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TheAnglo-French Alliance is the name for the alliance betweenGreat Britain andFrance between 1716 and 1731. It formed part of thestately quadrille in which theGreat Powers of Europe repeatedly switched partners to try to build a superior alliance.Some[who?]have suggested that between 1688 and 1815, Britain and France were 'natural enemies', and the period has become known as theSecond Hundred Years' War, but their period spent as allies has been used to challenge the notion that the two states were implacable enemies.[citation needed]
Following the end of theWar of the Spanish Succession by thePeace of Utrecht (1713–15), British and French interests converged as they wished to stop the expansion ofSpanish andRussian power. Although BritishWhig politicians had attacked the Peace of Utrecht under the slogan "No Peace Without Spain", given that it seemingly placed Spain under French control, they soon developed close relations with Paris, having returned to power following theHanoverian succession. France faced an uncertain succession, as its new kingLouis XV was a child and theRegent,Philippe II, Duke of Orléans was his heir by the terms of the Peace of Utrecht. Britain was wary of alienating the much larger France. Negotiations led to the creation of an alliance between the two in late 1716.
On 4 January 1717, it became theTriple Alliance when theDutch Republic joined Britain and France against the looming threat of a resurgent Spain. That threat proved real whenSpain recaptured Sardinia fromHabsburg Austria with little opposition in August–October 1717, which was then followed by a Spanish landing in Sicily in July 1718. The three states were joined by Austria on 2 August 1718, thus forming the Quadruple Alliance. These four states co-operated during theWar of the Quadruple Alliance to stop these Spanish attempts to re-conquer parts of Italy.
In 1725, tensions rose again as Spain and Austria created an alliance atVienna, which would grow to encompass theRussian Empire and the Electorates ofBavaria andCologne. the Anglo-French alliance was subsequently expanded atHanover, binding theKingdom of Prussia, theUnited Provinces, theKingdom of Sweden and theKingdom of Denmark-Norway to them.
The birth of theDauphin Louis in 1729 began to dissolve the French interest in the alliance, as their future was increasingly secure. In Britain a group ofAustrophiles suggested that Austria would make a better potential partner for Britain. The actions of the FrenchChief MinisterCardinal Fleury were increasingly hostile towards Britain. The French failure to support the British during theAnglo-Spanish War (1727–1729) convinced many that they were no longer a reliable ally but were instead returning to the traditional position of a rival. The end of the alliance was never formally declared, but by early 1731, it was widely considered to be over.
In 1731, Britain, sensing the direction Cardinal Fleury was taking France, concluded analliance with Austria. By 1742, Britain and France were on opposite sides during theWar of the Austrian Succession and their colonial rivalry in North America continued.