Friday, July 10, 2020

Western History 109: How did Louis XIV's territorial ambition manifest itself?


Louis XIV made no secret of his territorial ambitions. A total of four wars defined his reign ie. The War of the Devolution (1667-1668), the Dutch War (1672-1678), the War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).  I will discuss the first three wars here and deal with the War of the Spanish Succession tomorrow.

In the War of the Devolution, Louis made use of a lesser known law, the Jus Devolutionis, as a pretext for occupying the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-ComtĂ©. He claimed a right to this Spanish controlled territory as a result of his marriage to Maria Theresa of  Spain. The French did not encounter much resistance here  initially but their plans were although the Spanish claims were curtailed by a Dutch, English and Sweden alliance forcing Louis to return territory France did pick up several cities and towns in the exchange including Lille, Tournai and Charleroi.

The Queen's Black baby: fact or fiction? | Sandra Gulland

Mare Theresa wife of Louis XIV source: sandragulland.com

The Dutch Wars (also known as the Franco-Dutch wars) broke out in 1672. Louis’s France allied themselves with Sweden and England (until 1678) as well as some of the smaller German principalities and attacked the Dutch Republic. The Dutch relied on the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and Brandenburg for support. Although a great deal of the fighting took place in the Low countries there was conflict in France, Sicily, the West Indies and North America as well.  Losses over the six year period (ending in 1678) were high – 120,000 for the French alliance and 100,000 for the Dutch and their Allies. At one point (earlier 1672)  the Dutch resorted to the flooding of their countryside to halt the French invasion. The Dutch navy fought very well staving off attacks from both France and England. Eventually the French were driven out of the Dutch Republic as fighting shifted to the Spanish Netherlands (modern day Belgium). A war of attrition persisted with the French refusing to cede ground. Fearful of the English flipping sides Louis decided to eventually settle for peace. The Treaty of Nijmegen was signed in 1678-79. Spain gained the territory of the Spanish Netherlands but was forced to restore Charleroi to Spain. There were several other regional shifts in territory. The Franco-Dutch War was Louis’ s most successful campaign from a territorial perspective.

Louis XIV's Dutch War (1672-1678/79) | International History

Louis XIV's Dutch War source: internationalhistory.wordpress.com

The War of the League of Augsburg was also known as the Nine Years War. Others call it the War of the Grand Alliance. In North America the war is known as King William’s War. France largely stood alone between the years 1688-1697 against an alliance that included the Dutch Republic, England, the Holy Roman and Spanish Empires, Portugal and Sweden. In North America English and French settlers battled one another with support from their native allies. Like previous wars the Austrian Netherlands served as a battleground in Europe but so did the Rhineland, Catalonia and the territory of the Duchy of Savoy. In 1697 the Treaty of Ryswick ended the war. France kept control of Alsace, the Indian region of Pondichery and Acadia in North America.. However they lost Freiburg, Breisach, Phillipsburg to the Holy Roman Empire and the Duchy of Lorraine to the Habsburgs.

Map of the Nine years war source: weaponsandwarfare.com

The Nine Years' War, 1688-97 Part I | Weapons and Warfare

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