1668-72]

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

39

break up the coalition which was being formed against him. By his recent secret partition treaty with the Emperor Leopold, Louis was eventually to receive as his share the Low Countries and Franche Comté. Though his pride caused him to resent the necessity of yielding to the Triple Alliance, Louis in the end agreed to come to terms with England, Holland, and Sweden. On May 2, 1668, the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed. In this compact Louis strengthened his north-eastern frontier by the acquisition of certain fortresses in the Netherlands with their districts. Franche Comté, Cambray, St Omer, and Aire were given up by the King of France; but by the secret partition treaty with Leopold it had been arranged that on the King of Spain's death all these were to be incorporated in the French dominions.

In face of the growing hostility of Europe Louis showed wisdom in agreeing to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle and in adopting a waiting policy. Yet Europe was far from being united; Brandenburg and other German States were jealous of the Emperor; England and the United Provinces regarded each other with hostility; Sweden was ready to fall in with the highest bidder. Some twenty years had yet to pass before the chief European States, recognising the danger which threatened them from France, were found prepared to sink minor differences in a united effort to reduce the power of the aggressive French monarch. Louis XIV, however, bitterly resented the necessity which forced him to agree to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and from the moment of its signature seems to have resolved to gain his ends in the Spanish Netherlands by means of a direct attack upon the United Provinces. This decision ran counter to the policy to which the French monarchy had adhered since the days of Francis I. For it was distinctly opposed to the principle of pursuing Catholic interests at home and Protestant abroad, which had enabled France to secure allies against the Emperor among the German Protestant Princes. Louis, however, was bent on the reduction of the Spanish Netherlands; and the surest means to that end seemed to be found in the overthrow of the Dutch Republic. The magnitude of this blunder became more and more apparent, as the reign of Louis XIV proceeded. "In Holland," writes Mignet, "the old political system of France suffered shipwreck."

In order to achieve the end which Louis proposed to himself, the overthrow of the new combination which had led to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was necessary. The task was at once undertaken. "The years between 1668 and 1672," writes Camille Rousset, "were years of preparation; when Lionne was labouring with all his might to find allies, Colbert money, and Louvois soldiers for Louis." The

of breaking up the Triple Alliance itself, however, did not prove to be one of insuperable difficulty. For a short period after the formation of this Alliance western Europe remained in a condition of uneasy peace, while the obnoxious compact was being rapidly undermined.

40

Rise of the Turkish Power

[1656-72 The three partners in it were ill-assorted, and without any real ground of agreement. Sweden had little to fear from Louis. Her interest required constant watchfulness as towards Denmark and northern Germany. With Denmark Sweden was in an almost unending feud; while by her successes in the Thirty Years' War she had acquired possessions in northern Germany, which could not be regarded as definitively united to the Swedish monarchy. The rise of Brandenburg already threatened the stability of the arrangements made by the Treaty of Westphalia in the north-east of the Empire. Moreover, Sweden was a poor country, and her Government was ready to unite with any Power that offered regular subsidies, especially if combined with military assistance for the defence of Swedish Pomerania. From England and Holland no adequate help either in money or men could be looked for in the event of an attack upon Swedish Pomerania by any German Power. It was therefore not surprising that Sweden was easily detached from the Triple Alliance and made a treaty with Louis on May 6, 1672. Charles II of England had already by the Secret Treaty of Dover, signed on June 1, 1670, deserted the Triple Alliance and promised to join France in a war against the Dutch Republic.

The Triple Alliance was thus broken up, and, four years after its conclusion, Louis XIV was able to invade the United Provinces. Till 1688 constant attempts were made to form coalitions against France; but, owing to the policy of Charles II and James II of England, to the Franco-Swedish Alliance, to the necessity of defending Germany and Hungary against the Turks, to the divisions existing among the various German States and to their suspicions of the Emperor, no organised opposition was possible.

Unfortunately for the peace of the whole continent, the aggressions of Louis XIV in the west, which definitely began in 1672, coincided with the attempts of the Turks to dominate eastern Europe. In 1656 the appointment of Mohammad Kiuprili as Grand Vizier marked the beginning of the sudden revival of the Ottoman power, of which some account will be given in a later chapter. His successor, Ahmad Kiuprili, continued his policy of reform at home and aggressions abroad. With the help of Louis XIV, who sent a French force to his help, the Emperor Leopold defeated the Turks in the battle of St Gothard on August 1, 1664, and concluded the Truce of Vasvar on August 10. Vienna was saved; but the hold which the Turks had established over Hungary remained unshaken, and a compromise was arranged with regard to Transylvania. The outbreak of war between Turkey and Venice resulting in the capture of Crete (September, 1669) showed that the ambitious aggressive policy of the Ottoman power was as dangerous to the integrity and peace of eastern as that of Louis XIV was to that of western Europe. In 1669 the Polish Diet elected not the French candidate,

1669-77] Louis' preparations for war with Holland

41

the Count Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, but Michael Wisniowiecki, the national candidate, who was married to Eleonora Maria, the sister of the Emperor Leopold, and looked to him for support.

It was impossible to hope for a united resistance to the French King, so long as there was a possibility of a Turkish attack upon Vienna, an opportunity for which was afforded by the disturbed condition of Poland. In 1672 that country was invaded by Ahmad Kiuprili; but the Turks were defeated by John Sobieski both before and after he had, in 1674, succeeded the weak Michael on the Polish throne. In June, 1674, Louis XIV made a treaty with the new King, who, in consideration for French subsidies, promised to support the malcontents in Hungary against the Emperor. The war between Poland and Turkey was brought to an end by the Treaty of Zurawna, concluded under French media tion on October 27, 1676. But, though by this treaty Ahmad Kiuprili, who died three days after its conclusion, left his country in a position in eastern Europe not very unlike that occupied by France in western, his alliance with Poland was of little benefit to Louis XIV; and in 1683, when Vienna was besieged by the Turks, it was the King of Poland who bore away the glory of the rescue. While, however, John Sobieski was defending eastern Europe during the years 1674-7, the Emperor, even though aided by Spain, the Dutch, Brandenburg, and Denmark, proved unable to place any substantial check upon the ambitious policy of Louis XIV.

In 1670 Louis had been resolved to win eventually the Imperial Crown, to secure part of the Spanish possessions, and to conquer the United Provinces. On February 17 of that year he had concluded a treaty with Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria, whose daughter, Maria Anna, was to marry the Dauphin, providing that in the event of the Emperor's death every possible effort should be made to secure his own election to the Imperial throne. The Treaty of Dover of the same year, followed by the formal detachment of Sweden from the Triple Alliance (April 14, 1672), left the United Netherlands open to a French attack; while the secret partition treaty concluded with the Emperor in 1668, followed by a treaty of neutrality in 1671, left it in the power of Louis to renew his occupation of Franche Comté. Sweden had been gained by the payment of 400,000 crowns and the promise of an annual payment of 40,000 crowns. In return, Sweden undertook, in concert with Denmark, to close the Baltic to the Dutch fleet and to land a force in the north of Germany. Like the alliance with England, that with Sweden proved of great value to France during the ensuing war. On December 31, 1669, Louis had made a secret treaty with the Elector of Brandenburg, who, in return for subsidies, to which was afterwards added the promise of the province of Spanish Gelders, undertook to aid France in conquering the Spanish Netherlands, and to support the interests of France in all the affairs of the Empire. Behind the plan of

42

The European situation

[1671-2

conquering first the United Provinces and then the Spanish Netherlands lay, therefore, the design of securing for Louis a position of authority and power such as had been held by Charles the Great.

The Devolution War had thus not only disunited Europe, but had been followed by unexpected developments. In more or less intimate connexion with the rivalry of France and Spain, which, at the time of the death of Mazarin, was the most momentous fact in European politics, and remained such throughout Louis XIV's reign, arose other important questions. In 1668, Louis had, as has been seen, concluded with the Emperor a secret partition treaty, which was to come into force in the event of the death of Charles II of Spain. Would that treaty hinder the Emperor from opposing the schemes of Louis with regard to the United Netherlands, Flanders, the German lands on the Rhine, and Poland, or interfere with his intrigues in Hungary?

Though the League of the Rhine was no longer in existence, Louis had, as has been seen, entered into separate treaties with several of the German Powers, such as Bavaria and Brandenburg. Would they remain loyal to their alliance with France, should Louis adopt an aggressive attitude towards the Empire? By the Treaty of Dover England had been detached from the Triple Alliance. But would the English people consent to support the action of the French King, when once they realised the import of his ambitious schemes, and would they allow the national interests of England to be subordinated to the designs of Charles II for the maintenance of his personal power?

Thus, at the opening of the French war with the United Provinces in 1672, the European situation was extremely complicated. For a time each of the various States seemed to pursue its separate interests regardless of the welfare of Europe; and the diplomacy of the period was more than usually tangled. Yet the policy of Louis had never been clearer. For a successful attack on the Dutch it was necessary, after breaking up the Triple Alliance, to secure the alliance or neutrality of the Emperor and of as many Germán Princes as possible. The Treaty of Dover had placed at Louis' disposal the English fleet, which alone could render useless the Dutch navy; the treaty of April 14, 1672, had secured the invaluable help of a Swedish army in northern Germany. Treaties with Münster, Cologne, Hanover in July, and with Osnabrück in October, 1671, provided for the unhindered passage of French troops; and on December 18, 1671, the Emperor Leopold, fearing that Louis might stir up the Hungarians to rebellion, and encourage the German Princes to combine against him, promised neutrality so long as Louis abstained from attacking Spain or the Empire.

Alone among the chief German Princes, the Great Elector, whose strong Protestant feeling contributed to his decision, declined Louis' proposals, and in February, 1671, concluded a treaty with the Dutch Republic, to become effectual in April, 1672, by which he promised

1671-4]

The French invasion of Holland

43

armed assistance. Spain also, in December, 1671, signed a treaty with the States-General for mutual defence; and the Elector of Mainzy though he maintained friendly relations with France, also resolved to support the Dutch.

Early in 1672 a powerful French force was collected at Charleroi, and on May 5 it was joined by Louis XIV in person. The invasion of the United Provinces at once took place, while the forces of Luxemburg, Cologne, and Münster occupied Overyssel and besieged Groningen, which they failed to take. Meanwhile, the French overran the southern portion of the United Provinces; but on June 18 the dykes were cut, and the sluices opened in front of Amsterdam, which was thereby saved. Louis' failure to overrun Holland synchronised with the defeat of a French force which endeavoured to overcome Zeeland; moreover, on June 7 a combined Anglo-French fleet had been defeated by de Ruyter in the battle of Southwold Bay. On July 6 and 8, William of Orange was proclaimed Stadholder of Holland and Zeeland; on August 1, as will be narrated in a subsequent chapter, the French invasion came to an end, and Louis returned to St Germain, having conquered Gelders, Utrecht, and Overyssel; on August 20, John and Cornelius de Witt were murdered at the Hague.

These events created profound alarm in Europe, although for some years the attitude of the various European Powers with regard to the French aggressions was uncertain, and their opposition betrayed great lack of vigour. On June 23, 1672, the Emperor Leopold concluded an alliance with Frederick William of Brandenburg, and on October 27 another with the States-General. This coalition, sometimes called the Great Coalition of the Hague, did not prove very effective. Turenne's successes on the lower Rhine and the Weser, and his march upon the Elbe, forced Frederick William to make peace on June 6, 1673, and thus deprived the Dutch of their most valuable ally. A peace conference which met in June, 1673, at Cologne having proved a failure, the Emperor formed a second Coalition, which was joined in the autumn of 1673 by Spain and the Duke of Lorraine, and in 1674 by Denmark, the Elector Palatine, the Brunswick-Lüneburg Dukes, and on July 1 by the Great Elector. Further, the English Parliament forced Charles II to abandon his alliance with Louis, and to make peace with the Dutch, on February 19, 1674.

In June, 1672, the States-General had offered Louis Maestricht and its dependencies, a number of fortresses stretching from the Meuse to the mouth of the Scheldt, and six millions of livres. By the advice of Louvois, Louis had rejected this offer. At the beginning of 1674 the only Dutch towns in his possession were Maestricht and Grave. Nevertheless, in spite of his mistakes, and notwithstanding the number of his foes, Louis in 1674 won some brilliant successes. In June Franche Comté was conquered, on August 11 Condé checked William of Orange