France as a World Power: Dynasties, Wars, and International Relations (1660-1715) - Prof. , Study notes of Cultural History of Europe

Download France as a World Power: Dynasties, Wars, and International Relations (1660-1715) - Prof. and more Study notes Cultural History of Europe in PDF only on Docsity! Lecture 4 France as a World Power (International Scene) 1660-1715  War was normal & shaped Western Europe  Dynasties impact war  Dynasties (princely families) determined international relations  “Genetic lottery” unpredictable  Ability of prince depended upon birth  Dynasties’ survival depended upon fertility  An absence of children led to succession disputes  Great powers involved in succession disputes Lesson of the 17th century:  States need to build powerful armies & centralized gov’ts to survive  Coalitions= temporary alliances between states lead to  Balance of Power= preventing one state from dominating Europe France most powerful Western European state  manpower  Victor over Spain to be strongest European power  Large & well trained French army  Thanks to absolutism, better able to tap resources War of Devolution, 1667-8  Louis XIV’s desire for Spanish Netherlands (Belgium)  Devolution: right of female inheritance in Belgium  Louis XIV’s wife, eldest daughter of King of Spain  Coalition Against France: Triple Alliance of Holland, England, Sweden  France checked, but gains part of Belgium; but, how do you hold anti-French coalition together? Dutch War, 1672-79  French anti-Dutch coalition: Sweden, England  Secret Treaty of Dover with Charles II of England adds English ally  William III of Orange, Dutch savior, creates new anti-French coalition  Stalemate, but French gain Franche Comté Uneasy Truce, 1679-88  Importance of defensible, linear frontiers  Vauban , Fr. military engineer & his fortresses  “Chambers of Reunion”--Special Fr. courts to annex territory on eastern frontier  French gain Alsace  Turkish invasion of Central Europe: Siege of Vienna, 1683, helps French interests Decline of Ottoman Empire  Until late Middle Ages: Middle East was at the forefront of civilization and achievement  Highly developed economy controlled trade from Mediterranean to Asia  Islamic cultural importance:  Turkish expansion in 16th & 17th century  Balkans & Hungary  Eastern Mediterranean Yet…  Ignored Western intellectual & technical challenge:  Renaissance  “New Science” of 16-17th centuries  Overextension of Ottoman Empire  Threat of Persia on eastern frontier Could not match Western military technology  Western canon and muskets  Superior Western ships gained supremacy in Arabian & Indian oceans  Small European powers seize lucrative Asian trade Ottoman defeat  Failure of Turkish Siege of Vienna, 1688  Austrians reconquest of Hungary  Turks forced to negotiate for first time with western states on basis of equal status Decision Year in European Balance of Power: 1688  Austrian victory in Hungary  English crisis: James II vs. William & Mary Nine Years’ War, 1689-1697  Another name: War of the League of Augsburg  French preventive war against Austria.  Stalemate after much cost/bloodshed  Aging & realistic French king accepts limits to French power Spanish Succession Problem  Carlos II, last Habsburg king:  Heirs? Philip V (Louis XIV’s grandson) or Archduke Charles of Austria (Habsburg)  Carlos II’s will: offer empire in entirety to France & if not accepted to Austria