A nine-year conflict between France and the Grand Alliance that reshaped European borders and set the stage for the War of the Spanish Succession.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 1688 to 1697
- Treaty ending war
- Peace of Ryswick (1697)
- Primary belligerents
- France vs. Grand Alliance
- Related conflicts
- Williamite War in Ireland; King William's War (North America)
- Key territorial outcome
- France retained Alsace; ceded Lorraine and right-bank Rhine gains
- Trigger event
- Louis XIV crosses the Rhine, September 1688
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the 1678 Treaty of Nijmegen and the 1684 Truce of Ratisbon, Louis XIV continued expanding French frontiers and pursued anti-Protestant policies. These moves alarmed European Protestant states and the Holy Roman Empire, prompting the formation of the Grand Alliance under William of Orange to check French ambitions.
In September 1688 Louis XIV led French forces across the Rhine seeking additional territory and leverage over the Holy Roman Empire. The November 1688 Glorious Revolution brought England into the Alliance. Fighting spread across the Spanish Netherlands, the Rhineland, Savoy, and Catalonia over nearly a decade, with neither side able to achieve a decisive advantage.
The 1697 Peace of Ryswick formalized French control of Alsace but required relinquishment of Lorraine and Rhine gains. Louis XIV recognised William III as King of England, and the Dutch secured barrier fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands. The unresolved question of the Spanish succession led directly to the War of the Spanish Succession beginning in 1701.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Louis XIV.
Side B
1 belligerent
William of Orange (William III), Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.