Onze Plaats in de Zon: The Rise of Frederik de Grote (van Holland)

[PenguinOverlord]

Eber & Alex: I'm glad you both enjoyed the chapter so much, as it took a very long time to write. I told you i wouldn't need allies to beat Belgium
Mayorqw: Great to have you on board! As for what I'll do next...

I've already decided, but I want to see what you readers think. What i can tell you is that:
* I mentioned the continuing of the Gentleman's Game: The next update will deal primarily with SE Asia
* I started researching Railways in November, you'll see lots of railway building next chapter.
* As i invaded Aceh before Belgium, my Infamy was low enough for me to start THREE colonial wars (with who i won't say)

Tanzhang, just telling you in advance, the 1.2 patch won't be compatible with your savegame.

[Timmie0307]

I somehow managed to see this thread (as I don't have Victoria II ...) but I like the way this is going! As a true Dutch person it is always nice to see some sort of unification with the Southern Provinces! What about Luxembourg, do you still control this piece of land? What will your next adventure be? Take on Spain or Portugal, the latter has some nice colonies...

Tim

[Communitarian!]

Miss a day, and so much happens! :O Wow, Tanzhang - this is absolutely awesome. Congrats on getting showcased - this deserves it! So much to comment on, so little time! I'm a huge fan of public works and anything that gets people productive and happy. Which is why this -

I'm a pacifist at heart, but colonial conquest is much more fun to write.

Makes me grin. Couldn't agree more - s'why I play games like this! (and secretly, want to click the 'build railroad' everywhere~) so naturally would love to see the Dutch Empire industrialized! The colonial wars though... I'm gonna guess Spain twice, and France once.

Secondarily... When I guessed Frederik was going to be canny, I had no idea how canny. He's diplomatically and militarily blitzed into (in?)famy, that's for sure - I can easily see the common people of Europe being shocked, but most of the current or former concert members nodding their heads at the 'justice' that was administered like a blade to Belgium's independence.

Also, I loved a certain quote about said independence. Something to do with rope. Cannot wait to see what happens next!

[Alyosha]

Makes me grin. Couldn't agree more - s'why I play games like this! (and secretly, want to click the 'build railroad' everywhere~) so naturally would love to see the Dutch Empire industrialized! The colonial wars though... I'm gonna guess Spain twice, and France once.

My guess would be uncivilized states at the moment, with Belgium taking center stage in Europe. Brunei seems a good target; also Bali. Finally, I bet he finally went for Johor.

[Enewald]

Belgium, a tribe that respawned properly.

[hoi2geek]

My guess now is that the Netherlands would have to fight Prussia to keep Limburg and Luxembourg.

[Alyosha]

My guess now is that the Netherlands would have to fight Prussia to keep Limburg and Luxembourg.

I don't believe Prussia starts out with cores on either, so I doubt Prussia will be of much trouble there. Prussia seems like a natural ally to cultivate, but that is limited with the inability of the player to make alliances with GPs (at least in 1.1). I imagine that if the Dutch Foreign Ministry cultivates a friendly bond with its Prussian counterpart (read: high relations) then that threat should be largely neutralized. I'd expect more war mongering from the French.

[aldriq]

Great chapter. I agree with you and other posters, you can't possibly leave Frederik languishing in his palace after reuniting the kingdom... there are places in the sun to be had!

[Dhimmi]

nice tread, even if it involves plans to annex my country!
Do you see the Boer in their remote South African republics in the Dutch future? Too bad that in Victoria 2 the Boer population aren't Dutch anymore.

btw: I think your title has a hunch of being litterally translated from English probably to Dutch. It's correct Dutch, but it means "our place inside the sun", more correct would be "Onze plaats onder de zon". But it can also point out that the Dutch are getting their asses kicked by the Belgians.


btw2: Most Belgians speak Dutch, in the game they are called Flemish (and in reality too). Like the Dutch in the southern Netherlands (Maastricht, Eindhoven, Breda and the southern part of the Middelburg province) they are catholics. In the game all the Dutch are protestants and I guess some Dutch back then wished that was the case. Like in Germany, divisions and tensions between catholic and protestant populations have lasted until today. At least a third of the Dutch population was catholic and in the 20th century that rose up to 40+%. Back then they were considered second rank citizens (main reason why the Belgians tried to become independant).

He is however correct in stating that while around sixty percent of the population spoke Dutch, French was the main language during that period, the driving forces of the revolution where in a fact for the majority french speaking belgians ( being both Flemish elite who spoke French and Walloons)

that was even more a factor then the religious division imho

[Alexspeed]

As i invaded Aceh before Belgium, my Infamy was low enough for me to start THREE colonial wars (with who i won't say)

3 colonial wars... not baking half breads arnt you?

I am sure Johore and Siam will be on the list, not sure about the 3rd...

[Tanzhang (譚張)]

Due to forum downtime the next update will take a while, but i should have the next one up sometime tomorrow. As for the three colonial wars, one i figured a lot of people would get (which they did), one that most of you got (which you did) and one that NOBODY got (which was true). If it helps, it's a region that the Dutch have history with.

Penguin: Thanks, but I knew that before I started.

Timmie: Good to have you along! It's good to have some actual Nederlanders following.

Communitarian (1): Thanks! I'm a little bemused by your guess though, why would Frederik declare a colonial war in Asia against a nation (France) with NO Asian colonies?

Communitarian (2): Considering he's of the house of Saxe-Coburg; I think it'd be the other way around for one or two monarchs... That being said, there are a few that approve of the execution of the "king" of Belgium.

Alyosha: Your answers were the most logical; if i wasn't writing an AAR i would have gone with those three. Partial credit.

hoi2geek: As I'm under the BB-limit, Prussia would not be a problem. I have to admit I find the idea of nations such as the UK or The Netherlands doing a "Napoleon" and going on a rampage in mainland Europe rather silly. Belgium will hopefully be the last war we fight in mainland Europe.

Aldriq: Thanks, Frederik will be languishing in the palace though, as it will be the colonial army who do the conquering next update.

Dhimmi: Thanks for the info.

Alex: I would only be able to use a conquest CB on Siam, which would not allow me to engage in two other colonial wars or a demand concession CB, which meant i could have engaged in another war.

[FlyingDutchie]

Glad to see Belgium return to the fold. I guess their coal and industry are nice bonusses.

On the earlier discussion about Age of Empires Dutch: 'Klaar' is a direct translation of ready, but is only used to note that a task is finished, not that someone is ready to start one (as is the case in the game). Feel free to ask any Dutch related questions anytime .

[Qorten]

Well, that was an easy victory. Hadn't expected the annexation to be doable in one war, but you did it. Congrats.

[hoi2geek]

But tell me, would the Catholic Belgians be forced to conform to Dutch Protestant society?

[FlyingDutchie]

I guess the same way the sizable Dutch catholic community ( between a quarter and a third of the population) was being kept happy. Rigid 'pillarisation' of society and a government not bothering the church too much if the church didn't bother the state. It will be interesting to see if Frederick can be more tolerant than his father though...

[Jape]

Liking the AAR so far, been taking Vicky II for a test drive with the Netherlands, its always been a country with great possibilities in Vicky 1 although the obligitory annexation of those damn rebellious Walloons can be a pain!

Keep it up

[mayorqw]

Feel free to ask any Dutch related questions anytime .

What does 'Onze Plaats in de Zon' mean?

[Communitarian!]

Hey, don't worry about the down-time; whenever you post, we'll be ready to read it! Also, for the benefit of your bemusement, my irrational Frederick logic is as follows - The French, having control of Pondicherry but few other possessions in the area, would fall quickly to a colonial battle. Taking Pondicherry would allow for fleet transport between fields easily, and possible extension into India... And would hardly enrage the French, given how small and removed it is from their field of influence! A perfect goal!

Real Frederick's thought process upon reading this is probably something like: Ehhhhh?

Glad to see you're not planning to rearrange the balance of power - too much - in mainland Europe. Very rarely do states want to cause revolutionary change without revolutionary (or reactionary, or otherwise potent) reason, I find. Looking forward to the next update!

[Alexspeed]

Alex: I would only be able to use a conquest CB on Siam, which would not allow me to engage in two other colonial wars or a demand concession CB, which meant i could have engaged in another war.

You are right... hmm now i am curious to see what wars you will have going on

[Tanzhang (譚張)]

Okay, the next chapter will have to be split in two due to image limit. part one will deal with the reaction to Frederik's annexation of Belgium and two colonial wars. The second will deal with one of those new colonies and our third colonial war. I'll be writing up part two as soon as i post part one, so try to get some comments in beforehand so i don't triple post.

Timmie: Sorry for not mentioning this last post, but Luxembourg starts out as a Dutch satellite (vassal). It often ends up in the French SoI though.

FlyingDutchie (1): Well, they were our factories originally. Thanks for the Dutch-language info, maybe I should have asked for a translation of the last chapter title?

Qorten: Thank you, i realised the hard way in Korea (as Japan) that the Maoist doctrine of destroying armies rather than gaining territory works best in Vicky II. Compared to Korea, Belgium's a piece of cake.

hoi2geek: Frederik's something of a pluralist, he himself is a Protestant but doesn't care much if his subjects are Catholic, Protestant or Muslim so long as they are Dutch (in a nationalistic sense rather than in an ethnic sense). So no, and yes.

FlyingDutchie (2): Frederik is more a person of his time than his father, the divisions of the age were based more on nationalism and less on religion. The in-game description of pluralism best describes Frederik's policy on religion, Catholicism, Sunni Islam, etc. are tolerated but he and the government actively support the Reformed Church.

Jape: Thank you! I hope this AAR can help you in your quest to take The Netherlands to greatness.

mayorqw: That's already been discussed. It's meant to mean Our place in the sun but apparently is closer to Our place inside the sun

Commutarian: Bah! If i wanted a territory in India I'd just take Goa.

Alex: And without further ado... [PS. this is a long one with quite a few images (nearly 20), I hope you and your contest rules don't mind...]