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The Anglo-French Alliance is the name for the alliance between Great Britain and France between 1716 and 1731. It formed part of the stately quadrille in which the Great Powers of Europe repeatedly switched partners to try to build a superior alliance.
Following the end of the War of the Spanish Succession by the Peace of Utrecht (1713–15), British and French interests converged as they wished to stop the expansion of Spanish and Russian power. Although British Whig politicians had attacked the Peace of Utrecht under the slogan "No Peace Without Spain", given that it seemingly placed Spain under French control, they soon developed close relations with Paris, having returned to power following the Hanoverian succession. France faced an uncertain succession, as its new king Louis XV was a child and the Regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans was his heir by the terms of the Peace of Utrecht. Britain was wary of alienating the much larger France. Negotiations led to the creation of an alliance between the two in late 1716.
On 4 January 1717, it became the Triple Alliance when the Dutch Republic joined Britain and France against the looming threat of a resurgent Spain. That threat proved real when Spain recaptured Sardinia from Habsburg Austria with little opposition in August–October 1717, which was then followed by a Spanish landing in Sicily in July 1718. The three states were joined by Austria on 2 August 1718, thus forming the Quadruple Alliance. These four states co-operated during the War of the Quadruple Alliance to stop these Spanish attempts to re-conquer parts of Italy.
The birth of the Dauphin Louis in 1729 began to dissolve the French interest in the alliance, as their future was increasingly secure. In Britain a group of Austrophiles suggested that Austria would make a better potential partner for Britain. The actions of the French Chief Minister Cardinal Fleury were increasingly hostile towards Britain. The French failure to support the British during the Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729) convinced many that they were no longer a reliable ally but were instead returning to the traditional position of a rival. The end of the alliance was never formally declared, but by early 1731, it was widely considered to be over.
In 1731, Britain, sensing the direction Cardinal Fleury was taking France, concluded an alliance with Austria. By 1742, Britain and France were on opposite sides during the War of the Austrian Succession and their colonial rivalry in North America continued. Some have suggested that between 1688 and 1815 Britain and France were 'natural enemies', and the period has become known as the Second Hundred Years' War, but their period spent as allies has been used to challenge the notion that the two states were implacable enemies.
Giulio Alberoni was an Italian cardinal and statesman in the service of Philip V of Spain.
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests. France and Spain, the two Bourbon powers, attempted to test the power of the Austrian Habsburgs in Western Europe, as did the Kingdom of Prussia, whilst Saxony and Russia mobilized to support the eventual victor. The fighting in Poland resulted in the accession of Augustus III, who in addition to Russia and Saxony, was politically supported by the Habsburgs.
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of Spain, and involved much of Europe for over a decade. The main action saw France as the defender of Spain against a multinational coalition. The war was very expensive and bloody and finally stalemated. Essentially, the treaties allowed Philip V to keep the Spanish throne in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe.
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, was an English Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope was a British soldier, diplomat and statesman who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is also the last Chancellor of the Exchequer to sit in the House of Lords.
André-Hercule de Fleury, Bishop of Fréjus was a French cardinal who served as the chief minister of Louis XV.
The Triple Alliance was a defence pact signed on 4 January 1717 in The Hague between the Dutch Republic, France and Great Britain, against Bourbon Spain in an attempt to maintain the agreements of the 1713–15 Peace of Utrecht. The three states were concerned about Spain becoming a superpower in Europe. As a result, militarisation took place and caused great havoc to civilians. That enraged Spain and other states and led to brinkmanship. The alliance became the Quadruple Alliance the next year, after the accession of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.
The War of the Quadruple Alliance was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Largely focused on Sicily, it included minor engagements in North America and Northern Europe as well as the Spanish-backed Jacobite rising of 1719 in Scotland.
The Treaty of Seville was signed on 9 November 1729 between Britain, France, and Spain, formally ending the 1727–1729 Anglo-Spanish War; the Dutch Republic joined the Treaty on 29 November.
The Pacte de Famille is one of three separate, but similar alliances between the Bourbon kings of France and Spain. As part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession that brought the House of Bourbon of France to the throne of Spain, Spain and France made a series of agreements that did not unite the two thrones, but did lead to cooperation on a defined basis.
The Peace of Vienna was a series of four treaties signed between 30 April 1725 and 5 November 1725 by the Habsburg monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire, and Bourbon Spain; the Russian Empire later joined the newly-found alliance in 1726. The signing of this treaty marks the founding of the Austro-Spanish Alliance and led the Fourth Anglo-Spanish War (1727-1729). This new alliance thereby removed Austria from the Quadruple Alliance. In addition to a formation of the new partnership, the Habsburgs relinquished all formal claims to the Spanish throne, while the Spanish removed their claims in the Southern Netherlands, and a number of other territories.
The 1731 Treaty of Vienna was signed on 16 March 1731 between Great Britain and Emperor Charles VI on behalf of the Habsburg monarchy, with the Dutch Republic included as a party.
The 1720 Treaty of The Hague was signed on 17 February 1720 between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance, established by the 1718 Treaty of London. Its members included Britain, France, the Dutch Republic and Austria.
The Battle of Milazzo was fought on 15 October 1718 near the city of Milazzo in Sicily, Italy between Spain and Austria as part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
The Anglo-Austrian Alliance connected the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Habsburg monarchy during the first half of the 18th century. It was largely the work of the British Whig statesman Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who considered an alliance with Austria crucial to prevent the further expansion of French power.
The stately quadrille is the name given to set of constantly shifting alliances between the great powers of Europe during the 18th century. The ultimate objective was to maintain the balance of power in Europe to stop any one alliance or country becoming too strong. It takes its name from the quadrille, a dance in which the participants constantly swap partners.
The Kingdom of Sicily was ruled by the House of Savoy from 1713 until 1720, although they lost control of it in 1718 and did not relinquish their title to it until 1723. The only king of Sicily from the House of Savoy was Victor Amadeus II. Throughout this period Sicily remained a distinct realm in personal union with the other Savoyard states, but ultimately it secured for the House of Savoy a royal title and a future of expansion in Italy rather than in France. During this period, the Savoyard monarch used his new title to affirm his sovereign independence.
The Spanish conquest of Sardinia, also known as the Spanish expedition to Sardinia, took place between 22 August 1717 and 30 October 1717. It was the first military action between the Kingdom of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire after the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), and was the direct cause of the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720). The Spanish troops commanded by the Marquis of Lede and Don José Carrillo de Albornoz, 1st Duke of Montemar, supported by the Spanish fleet, defeated the Emperor's troops easily, and conquered the entire island of Sardinia, which had been ruled by the Emperor since the Treaty of Rastatt (1714), returning it again and for the final time to Spain.
No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty could be agreed with Britain's principal enemy Louis XIV of France that allowed Philip, the French candidate, to retain the Spanish crown. The term became a rallying cry for opposition to the Tory government of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht.
The siege of San Sebastián took place in 1719 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance when French forces under the Duke of Berwick successfully laid siege to the Spanish city of Siege of San Sebastián close to the French border. Combined with the British Attack on Vigo, this led the Spanish to seek peace terms and the war ended with the agreement of the Treaty of The Hague in 1720.