| |
|---|---|
 Huis ter Nieuwburg, location for the negotiations | |
| Context | End of the 1689–1697Nine Years War;King William's War |
| Signed | 20 September 1697 (1697-09-20) |
| Location | Rijswijk |
| Negotiators |  Baron Lilliënrot |
| Signatories | |
| Parties | |
| Language | French |
ThePeace of Ryswick, orRijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city ofRijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697Nine Years' War betweenFrance and theGrand Alliance, which included theDutch Republic and theHoly Roman Empire.
One of a series of wars fought byLouis XIV of France between 1666 and 1714, neither side was able to make significant territorial gains. By 1695, the huge financial costs, coupled with widespread famine and economic dislocation, meant both sides needed peace. Negotiations were delayed by the question of who would inherit theSpanish Empire from the childless and terminally illCharles II of Spain, the closest heirs being Louis andEmperor Leopold I.
Since Louis could not impose his preferred solution, he refused to discuss the issue, while Leopold refused to sign without its inclusion. He finally did so with great reluctance on 30 October 1697, but the Peace was generally viewed as a truce; Charles' death in 1700 led to theWar of the Spanish Succession.
In Europe andNorth America, the terms essentially restored the position prevailing before the war, though Spain recognized French control of the island ofTortuga and the western portion ofHispaniola (Saint-Domingue). In Europe, France evacuated several territories it had occupied since the 1679Treaty of Nijmegen, includingFreiburg,Breisach and theDuchy of Lorraine; conversely, it retainedStrasbourg.
TheNine Years' War was financially crippling for its participants, partly because armies increased in size from an average of 25,000 in 1648 to over 100,000 by 1697. This was unsustainable for pre-industrial economies; the war absorbed 80% of English state revenue in the period, while the huge manpower commitments badly affected the economy.[1]
The 1690s also marked the coldest point of the so-calledLittle Ice Age, a period of cold and wet weather affecting Europe in the second half of the 17th century. Harvests failed throughout Europe in 1695, 1696, 1698 and 1699; in Scotland and parts of Northern Europe, an estimated 5–15% of the population starved to death.[2]
Although fighting largely ended in Europe after 1695, the subsidiary conflict known asKing William's War continued in the Americas. A French fleet arrived in theCaribbean in early 1697, threatening theSpanish treasure fleet, and English possessions in theWest Indies.[3] England occupied the French colony ofAcadia, while the French repulsed attacks onQuebec, capturedYork Factory, and caused substantial damage to theNew England economy.[4]
Talks were dominated by the primary issue of European politics for the last 30 years: the Spanish inheritance. By 1696, it was clearCharles II of Spain would die childless, and his potential heirs included KingLouis XIV of France andEmperor Leopold I. TheSpanish Empire remained a vast global confederation; in addition to Spain, its territories included large parts ofItaly, theSpanish Netherlands, thePhilippines, and much of theAmericas. Acquisition of these territories by either France orAustria would change the European balance of power.[5]
Recognising he was not strong enough to impose his preferred solution to the Spanish question, Louis wanted to prevent its discussion, by dividing theGrand Alliance and isolating Leopold. In the 1696Treaty of Turin he made a separate peace with theDuchy of Savoy.[6] Other concessions were the return of theDuchy of Luxemburg to Spain; considerably larger than the modern state, it was essential to Dutch security. Louis also agreed to recogniseWilliam III as monarch of England and Scotland, rather than the exiledJames II.[7]
Formal discussions between the delegations were held in theHuis ter Nieuwburg at Ryswick, mediated by Swedish diplomat and soldierBaron Lilliënrot [sv]. Many members of the Empire, such asBaden andBavaria, sent representatives, although they were not party to the treaties.[8]Talks proceeded slowly; Leopold habitually avoided making decisions until absolutely necessary, and since the terms failed to address the inheritance question, he would only agree to a ceasefire. One of the Spanish negotiators, Bernardo de Quiros, ignored instructions fromMadrid to make peace at any price, and agreed to support this demand.[9] Although the British initially preferred to continue fighting,[10] William became anxious to finalise peace. William and Louis appointed theEarl of Portland and MarshalLouis-François de Boufflers as their personal representatives; they met privately outside Brussels in June 1697, and quickly finalised terms, with de Quiros being overruled.[11]
The peace consisted of a number of separate agreements: on 20 September 1697, France signedTreaties of Peace with Spain and England, aCeasefire with the Holy Roman Empire, and on 21 September, aTreaty of Peace and Commerce with the Dutch Republic.[12] When Charles fell seriously ill, Leopold used it as an excuse to delay signing; one frustrated negotiator claimed "it would be a shorter way to knock (Charles) on the head, rather than all Europe be kept in suspense."[13] The Spanish king recovered, while William threatened to dissolve the Alliance if Leopold did not sign before 1 November; he finally did so on 30 October.[14]
| Treaties of Ryswick and related treaties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date (New Style / (Old Style)) | Treaty name | Anti-French side | French side | Texts | |
| 29 August 1696 | Peace Treaty of Turin | Savoy | France | English (p. 196–208) | |
| 20 September 1697 (10 September 1697) | Peace Treaty of Ryswick | Habsburg Spain | France | English (p. 151–172) | |
| 20 September 1697 (10 September 1697) | Peace Treaty of Ryswick | England &Scotland | France | English (p. 127–138),Spanish (p. 8–15) | |
| 20 September 1697 (10 September 1697) | Peace Treaty of Ryswick | Dutch Republic | France | English (p. 214–226),French | |
| 30 October 1697 (20 October 1697) | Peace Treaty of Ryswick | Holy Roman Empire | France | English (p. 247–284),German,Spanish (p. 21–41) | |
The treaty essentially restored the map of Western Europe to that agreed by the 1679Treaty of Nijmegen; France keptStrasbourg, the strategic key toAlsace, but returned other territories occupied or captured since then, includingFreiburg,Breisach,Philippsburg and theDuchy of Lorraine to the Holy Roman Empire. French forces also evacuatedCatalonia,Luxembourg,Mons andKortrijk in theSpanish Netherlands. Louis recognised William as king, withdrew support from theJacobites, and abandoned claims to theElectorate of Cologne, and theElectoral Palatinate.[15]
In North America, positions returned to those prevailing before the war, with France regainingAcadia,[10] although in reality low-level conflict persisted around the boundaries. Conversely, in theCaribbean Spain recognized French control of the western portion ofHispaniola and the island ofTortuga; France had in fact established its colony ofSaint-Domingue years earlier. Meanwhile, the Dutch returned the colony ofPondichéry in India to France.[15]
All sides interpreted Ryswick to be a truce, and expected conflict to resume when Charles died. The war demonstrated that France could no longer impose its objectives without allies. Louis therefore adopted a dual approach of a diplomatic offensive to seek support, while keeping theFrench Army on a war footing. The increase in Habsburg power following victory in theGreat Turkish War with the signing of theTreaty of Karlowitz in 1699 was offset by the growing independence of states likeBavaria, which looked to Louis, rather than Leopold, for support.[16]
The war diverted resources from both theDutch andFrench navies, and although the Dutch still dominated theFar East trade, Ryswick marked a turning point in England's rise as a global maritime power. Previously focused on theLevant, its mercantile interests began challenging Spanish and Portuguese control of the Americas, where the French struggled to compete. The huge debts accumulated by the Dutch weakened their economy, whileLondon replacedAmsterdam as the commercial centre of Europe. The Nine Years' War, together with the subsequentWar of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), marked the end of theDutch Golden Age.[17]
At the same time, the determination of theTory majority inParliament to reduce costs meant that by 1699, the English army had been reduced to less than 7,000 men.[18] This seriously undermined William's ability to negotiate on equal terms with France, and despite his intense mistrust, he co-operated with Louis in an attempt to agree a diplomatic solution to the Spanish succession. The so-called Partition Treaties ofThe Hague in 1698 andLondon in 1700 ultimately failed to prevent the outbreak of war between the two kingdoms.[19]
After the death of James II died in 1701, Louis XIV proclaimed Prince James, the former heir of James II, rightful king of England, despite the treaty.
