AHC: Delay the Nine Years' War

With a POD no later than 1685, would it be possible to delay the outbreak of the Nine Years' War, also known as the War of the League of Augsburg? I am skeptical such a conflict could be avoided entirely (a war between France and every other European power bent on containing France), but I am unsure whether or not it could be delayed until as late as 1691 or so.

Full disclosure: I am mainly interested in this question for my TL, The Protestant Duke Goes East 2.0. (shameless plug)
 
See this thread:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=204717
for a related discussion concerning New France. (another shameless plug)

In that thread I proposed a wiser humbler Louis XIV chasing the Huguenots out of France proper rather than out of all French domains and postponing any agressive moves until his finances are in better shape. If he refrains from issuing his ultimatum to William of Orange and acquiesces in the Glorious Revolution the proximate cause of the war will be avoided and the contest may be postponed to a later date.
 
See this thread:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=204717
for a related discussion concerning New France. (another shameless plug)

In that thread I proposed a wiser humbler Louis XIV chasing the Huguenots out of France proper rather than out of all French domains and postponing any agressive moves until his finances are in better shape. If he refrains from issuing his ultimatum to William of Orange and acquiesces in the Glorious Revolution the proximate cause of the war will be avoided and the contest may be postponed to a later date.

But wouldn't 1685 be too late for any change of heart on the part of Louis VIX? He had been steadily escalating his persecution of the Huguenots for years, and formally repealed the Edict of Nantes that year. Maybe if his Jesuit-influenced mistress dropped dead, and her position was rapidly filled by a more open minded women?

I am interested in the financial angle. I know French finances were a disaster in the War of Spanish Succession. Who would have to gain (or lose) influence with the Sun King for him to pay attention to such base and uninteresting feature of governing like Finance? I know Colbert was dead by '83, could a more assertive successor have swayed the King?
 
I hardly see a way Louis could have acquiesced to such a thing as England switching from something resembling friendship to outright enmity. Actually, the war started from other matters, dynastic stuff in the Empire IIRC. Louis could be convinced to keep quiet there and focus on a war on England and the Netherlands. Not that France could really win this,(England and the Netherlands together had far stronger navies) but it could be a way to delay the outbreak in continental Europe, that can be a fairly good bonus for France.
 
I hardly see a way Louis could have acquiesced to such a thing as England switching from something resembling friendship to outright enmity. Actually, the war started from other matters, dynastic stuff in the Empire IIRC. Louis could be convinced to keep quiet there and focus on a war on England and the Netherlands. Not that France could really win this,(England and the Netherlands together had far stronger navies) but it could be a way to delay the outbreak in continental Europe, that can be a fairly good bonus for France.

IOTL the proximate cause of the war was Louis XIV's ultimatum to William of Orange stating that he would regard an invasion of England by William as a casus belli. Louis actually did very well in that war, gaining Franche-Comte and other territories, but the end result was to unite the Empire, England, and the Dutch against him with ultimately disastrous results.

Given that there were other factors which would have eventually resulted in conflict the war is inevitable; but the longer Louis puts it off the better shape France will be in when it comes. He may not like the idea of a Protestant William replacing a Catholic James on the English throne but that doesn't automatically mean England will be hostile nor that he has to go to war over it.

And my wiser humbler Louis does pay attention to finances; wars are fought with livres as well as bullets and he fully understands that.
 
I hardly see a way Louis could have acquiesced to such a thing as England switching from something resembling friendship to outright enmity. Actually, the war started from other matters, dynastic stuff in the Empire IIRC. Louis could be convinced to keep quiet there and focus on a war on England and the Netherlands. Not that France could really win this,(England and the Netherlands together had far stronger navies) but it could be a way to delay the outbreak in continental Europe, that can be a fairly good bonus for France.

I think you are right. The Glorious Revolution was not the immediate cause of the war, the French invasion of Luxembourg/The Rhineland to support their demand that a Pro-French candidate succeed as Archbishop of Cologne. In fact, were in not for that invasion, William of Orange might not have dared invade England, since it would have left his country defenseless against an unengaged French Army.

Do you think that Maximilian Henry staying alive for a few more years would delay the war? It would remove the immediate cause of the war, though it would not relieve the anxieties of the French about the tenability of their position, and every other power's fears of French hegemony.
 
IOTL the proximate cause of the war was Louis XIV's ultimatum to William of Orange stating that he would regard an invasion of England by William as a casus belli. Louis actually did very well in that war, gaining Franche-Comte and other territories, but the end result was to unite the Empire, England, and the Dutch against him with ultimately disastrous results.

Given that there were other factors which would have eventually resulted in conflict the war is inevitable; but the longer Louis puts it off the better shape France will be in when it comes. He may not like the idea of a Protestant William replacing a Catholic James on the English throne but that doesn't automatically mean England will be hostile nor that he has to go to war over it.

And my wiser humbler Louis does pay attention to finances; wars are fought with livres as well as bullets and he fully understands that.

I don't think there is any way that Louis XIV will but stand around and watch his only ally in Europe overthrown. If William invades England, there is no way that Louis XIV will not aid James II, the only question is to what degree.

I think the real question is if William of Orange forgoing his invasion of England would be enough to delay the war. The more I read up on it, the more it seems that the succession to the Cologne Archbishopric was what started the war.

That is not to say that France would not have benefited from biding its time for a few years. But France of 1690 or 1692 is still going to be poorer and less economically dynamic than France of 1678-80. The dislocation caused by expelling the Hugonets is not going to disappear over night. France's enemies (aside from Spain) will also be getting stronger over time as well, especially Austria, so waiting might be a wash.
 
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