War of the Grand Alliance
The War of the Grand Alliance, fought from 1688 to 1697, was a significant conflict primarily involving France against a coalition known as the Grand Alliance, which included countries like England, the Netherlands, and various German states. This war was largely spurred by French King Louis XIV's ambitions for territorial expansion, particularly threatening the stability of the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands. The conflict began when France attacked the Palatinate in the Holy Roman Empire and soon escalated with France declaring war on the Netherlands.
Key events included William of Orange’s successful invasion of England, leading to his ascension as William III, and significant battles such as the naval clash at Beachy Head and subsequent Allied victories at La Hogue and Barfleur. The war also saw military action beyond Europe, with English and French forces clashing in North America and other regions. A series of French victories were countered by defeats, leading to a stalemate by the mid-1690s. Ultimately, the Treaty of Ryswick concluded the war, allowing France to retain certain territories while ending hostilities. Despite this, the war's resolution did not eliminate underlying tensions, setting the stage for future conflicts like the Great Northern War and the War of the Spanish Succession.
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War of the Grand Alliance
At issue: French hegemony in Europe, supremacy in the British Isles, colonial rivalries
Date: September 25, 1688-October 20, 1697
Location: Western Europe, the British Isles, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, India
Combatants: English, Dutch, Savoy, League of Augsburg, Spanish, and Swedes vs. French
Principal commanders:Dutch, English, William of Orange (William III) (1650–1702); French, Louis XIV (1638–1715); Habsburg, Leopold I (1640–1705)
Principal battles: Killiecrankie, Fleurus, Boyne, Beachy Head, Mons, La Hogue and Barfleur, Steenkerke, Neerwinden, Marsaglia, Namur
Result: William of Orange gained control of the British Isles and prevented French conquest of the Netherlands; however, unresolved issues led to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714)
Background
French king Louis XIV had pursued a policy of territorial expansion aimed at the Netherlands and German states within the Holy Roman Empire, which provoked the formation of the League of Augsburg (German states) and the Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, Sweden, Spain, Savoy, the Netherlands, and England.
Emperor Leopold I sought to prevent French intrusion into the Holy Roman Empire, protect his rights to Spanish territory, and preserve the territorial provisions of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and Treaty of Nijmegen (1678). William of Orange, leader of the Netherlands, sought to protect the Dutch from French aggression and to gain the English throne.
Action
The war began when France attacked the palatinate of the Holy Roman Empire in September, 1688. In November, France declared war on the Netherlands, which became the site for numerous battles. William of Orange successfully invaded England in November, 1688, and became William III. In May, 1689, he declared war on Louis XIV, who supported the deposed James II’s attempt to regain the throne. The Jacobite victory at Killiecrankie in 1689 in Scotland failed to restore James II, and James II’s loss at the Boyne in July, 1690, brought Ireland under William III’s control.
French failure to follow up their naval victory over the Anglo-Dutch fleet at Beachy Head (1690) in the English Channel allowed the allies to regain the advantage with their victory over the French at La Hogue and Barfleur in 1692. Another important naval feature of the war was the establishment of an English naval presence in the Mediterranean, which would be significant in the subsequent War of the Spanish Succession.
The French invasion of Savoy and victory at Marsaglia (1693) forced the duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, to leave the Grand Alliance, enabling French troops to focus on besieging Barcelona, which surrendered in August, 1697. This major blow forced Leopold I to seek peace.
In the Netherlands, the French won a series of victories at Fleurus in 1690, Mons in 1691, Steenkerke in 1692, and Neerwinden in 1693, but the French defeat in 1695 at Namur produced a stalemate that helped convince the main participants to pursue peace negotiations.
In action outside Europe, the English were unsuccessful in their attempts to take French Caribbean territory. In North America, both the French and English aided by Native American allies attacked each other’s settlements. The Dutch captured Pondicherry in India in 1693. The French regained Goree and the River Senegal in Africa.
Aftermath
The Treaty of Ryswick (September-October, 1697) ended the conflict and provided for the French evacuation of Catalonia and French retention of Alsace and Spanish forts seized in the war, although France yielded territory east of the Moselle River. Louis XIV recognized William III as king of England. The Dutch gained commercial concessions from France. England and France returned conquests in North America.
The increase in troops under arms and the global scale of military actions raised the level of expenditures. Although William III and Leopold I emerged as major powers, the war did not resolve major tensions, and the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and the War of the Spanish Succession occurred within a few years.
Bibliography
Black, Jeremy. European Warfare, 1660–1815. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1994.
Chandler, David. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1976.
Childs, John. The Nine Years’ War and the British Army, 1688–1697. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1991.