If China brought fears to world from its ambitions and
impunity, the same could be said for to the greatest rogue state of Europe in
the 17th century – France and its ambitious Sun King Louis XIV.
Prologue
Louis dreamed of a powerful Kingdom of France. He
wanted his kingdom to safe from invasion from its powerful neighbor. Hence, he
needed buffer lands to keep his heartland and in doing so emerge the idea of an
empire. A French Empire that stood astride the continent boasting with its
power, wealth, and taste. An Empire that stood as the center of Europe just as
Louis sat at the center of the monarchs of Europe.
War clouded Louis’ reign from 1668 until 1679. A
decade of wars against the Dutch through the War of Devolution (1668 -1669) and
the Franco-Dutch War (1672 – 1679) pitted France against Europe. Louis
displayed the strong might of his military and the talents of his commanders.
The Treaties of Nijmegen from 1678 and 1679 ended
the Franco-Dutch War. Europe thought it could have a sigh of relief from war
and conflict. Demobilization of armies began and reconstruction started at
earnest. Never had they imagined that Louis had the audacity to provoke for
another conflict. The Treaties did not satisfied Louis and even said “he won
the war, but lost the peace.” So much his frustration, he sacked his foreign
secretary.
Charles Marquis de Colbert de Croissy became the
new Secretary State for Foreign Affairs and War. Brother of the
Comptroller-General of Finance Jean-Baptiste Colbert, he understood Louis’
desire of an empire and had the talent and mind to achieve it. He then brought
up an idea in which France to gain extra territories without declaring war. A
means through use of legal justification and intimidation. While Europe relaxed
and disbanded their armies, Louis kept his and ready to execute Colbert de
Croissy’s plan.
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| Charles Colbert, Marquis de Croissy |
Chambre de Réunion
Colbert de Croissy’s plan relied in the idea of
dependencies. During the 17th century geo-politics, cities taken by treaties
not only gained the city proper but also surrounding lands and villages that
supported it. France exploited this idea.
Louis and Colbert de Croissy established several
courts known as Chambre de Réunion or
Chamber of Reunion. Courts placed in charge of making judgments called arret whether the land depended to the
city based not from the Nijmegen Treaties but the late Treaty of Westphalia in
1648. These judgments gave France the mandate to place the land under their
protection.
Series of Chambers established across the frontier
regions of the Kingdom from 1679. A Chamber of Reunion formed in Bresach for
Alsace, Besancon for Franche-Comte, and Metz for Lorraine and Bar Region. Gradually,
the judgment of these chambers added new lands into the French fold.
Besides the Chambers, Louis utilized the carrot and
stick tactic to enforce the judgments. He used his standing army to intimidate
the towns and cities that had been declared under French procession. On
September 1681, French forces surrounded Strasbourg while in November Luxembourg
saw the same fate with Marshall Crequy and Vauban leading the French armies.
Strasbourg fell to the French within a month as France bribed members of the
city council to bend to the will of Louis XIV.
On the other hand, Louis also made gains in Italy.
French forces mobilized into Italy and Louis purchased the fortress of Cassale
to the dismay of French ally the Duchy of Savoy. Italian states began to fear
French aggression.
Bread and
Circuses
Europe found Louis’ scheme stunning and brazen.
They never thought Louis found ways to expand his territory with any means
possible. Despite condemnation, the continent stood powerless to stop him. In
this matter, Colbert de Croissy and Louis diplomatic masterstroke unfolded
through the use of panem et circenses –
bread and circuses.
The circuses came in form of a distraction that
took the attention of most powerful European states. Next to France, the
Ottoman Empire frightened Europe which Louis exploited to his benefit. Louis
warmed French relations with Ottoman Turkey starting in 1679. He sent Gabriel
de Guilleragues as the new French ambassador to Istanbul with the objective of
forming a secret alliance with the Ottoman Empire. Relations furthered when
Louis disavowed a raid in the island of Chios. Lastly, France promised French
indifference in the event of Ottoman invasion of the Holy Roman Empire. Louis
hoped the invasion to distract the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.
 |
| Emperor Leopold |
The Holy Roman Empire and its Emperor Leopold
condemned Louis actions with the Chambers. An Imperial Diet met in January 1681
that called for the mobilization of a 40,000-man army. This, however, failed to
materialize as the Holy Roman Empire continued to reel its wounds from the
Franco-Dutch War and much of its forces prepared for a war in the East with the
Ottomans.
Other than the Ottomans, Louis burdened Leopold I
further by supporting Hungarian rebellion led by Emeric (Imre) Thokoly. For
years, the Hungarians struggled for freedom against Habsburg oppression. France
gave them support through money and weapons alongside the Ottoman Empire. The
rebellion along with the Ottoman invasion that materialized in 1683 terrified
Europe. The Ottoman invasion advanced to the point that the Islamic army
besieged the capital of the Holy Roman Empire itself Vienna.
 |
| Ottoman Besieging Vienna |
Besides distractions, France offered bread to many
European countries. From 1681, France provided subsidies to growing kingdoms
and great powers. The situation came in his favor as most European kingdoms
felt exhausted of war and needed money to finance their reconstruction.
Kingdoms such as Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark received subsidies from Louis.
In 1683, he also secured Polish neutrality with hefty bribes. England’s Charles
II also sat idly with the offer of money.
In June 1683, the Holy Roman Empire proposed
another Diet to inquire on the legality of Arrats. Louis refused knowing the
disadvantages he would face with the Diet. He responded with a peace settlement
based on the current territorial status.
Despite attempts for peace, France continued their
advances. In September 1683 French forces marched into the Spanish Netherlands.
The act prompted Spain to declare war, thus began the War of Reunions. As most
Europe reeled from the previous war or faced internal and external threats,
France had the opportunity to face only Spain. As the war progressed, France
invaded Catalonia. In June 1684, French forces also took Luxembourg. French
naval forces under Abraham Duquesne also bombarded the Spanish ally of Genoa, an important lenders to
Spain and provider of mariners and troops for their military.
 |
| Bombardment of Genoa |
The
Settlement
As France and Spain battled out, Europe turned their attention back to French expansion. The Ottoman invasion failed and the William III of Orange remained in power. They then began to pressure France in settling the matter.
On August 1684, a peace settlement began to be
forged in an Imperial Diet in August 1684. It resulted in the Treaty of
Ratisbon (Regensburg). In the Treaty, Louis finally received his highly coveted
fortress of Luxembourg. France also kept most of the lands it took through the
Reunions. The Agreement also pushed for a 20-year truce between France and
Spain.
Summing Up
The War of Reunions displayed the determination of Louis to
expand French dominion through any means necessary. He employed various tactics
from distraction, intimidation, and bribery to achieve his goals. Eventually, his tactics work which eventually resulted in huge French gains.
See also:
Bibliography:
Campbell,
Peter Robert. Louis XIV, 1661 – 1715. New York, New York: Routledge, 2013.
Carsten,
F.L. The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume V, The Ascendancy of France,
1648-88. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1961.
Lynn, John
A. The French Wars 1667 – 1714, The Sun King at War. New York, New York: Osprey
Publishing, 2002.
Smith, Rhea
Marsh. Spain: A Modern History. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1965.
Wolf, John.
The Emergence of the Great Powers: 1685 -1715. New York, New York: Harper
Torchbooks, 1951.
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Very detailed information about Reunions war, Really informative before that article i was always confused about this reunion. I ready too many quiz about history but i didn't vanish my this confusion, which you removed today.
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