Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908

Dutch–Venezuelan crisis
The Dutch warship Jacob van Heemskerck
Date 26 November 1908 - 23 December 1908 [1] Location Venezuela Result Dutch victory, overthrow of Cipriano Castro
Belligerents
Venezuela	Netherlands
Commanders and leaders
Cipriano Castro
Strength
	1 pantserschip (coastal defence ship) 2 protected cruisers

In 1908 a dispute broke out between the Netherlands and Venezuela when the Venezuelan president, Cipriano Castro, cut off trade with the Dutch island of Curaçao on the grounds that it was harbouring political refugees from Venezuela.

Venezuela expelled the Dutch ambassador, prompting a Dutch dispatch of three warships - a pantserschip (coastal defence ship), the Jacob van Heemskerk, and two protected cruisers, the Gelderland and the Friesland. The Dutch warships had orders to intercept every ship that was sailing under the Venezuelan flag. On 12 December, the Gelderland captured the Venezuelan coast guard ship Alix off Puerto Cabello.^[2] She and another ship the 23 de Mayo were interned in harbor of Willemstad. With their overwhelming naval superiority, the Dutch enforced a blockade on Venezuela's ports. A few days later, General Castro left for Berlin, nominally for a surgical operation. In his absence, an uprising in Caracas overthrew his regime. This effectively ended the war with the Netherlands.

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