Dutch-Mexican War
| Dutch-Mexican War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clockwise from top: Mexican cruiser Tijuana under fire by Dutch marines, Mexican cavalry at Amerillo, Dutch cruiser Nachtwacht and gunboat TB-19 in the gulf of Mexico, Dutch dead after a battle, Dutch infantry crossing the a River | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of the Netherlands  Tussenland  New Netherland |
 Mexico | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Zachary Taylor |
Mariano Arista | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5 | 4,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
33 killed 89 wounded |
154 killed 205 wounded 156 missing | ||||||
The Dutch-Mexican War (Dutch: De Mexicaense oorlog; Spanish: Guerra mexicana holandesa) was fought between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Mexican Empire lasting from 1901 - 1903 over rival ambitions in the Boer republics. The major theatres of military operations were the pacific ocean, the Caribbean, Blackhills republic, the Atlantic ocean, the great midwest region of America, and what would become the AFS.
In the 1890s issues arose when the Dutch condemned Mexican activities in the Boer republics. Initially it was hoped that this would be enough for Mexico to declare war. The Mexicans however ignored the ultimatum and thus forced the Dutch to move to more upfront methods of provocation. 1 month later the first Dutch soldiers marched into the Black hills republic, an area that was nominally Mexican territory, to protect the Amerikaener settlers. Mexico as suspected was outraged by this blatant violation of its territory, yet the Netherlands to avoid conflict offered to buy all the contested land, both former and claimed land. The Mexicans ignored the offer to purchase land and issued an ultimatum to leave Mexican territory, which was ignored. Mexico did not respond until a year later when on the 3rd of February 1901 the Mexican mission to the Hague issued the Mexican declaration of war on the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
While Mexico declared war the Netherlands was the first to strike, having anticipated this move by Mexico it had moved its assets into the region ready to strike. the war did not go well for the Mexicans, for their young and inexperienced navy was no match for the Dutch navy, one that just came out of decades of modernisation and was eager for revenge, with the admirals in command having fought in the war of Dutch humiliation. Despite the overwhelming success on the seas, the war was slow and drudging for the Dutch on land, as it had proven difficult for them to penetrate the Mexican defenses. Eventually, the tides turned on land in favor of the Dutch when they won the siege of Santa Maria in the spring of 1901. This combined with a series of naval victories in large battles in the gulf and the capture of Matamoros and Tampico, in late 1901 and early 1902 promoted a change in the tides of war. With the capture of Matamoros & Tampico, the Dutch had a foothold on the two coasts, combined with their naval dominance this allowed them to create a hindrance an area where Mexican ships both military and civilian simply could no longer go and thus limiting their warfighting capabilities. All of this as well as victories on land, the economic impact of the war on Mexican trade due to commerce raiding forced them to the negotiating table. On June 4th, 1903 a peace was signed between Williamsburg in neutral Virginia in favor of the Dutch.
The defeat in the war led to a series of revolutions in Mexico, while for the Netherlands it was almost reinvigorating. They had regained their prestige and lands and had made economic concessions which proved fruitful. Not all was well tho as soon the Tussenland rebels declared their independence and with conflicts in Asia rising up, in Africa and in the colonies the Netherlands was simply not in a state to properly react. Despite the eventual loss of Tussenlandt many Dutch historians still argue that the war was a turning point for the Dutch. It showed them that once again they were power to be taken seriously and were also treated as such, it proved an important moment in the dutch political and cultural history and too many, it laid the foundations of the future behavior of the Netherlands on the international stage.
Prelude
Course of the war
