The Rise of Iceland - Vol 3 Chapter 450

In May 1651, the Swedish Empire quietly formed an offensive and defensive alliance with the Kingdom of Portugal and the English Republic, stipulating that any party could join the war unconditionally when attacked.

So starting in mid-May, due to Portugal’s sudden declaration of war, the war between Portugal and the Netherlands in South America spread to the mainland of Europe. In the North Sea, Dutch warships and Portuguese warships clashed repeatedly, and the Dutch navy even besieged Lisbon for a time.

The Portuguese are very brave, they are not afraid of death, because the Swedish and English ministers have clearly told His Majesty John IV of Portugal that the Swedish and English troops have already set off.

Known as the “Recovery Joao”, the first king of Portugal after independence, Joao IV sent envoys to almost all European countries outside Spain ten years ago, trying to find their support, As a result, although many countries recognized the rule of Joao IV, they also made many rude demands.

Joao IV has pinched his nose for most of the demands for national independence, but in the face of the pressing step by step of Spain and the Netherlands, Joao IV has always hoped that England and Sweden, which are also maritime powers, could lend a helping hand.

At the end of April, when the Swedish minister approached Joao IV to express his goodwill, Joao IV even had a feeling of dreaming.

Joao IV, who played an independent country and a throne, was not a straw bag. He quickly guessed that Sweden and the United Kingdom could not tolerate the rising Netherlands, so he took the initiative to affect the alliance with the two countries and openly broke his face with the Netherlands. , carried out a sea battle with the strength of the whole country.

Although the battle lasted for half a month, the two battles caused heavy losses to the Portuguese Navy, and 80 Dutch warships even besieged the port of Lisbon. Facing such a dangerous situation, Joao IV was very happy because he got the The news is that the two allies have already sent troops, and they can hold the Dutch Navy in Lisbon, and the Swedish Navy and the English Navy can go straight to The Hague and Amsterdam.

The development of the situation was almost as expected by Joao IV. Sweden and England decided to attack the Netherlands before they formed an alliance with Portugal, so the navy had already assembled in a remote port in advance. And the traitors of the country discovered and informed.

The Swedish navy and the English navy are both battle-hardened elites. After contacting in advance, the navies of the two countries approached The Hague and Amsterdam around June 10.

The full name of the Netherlands was the United Republic of the Seven Provinces of the Netherlands when it was independent, and now it is the United Republic of the Netherlands. The country’s richest and core province is the Netherlands Province, so the largest city in the Netherlands is Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands Province.

However, since the independence of the Netherlands, the Prince of Orange, the head of state, has lived in The Hague, so the Hague is the administrative center of the Netherlands.

However, in July last year, the second Prince of Orange saw God because of smallpox. The current head of state is just a baby less than a year old. He is a prince in name. The so-called loyalty, taking advantage of the weakening of the power of the Hague, is competing to declare autonomy, and in 1651, five provinces had entered the stage of self-government.

Although Portugal has declared war on the Netherlands now, the Dutch navy is completely self-organized by 7 provinces, just because after the victory over Portugal, not only can the colonies in South America be kept, but even expanded, and the provinces participating in the war will naturally get a share. soup.

The Hague is located on the east coast of the North Sea. It is not very wealthy, but it has strong fortifications and a navy of more than ten warships left behind. The Swedish and English naval forces together have fifty ships.

Therefore, The Hague did not support for a long time and was captured. It is a pity that the little prince’s family has already fled inland.

The other coalition fleet also had more than 50 warships. They fell into a hard battle on the Northern Sea Route. After the passage was opened, they were constantly attacked by Dutch troops on both sides of the strait on the way to Amsterdam.

Although there are many difficulties, and even a ship is destroyed every few dozen miles, neither the Viking Navy nor the English Navy dares to be distracted to attack the Dutch on both sides of the strait, let alone stop, they just want to get it as soon as possible. Under Amsterdam, only when The Hague and Amsterdam are captured at the same time can the strategic purpose of joint operations between the two countries be achieved.

As a small country, the Netherlands is originally the two cities of The Hague and Amsterdam. If the two cities are captured at the same time, even if there are more Dutch warships outside, the surrender of the Netherlands is inevitable.

Lisbon held on for a full week under the artillery fire, but Joao IV, who was personally commanding the defense of the capital at the pier this morning, was swept away after meeting a Viking, and was very happy. He said to the generals and nobles around him: “I will announce a message to all the ministers and citizens immediately, that is, the news that our Kingdom of Portugal has formed an offensive and defensive alliance with the English Republic and the Swedish Empire, and this news is accompanied by the attack on our Lisbon in the Netherlands. When the time comes, our two esteemed friends of the Kingdom of Portugal, His Royal Highness Olaf and His Royal Highness Cromwell, have dispatched a combined fleet to capture The Hague and Amsterdam, and we will be victorious!”

Since Joao IV made the treaty with Switzerland and Britain without telling everyone, everyone was shocked when he took out the treaty, and then he admired Joao IV, the founder of the Kingdom of Portugal.

“Long live the king! Long live Joao the Restorer!”

With the news that Portugal’s allied forces had captured the two major countries of the Netherlands, the fearful and nervous citizens in the streets and alleys of Lisbon were relieved, cheering and shouting long live, praising their wise His Majesty the King.

The Dutch navy, who was attacking Lisbon and preparing to force Joao IV to sign the alliance under the city, also knew the news that the nest had been taken out, and they didn’t care.

^0^ Believe it or not, people are panicking at this time and have no intention to fight again.

The commander-in-chief of the Combined Netherlands Navy was Cromwell’s former comrade-in-arms and current enemy Thomas Fairfax.

Thomas Fairfax was thirteen years younger than Cromwell. Like Olaf, he was Cromwell’s long-term friend and friend, but Thomas was British and stood firmly in Cromwell during the English Civil War. Beside Will, he became the commander-in-chief of the New Model Army, and made great contributions to Cromwell becoming the British Protectorate.

However, in recent years, Cromwell acted arbitrarily and acted as a protector of the country, but it was the style of a dictatorial king. After repeatedly persuading Cromwell not to listen, Thomas angrily left the English Republic and came to the Netherlands last year. Became admiral and field marshal employed by the Interprovincial Republic of the Netherlands.

Thomas Fairfax was very grateful for William II, Prince of Orange, for his trust and kindness to him, so even after William II died of illness, Thomas did not leave the Netherlands, and he was still loyal as his trusted minister, maintaining the seven provinces. delicate relationship.

This time, when the coalition army was formed to use troops against Portugal, Thomas was the main war faction. He hoped to force Portugal to surrender through the war, and then the young master of the Netherlands could also establish authority and bring the five provinces that were pregnant with each other back to the Hague Joint Parliament.

After learning that Britain and Sweden sent troops to attack the Netherlands at the same time, and captured The Hague and Amsterdam, Thomas’ heart sank. He knew that Cromwell had always wanted to develop the navy and replace the role of the Netherlands in the age of navigation. Therefore, In recent years, after Robert Black took office as the commander of the naval fleet, he has been developing naval strength in accordance with Cromwell’s requirements~www.mtlnovel.com~ regards the Netherlands as an imaginary enemy.

Although it was confirmed that the news was true, Thomas pretended to be nonchalant and ordered to refute the rumors. However, it didn’t take long for several ships from the Dutch defense line to bring the news of the fall of The Hague.

As soon as the news came out, the Dutch fleet turned into a headless fly, and could no longer organize fronts and offensives.

Seeing that the fleet was chaotic, Thomas, even a world-famous general, did not dare to restrain everyone. He thought again and again, and had to order the fleet to withdraw from the Lisbon harbour and rushed to The Hague with all his strength, preparing to recover The Hague first, and then launch the defense battle to retake Amsterdam.

It’s a pity that although Thomas’s thoughts are good, the navy and generals of the Seven Provinces Combined Fleet of the Netherlands have their own thoughts.

They are not eager to save The Hague, but Amsterdam, as a big city with 90% of the wealth of the Netherlands, is absolutely not to be missed.

For both public and private purposes, the combined fleet could not allow the Swiss-British forces to break through Amsterdam and rob them of the most beloved and cherished wealth of the Dutch.

Dear, this chapter is over, I wish you a happy reading! ^0^