napoleon III and the French government the object of ridicule at home and abroad.

This made Napoleon III very angry, so he made a decision with a feverish mind.

That was the addition of troops to the Far East, and at the same time, the local navy also sent a fleet to reinforce the South Vietnamese fleet in an attempt to counter the British presence there.

The French decision made the British government very dissatisfied.

So, not to be outdone, Britain also increased its troops there.

The two countries immediately competed in the Far East, separated by the Kingdom of Siam.

And William IV naturally did not miss this publicity opportunity, so there was a scene.

On March 20, 1867, the ambassador of the embassy of the Kingdom of Siam to the Netherlands formally filed a petition to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, asking the court to judge the French Empire's invasion of the Kingdom of Siam, on the charge that France had committed war crimes. , asking all member states of the organization to help the Kingdom of Siam to stop France's crimes, and at the same time, requesting all member states to impose sanctions on France in the statement of appeal after the judgment prevails.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately overwhelmed all the hot spots and became the object of attention of all countries.

It seems too funny that a small country in the Far East should accuse France, the European power, in Europe, where France is located, but how real.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague, as the newly established third international organization in the world, has many members.

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In Europe, there are Spain, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, the Principality of Luxembourg and other countries.

In the Americas, there are the United States of America, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and the Kingdom of Siam in Asia-Asia. It is composed of large, medium and small countries, but the combined forces are enough to exert a huge influence on the major countries.

As a member of the Kingdom of Siam, it has the right to appeal.

So on March 21, 1867, the court officially issued a subpoena to Paris, but the French Empire ignored it, and even the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs mocked the legitimacy of the Hague court, France was not bound by it, and was not qualified to carry out the French trial. constraint.

Napoleon III was more comfortable calling on all the major powers to boycott this apparent overreach by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, saying it jeopardized the power of the great powers.

However, as if nothing to do with it was hanging high, the United Kingdom, Tsarist Russia, the Kingdom of Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire all seemed to be silent, responding to the French call with neither objection nor recognition.

Even the British Tory government has pushed the Kingdom of Portugal to ask the International Court of Justice to withdraw more sanctions against France, including broader economic and military sanctions.

This made the French Empire very dissatisfied.

Since France never sent anyone to participate in the trial on March 27, 1867, in the end, although countries such as Spain and Belgium chose not to support or oppose it, the judges of other countries agreed with the position of the Kingdom of Siam, and almost all All bills received.

On April 2, 1867, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands, with the approval of more than two-thirds of the judges representing all countries, all member states of the court officially announced the execution of the court's judgment.

Demanding that France withdraw from Cambodia, if it refuses to implement it, all member states of the tribunal will impose military and economic sanctions on the French Empire in order to safeguard the security and interests of the member states.

Among them, military sanctions include arms accessories transactions and complete arms transactions.

Economic sanctions include the suspension of all imports and exports by member states to the French Empire.

This ruling is not a trivial matter, and for the first time in history, an organization has carried out such severe oppressive sanctions against a European power.

This made the powerful leaders of the great powers such as Queen Victoria and Prime Minister Disraeli of England; William I and Prime Minister Bismarck of Prussia, Alexander II of the Tsarist Empire and Prime Minister Gorchaskov and Joseph I a little alarmed.

Although no one will think that this law will be implemented in place But don't forget, the unified caliber of these countries alone is enough to make the loss of the majesty of the French Empire immeasurable.

It can be said that this time, France has lost all face.

"We strongly condemn those countries that want to impose ridiculous sanctions on the French Empire. We call on not to damage bilateral relations. The national strength of the French Empire will not be easily affected. We promise, and at the same time, we call on other major powers to stand up and oppose this kind of The so-called judgment and sanctions against the great powers, because, for us, it is an insult, yes, it is an insult to the national character of the great powers"

Napoleon III personally held a press conference at the Palace of Versailles, stating that he would not accept the judgment of the International Hague Tribunal and would not easily withdraw from the territories already occupied by Cambodia and France in the Far East.

He also stated that the French Empire would not accept the sentence of such sanctions.

For a time, the world seemed to predict that Europe and the world would enter a more turbulent situation.

What they are most concerned about is, do the members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague really dare to sanction the French Empire? Aren't you afraid of being retaliated by the French Empire one by one?