What if France had (really) won the War of Devolution?
What would be the consequences of a lack of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle?
What would be the consequences of a lack of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle?
French Belgium? Wouldn't that help during industrialization?
And what if Spain attacks France from the south and France wins land there too? What about French Navarre and Catalonia?
France at this time was pursuing natural borders. I doubt they would want land on the other side of the Pyrenees.
If the Spanish really failed and the French didn't back down for the Triple Alliance that would mean the Dutch would almost certainly intervene, they had no desire for France to be on their borders and preferred a weak Spanish Netherlands there, in addition to Spain and the HRE (and possibly England) set up against France I could see a large scale European war coming.
Yeah, indeed. But the next question naturally is: what would that war look like...?
Sweden would fight German allies of France securing the Dutch eastern flank. After signing the peace with Portugal Spain would have it's hands free to engage the French in the South or (protected by the English and Dutch fleets) to send a significant field army to Flanders to support the Dutch and possibly English armies. In the meanwhile the French colonies are at being split by the Anglo-Dutch.
Very interesting but I think everyone seems to forget something about a certain member of the Triple Alliance: England or more specifically Charles II. OTL Charles II would abandon the triple Alliance for France within two years. Whats to stop Louis XIV from offering a partition of Netherlands (and possible territory in the Spanish Netherlands) a few years earlier? I mean the Stuart Dynasty seemed to be very pro-French so it seems more likely that England would either stay neutral or join in an Anglo-French Alliance(unless there is a specific French territory that England desperately wanted).
Thanks. By the way, are you Dutch too?
Very interesting but I think everyone seems to forget something about a certain member of the Triple Alliance: England or more specifically Charles II. OTL Charles II would abandon the triple Alliance for France within two years. Whats to stop Louis XIV from offering a partition of Netherlands (and possible territory in the Spanish Netherlands) a few years earlier? I mean the Stuart Dynasty seemed to be very pro-French so it seems more likely that England would either stay neutral or join in an Anglo-French Alliance(unless there is a specific French territory that England desperately wanted).
Yup! Amsterdam born, raised and living.
I highly doubt that England is going to side with France after the drubbing they got in the Second Anglo-Dutch War which was only concluded on such favourable terms (for the English) because of the War of Devolution. The English fleet was crushed so in the case of a Anglo-French alliance the Dutch-Spanish fleet could probably get the better of their opponents.
Charles II eventually abandoned the Protestant alliance though, much to the chagrin of Parliament.
He did side with France during the Franco-Dutch war in 1672 with plans to make Holland into an English protectorate. England didn't really engage in this war though, and Parliament forced him to abandon his plans.
In 1672 the French fleet preformed pretty well against the Dutch, and Louis XIV was at this point even giving Charles II 225,000 pounds a year which he could've used to build a fleet, but chose to squander it on luxuries. If he uses the money wisely (Parliament isn't going to vote funds for the Royal Navy to fight the Dutch), the war could go differently, although the money he's receiving is rather paltry and he may need Parliament eventually. England and France would need a quick victory which I'm not sure is possible.
I wouldn't call the seabattles off the coast of Holland (in which Michiel de Ruyter showed he was one of the best admirals ever) skrimishes.
The French fleet didn't preform very well in the battles of 1672 actually though that might be because Louis preffered the English risking their ships above him damaging any. The thing is that in 1668 there wasn't much of a English navy.
Out of curiosity, who called them skirmishes?
England didn't really engage in this war though,
Really? They destroyed a Dutch fleet in the Mediterranean and De Ruyter was killed in battle as well, although it was in an inconclusive battle. The French navy wasn't in the great shape it'd be in at the end of the century, but I'd say they performed well enough against the Dutch who were really the premier naval power at this time.
"The Messrs. have not to ask, but simply to command me. And even if I would be commanded to fly our country's flag on one single ship, I'd sail it to see and as the Estates entrust me with their flag, I'd risk my life.