Tussenland Upheavals: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Tussenland Upheavals
| place = [[Tussenland]], [[South Tussenland]], [[Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire]]
| image = Meerenland Battle Painting 1.png
| result = Formation of the semi-sovereign [[Federation of Tussenland]] </br> Disestablishment of the [[Royal Tussenland Company]] </br> [[Tussenland_Upheavals#Antilles_Accords|Antilles Accords]]
| date = March 1859 - July 1861 (2 years, 4 months, 23 days)
| caption = Painting of [[Emille Bedard]], notorious [[Meerenland|Meerenlander]] revolutionary and freedom fighter
| combatant1 = • [[Netherlands]] </br> • Governments of [[Meerenland]], [[Westerzee]], [[Daesemus]], and [[Mississippi]] </br> • High Commission of [[Irokesenland]] </br> • [[New Netherland]]
| combatant2 = • [[Irokesenland]] </br> • [[Meerenland]] rebels </br> • Suyderlings </br> • [[South Tussenland]] </br> • Catholic Archdiocese of [[Sault Ste. Marie]] </br> • [[Westerzee]] Asian rebels </br> • [[Mississippi]] rebels
| commander1 = [[Casimir van Boetsselaer]] </br> [[Evert van der Hulst]] </br> [[Piet van de Vegte]]
| commander2 = [[Emille Bedard]]
}}
'''The Tussenland Upheavals''' ([[Amerikaens]]: ''Tussenlandt Onllusten''; 1859-1861) was a series of violent revolts and diplomatic crises in the then-colony of [[Tussenland]] that led to radical political, social, and economic change in the provinces of Tussenland.
== Context ==▼
The several localised uprisings in 1859 were initially viewed by the [[Netherlands]] as unrelated, isolated conflicts. It was not until middle of 1860 that the Dutch States-General viewed the conflict as a serious issue. Francophone rebels of [[Meerenland]] province, allied with Irokees revolutionaries in the [[History of Tussenland#The Protectorate of Irokesenlandt (1816)|Irokesenland Protectorate]], signed the Instrument of Confederation on March 16, 1860. On the twenty-fourth of July 1861, the States-General of the Netherlands passed the Act of Parliament 1861, disestablishing the [[Royal Tussenland Company]].
=== Unrest in Meerenland ===▼
== Background ==
Corruption in Meerenland peaked during his rule. Activists petitioned the Dutch States-General to relieve Van Boetsselaer from his post in 1856 but this had fallen under deaf ears. In 1858, the weekly political publication ''Courrier de Mirélande'' publicized a letter penned by Van Boetsselaer to his cousin in South Holland that acknowledged his siphoning of tax revenue. Van Boetsselaer called the letters as poltiical smear tactic carried out by insurgents. ▼
{{Main|Meerenland}}
====
As early as the 1830s, the unique colony of [[Meerenland]] had calls for a more democratic and accountable administration. Having only come under the Dutch during [[History of Tussenland#Prince Maurice's War (1750-1755), and Acquisition of Meerenland|Prince Maurice's War]] eighty years ago, the province had a distinct identity and had felt that their will and culture were disrespected by the Netherlands' colonial regime.[[File:Casimir van Boetsselaer.jpg|alt=|thumb|215x215px|The Director of Meerenland, [[Casimir van Boetsselae|Casimir van Boetsselaer]].|left]][[Casimir van Boetsselaer]]'s appointment as Director of Meerenland in 1854 sparked outrage across the province. Van Boetsselaer was described as 'an out-of-touch and aloof statesman' with a 'cassandran attitude'. He was unable to speak basic French and had famously refused to learn the language or engage with Meerenlander culture. In 1855, he supported the controversial provincial Dutch Language Act ([[Amerikaens]]: ''Ackt op de tallen v'n de Mîrenlandt'', French: ''Loi imposant les langues hollandaises'') which designated Hollandic Dutch the only official language of government and recognized the [[Amerikaens]] variant of Dutch. This law was widely considered to be part of a state effort to suppress the French dialect of Meerenland.
▲
=== Unrest in Irokesenland ===▼
==== The Detroit incident ====
When van Boetsselaer refused to resign, a mob of French-speaking Meerenlanders stormed the Director's Palace in Detroit. Having been notified of violence hours earlier, van Boetsselaer had already fled to Saint-Alexis. Dutch troops from Fort Sevres fired upon the mob, killing several Meerenlanders. The resilient rioters finally forced the Dutch troops to retreat three hours later. Two days later, van Boetsselaer returned to Detroit and denounced violence on both sides. However, he refused to compensate the families of the murdered Meerenlanders and denounced them as traitors, their acts as an insult to the House of Orange.
{{Main|Irokesenland}}
Ever since Irokesenland had become a protectorate of the Netherlands in 1816, the Kingdom of the Netherlands had installed a High Commissioner as as an administrative overseer in the Protectorate. He had outranked . The High Commissioner was often at odds with the Irokees majority. Tensions grew in 1847 when the High Commissioner forcibly removed the governor of Irokesenland after he refused to sell land to the British colony of [[Virginia]].
During the [[2nd Dutch-Spanish War|Second Dutch-Spanish War]] of the early 1850s, many Irokees soldiers had fought for the Dutch and sustained thousands of deaths. After the Dutch lost in 1855, the Irokees demanded Dutch aid to rehabilitate their cities and communities. The Dutch, in light of their defeat and subsequent financial difficulties, contributed an insufficient amount. This failure to provide for the Protectorate convinced many Irokesenlanders that loyalty to the Dutch was unnecessary.
=== The Suyderling Revolt in Daesemus ===▼
In 1857, the Irokees had agitated for the creation of an independent state. Tensions came to a head when a nationalist mob rallied outside the residence of the High Commissioner. With only a few men to protect him, the commissioner fled Irokesenland. On September 14, 1858, the Governor declared Irokesenland independent of the [[Royal Tussenland Company]] and of the Netherlands.
== Subduing the revolts ==▼
===
{{Main|Daesemus}}
The Suyderlings, literally translated as ''Southerners'' in English, were a group of wealthy former slave plantation owners who fled [[South Tussenland]] during the [[Zoekerism|Zoekerist]] slave insurrection in the 1850s. Those who managed to avoid massacre sought refuge in the colonial capital of Daesemus, assured that the Netherlands would soon quell the slave insurrection and return them their plantations. However, the losses resulting from the [[2nd Dutch-Spanish War|Second Dutch-Spanish War]] forced the Dutch to recognise the independence of South Tussenland. Like the Irokees, the Suyderlings demanded reparations from the Dutch government. However, they were not able to receive adequate compensation either due to financial hardships.
The [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] had sent diplomatic delegations to Tussenland in 1858. However, by the March of 1859, it was clear that the rebels were unwilling to surrender or concede sovereignty. The Dutch turned to militarily subduing the revolts, despite the [[Royal Tussenland Company]]'s troops being in poor condition after war with the Spanish. In 1859, a naval division from the [[Netherlands]] itself arrived in Tussenland to quell the revolts.
==== The Antilles Accords ====
On March 10, 1859, the head of the Dutch mission [[Piet van de Vegte]] arrived in Elegasthaven, the capital of [[South Tussenland]]. De Vegte attempted to negotiate for the safe passage of the Dutch warships up the Mississipi River in order to reach Tussenland from the south. South Tussenland, who had recently won independence against the Dutch four years earlier, refused. Despite Admiral [[Evert van der Hulst]] threatening to conduct raids on South Tussenland's cities if passage was not permitted, the country directly refused, confident in their robust military and their strong alliance with [[Spain]].
Unable to secure passage through the Mississippi, the Dutch decide to ask New Netherland for permission to use a land route to reach Tussenland. The New Netherland government was hesitant to provide support after incurring major damages after supporting the Netherlands in war against Spain. Piet van de Vegte, to everyone's surprise, managed to secure military passage in return for ceding the islands of [[Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire]] to New Netherland without the consent of the Dutch States-General. This unconventional treaty became known as the Antilles Accords.
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