Trade, Ships, and the Neutrality of the Netherlands in the First World War

From Balkan Conflict to Global Conflict: The Spread of the First World War, 1914-19181

“…March and April 1918, were months of crisis when the Allies confiscated the Dutch merchant vessels in their harbours and the Germans retaliated by insisting on the right to send trains through Holland carrying sand and gravel for the Western Front. As living standards fell working‐class unrest reached dangerous proportions by 1918 (Stevenson 2008; cf Frey 1997). Similarly, Norway was obliged in 1917 to reach a secret agreement whereby its merchant navy became available to the Allies in return for essential commodities such as coal; and some 2,000 Norwegian seamen died as a result of U‐Boat attacks.…”

The Commission for Relief in Belgium and the Political Diplomatic History of the First World War

“…These measures essentially made the Netherlands part of the blockade against Germany. 71 Famine was a real danger. In the meantime, the British wanted to adhere to the agreement made in 1916 for supplies to be delivered from the Netherlands, a proportion of which were intended for Belgium.…”