France-Habsburg rivalry
Encyclopedia
The term France–Habsburg rivalry ( ; ) describes the rivalry between the House of Habsburg
, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire
as well as Spain
, and the kingdom of France
, lasting from 1516 until 1756.
Since the late Middle Ages the Austrian Habsburgs sought peaceful coalitions by marriage, described by their motto: Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! - Wars may be led by others - you, happy Austria, marry! Following this tradition Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I
married Mary
, the last Valois duchess of Burgundy
in 1477. 19 years later their son Philip the Handsome married Joanna of Castile
, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon
and Queen Isabella I of Castile
. Joanna (also known as Juanna the Mad) was sister to Katherine (of Aragon), the first wife of Henry VIII of England. Following the death of her brother and two sisters, Joanna became heiress to the Spanish throne. Joanna and Philip's son, (Maximilian's grandson) Charles
united all these possessions, when he became King of Spain (as Charles I) in 1516 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 (as Charles V). He ruled over a vast Empire on which the sun never sets
. Now France had the Habsburgs on three sides as its neighbor, with Spain
to the south, the County of Flanders
to the north and the Franche-Comté
to the east.
Even though the realm of Charles V was divided between the German and the Spanish branches of his dynasty in 1555, most of the territories of the Burgundian Inheritance, including Flanders, stayed with the Spanish crown. France regarded the encirclement by the Habsburg powers as a permanent threat and led several wars during the next 200 years, to prevent a Spanish-Habsburg pre-eminence in Europe. Among this conflicts the Thirty Years' War
was the most significant one, devastating large parts of Germany
, and shaping a new political map of Europe.
After 1648 France became predominant in central Europe. Following the peace treaty of Munster
in 1648 and, more particularly, the Treaty of the Pyrenees
in 1659, Spain's power began its slow descent in what proved to be the last decades of a declining Habsburg regime. After their victory over the Turks in the second Turkish siege
of Vienna
in 1683, the Austrian Habsburgs focused less and less on their conflicts with the Ottoman Empire
in the Balkans
. After the death of the last Spanish Habsburg Charles II
in 1700 king Louis XIV of France
claimed the Spanish throne for his grandson Philip
. This caused the War of the Spanish Succession
. In the treaty of Utrecht
Louis succeeded in installing the Bourbon dynasty in a Spain that was by now a second rank power, and in bringing the Habsburg encirclement of France to an end. After 200 years the rivalry had lost its original cause, but the two powers remained hostile for another 40 years.
Only in 1756, in the Seven Years' War
against the new power of Prussia
, France and Austria became allies for the first time. This alliance was later sealed with the marriage of Austrian princess Marie Antoinette
to the French Dauphin, later King Louis XVI.
The Napoleonic Wars
put an end to the Holy Roman Empire
, but they also marked the beginning of a new French-German enmity
that led to two World War
s.
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
as well as Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the kingdom of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, lasting from 1516 until 1756.
Since the late Middle Ages the Austrian Habsburgs sought peaceful coalitions by marriage, described by their motto: Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! - Wars may be led by others - you, happy Austria, marry! Following this tradition Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
married Mary
Mary of Burgundy
Mary of Burgundy ruled the Burgundian territories in Low Countries and was suo jure Duchess of Burgundy from 1477 until her death...
, the last Valois duchess of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
in 1477. 19 years later their son Philip the Handsome married Joanna of Castile
Joanna of Castile
Joanna , nicknamed Joanna the Mad , was the first queen regnant to reign over both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon , a union which evolved into modern Spain...
, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
and Queen Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
. Joanna (also known as Juanna the Mad) was sister to Katherine (of Aragon), the first wife of Henry VIII of England. Following the death of her brother and two sisters, Joanna became heiress to the Spanish throne. Joanna and Philip's son, (Maximilian's grandson) Charles
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
united all these possessions, when he became King of Spain (as Charles I) in 1516 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 (as Charles V). He ruled over a vast Empire on which the sun never sets
The empire on which the sun never sets
The phrase, "the Empire on which the sun never sets", has been used with variations to describe certain global empires that were so extensive that there was always at least one part of their territory in daylight....
. Now France had the Habsburgs on three sides as its neighbor, with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to the south, the County of Flanders
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
to the north and the Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
to the east.
Even though the realm of Charles V was divided between the German and the Spanish branches of his dynasty in 1555, most of the territories of the Burgundian Inheritance, including Flanders, stayed with the Spanish crown. France regarded the encirclement by the Habsburg powers as a permanent threat and led several wars during the next 200 years, to prevent a Spanish-Habsburg pre-eminence in Europe. Among this conflicts the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
was the most significant one, devastating large parts of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and shaping a new political map of Europe.
After 1648 France became predominant in central Europe. Following the peace treaty of Munster
Peace of Münster
The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Dutch Republic and Spain signed in 1648. It was a landmark treaty for the Dutch republic and one of the key events in Dutch history; with it, the United Netherlands finally became independent from the Spanish Crown...
in 1648 and, more particularly, the Treaty of the Pyrenees
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
in 1659, Spain's power began its slow descent in what proved to be the last decades of a declining Habsburg regime. After their victory over the Turks in the second Turkish siege
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1683, the Austrian Habsburgs focused less and less on their conflicts with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. After the death of the last Spanish Habsburg Charles II
Charles II of Spain
Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...
in 1700 king Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
claimed the Spanish throne for his grandson Philip
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
. This caused the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. In the treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
Louis succeeded in installing the Bourbon dynasty in a Spain that was by now a second rank power, and in bringing the Habsburg encirclement of France to an end. After 200 years the rivalry had lost its original cause, but the two powers remained hostile for another 40 years.
Only in 1756, in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
against the new power of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, France and Austria became allies for the first time. This alliance was later sealed with the marriage of Austrian princess Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
to the French Dauphin, later King Louis XVI.
The Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
put an end to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, but they also marked the beginning of a new French-German enmity
French-German enmity
French–German hereditary enmity is the idea of unavoidably hostile relations and mutual revanchism between Germany and France that became popular with the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871...
that led to two World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s.