The Partition of the Dutch Empire

[Galveston Bay]

Throughout the last year, the British Government has been in steady negotiations and some forceful action involving the crisis in the Netherlands

Negotiations with Prussia result in Great Britain recognizing that the Prince of Orange will be the ruler of the Netherlands.   The British Government, and to a lesser extent the British East India Company secured the Dutch Empire during the last few months of the year.  

As a result, with the fall of the Republican government and its flight, the British secure and keep the Dutch Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, the Cape Colony in southern Africa, the Dutch Colony of Ceylon is passed to the British East India Company, as are trading rights to Borneo and Sumatra, as well as right to send observers aboard Dutch East India Company ships trading with Japan.   (who pretend to be Dutch minor functionaries and observe only for now).    

The Prince of Orange and the Netherlands see the return of 8 frigates that fled to England (once crews are sent to sail them home), but the British keep the battleships that fled.  The garrison in Java and its naval forces remain under the Dutch East India Company control as well.  

The British Government, in order to avoid conflict, transfer the Dutch ABC Islands in the Caribbean, as well as Surinam to the Spanish Crown, and as part of a general agreement on Australia, the Dutch give up rights to that continent to the British Crown, which transfer rights to the French to allow settlement on the western coast and northwestern coast of Australia.    

To partially offset the massive and devastating financial blow to the Netherlands, the British government will provide 10 points in 1788, arrange transportation for those Dutch citizens (and limited amounts of property) to other parts of the Dutch or British Empires, and allow the Dutch people in the Dutch Virgin Islands and Cape Colony self government similar to that allowed for the French settlers in Quebec while retaining control of their foreign policy. The British East India Company transfers the trading post at Walvis Bay to the Dutch East India Company as well.

Thus a portion of the Dutch Empire, including its holdings in West Africa, Java and the Spice Islands survives, and they retain trade rights to Japan (although losing the income they previously received from Oman)>

The British Government hopes that war is averted... time will tell what the effect of de facto foreign rule by Prussia in the Netherlands and unrest in the Austrian Netherlands has however.