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1690-2]

The importance of sea-power

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of Beachy Head. On July 1, the French under Luxembourg had won the battle of Fleurus over the Dutch and their allies, who were commanded by Prince George Frederick of Waldeck. The time seemed opportune for an invasion of England on behalf of James II, while William III was still in Ireland. But Louis insisted upon a Jacobite rising as a necessary preliminary to the landing of any French troops in England. Still under the influence of Louvois, Louis attached more importance to the operations in the Netherlands and Italy than to the naval operations in the English Channel. In April, 1691, Louis himself was present at the capture of Mons, and in June Hal also fell into the hands of the French. The same year saw Savoy overrun by the armies of France; while the Duc de Noailles took advantage of the discontent of the Catalans and captured Ripoli and other towns. Had Seignelay's advice been taken, the French might have secured naval supremacy in the Channel, and by the destruction of some of the southern English towns and of English commerce, if not by an actual invasion, seriously interfered with William III's projects. The victory of Beachy Head was, however, not followed up, and on May 29, 1692, Tourville was utterly defeated by the English and Dutch fleets, under Russell, in the battle of La Hogue.

The importance of the battle of La Hogue, so far as the restoration of James II and the security of England were concerned, cannot be overestimated. Before the battle took place, James II was confident that an attempt on England would be followed by his own restoration, and by the triumph of the principle of legitimacy. Louis XIV had equally satisfied himself that the probability of success was considerable. His agents reported that there were few troops in England, and that the fleet was unprepared. He accordingly placed under Marshal de Bellefonds a force of 30,000 men, who (in anticipation of Napoleon's arrangements in 1805) were to be conveyed across the Channel and to accomplish the conquest of England. As in 1805, all depended upon the superiority of the French sea-power and the command of the Channel. A fleet from Toulon was to meet the Brest fleet under Tourville, and to carry out the invasion of England. Luckily, tidings of these plans reached the English Government, which at once took energetic measures. The English and Dutch fleets having been ordered to unite, Tourville was ordered to prevent, if possible, the junction, and, though the Toulon fleet owing to contrary winds had not yet reached Brest, to attack the enemy. His defeat in the battle of La Hogue meant that the plan adopted by Louis XIV and James II for the invasion of England had utterly failed; that, in spite of the success of French privateers, under such men as Jean Bart, Duguay-Trouin, Ducasse, Pointis, and others, the command of the Channel had definitely passed into the hands of England; and that William would be able to devote all his attention to the war in the Netherlands.

There the struggle was of a fierce and prolonged character. It was

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French successes in the Netherlands

[1692-4 impossible for the Dutch to allow the Spanish Netherlands to fall into the hands of the French. The Spanish Netherlands were the bulwark of the United Provinces: the loss of the former would leave the Dutch at the mercy of Louis. Moreover, their conquest by the French would mean the subjection of Spain to the will of Louis XIV. Though defeated in Ireland and on the sea, Louis could boast of successes in the Netherlands. In June, 1692, shortly after the battle of La Hogue, he had followed up his successes of 1691 by the capture of Namur, the bulwark of Brabant and Liége. Nor did the fall of Namur complete the list of Louis' successes on land in 1692, for on August 3 William of Orange was defeated by Luxembourg in the battle of Steinkirke.

The French defeat at La Hogue was thus to some extent balanced by the disasters to William of Orange in the Netherlands. What was more serious, the French naval power, though crippled in the Channel, had still to be reckoned with in the Mediterranean. Nor, moreover, had the army which Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, had collected in Piedmont won any signal success during its invasion of Dauphiné in 1692. No valuable position was captured, and, owing to the presence of Catinat, and the illness of Victor Amadeus, the invading army fell back, having accomplished nothing of importance. Thus the close of 1692 left the issue of the struggle between Louis XIV and the Grand Alliance still uncertain; and four more years of warfare followed, during which the influence of the sea-power of England gradually made itself felt.

For some years, however, it was doubtful if the allies would be able to hold their own against the French armies. The Emperor had on his hands a war with the Turks; the English fleet had by no means acquired an unquestioned supremacy at sea; and both Spain and Savoy seemed likely to be compelled to make terms with the French King. Moreover, the English attacks upon Martinique, Newfoundland, Guadaloupe, and St Domingo failed, and in 1694 the French reconquered Senegal and Goree. The complete triumph of the Austrians over the Turks, and the establishment of British supremacy in the Mediterranean and in the Channel, were needed in order to assure the victory of the Grand Alliance. Fortunately, the Emperor in the end proved triumphant over the Turks; and the English Government, supreme in the Channel after the victory of La Hogue, recognised the necessity of sending a powerful fleet into the Mediterranean.

It was not, however, till after some years of fighting that the victory of the Emperor over the Sultan was assured. The outbreak of the war on the Rhine had at first a serious effect upon the course of the struggle between the Austrians and the Turks. Up to 1689 the Imperialists, owing to the uneasy peace that prevailed in western Europe, had been able to win a series of almost uninterrupted successes. The continuance of these, which are narrated in a later chapter, was checked by the

1690-9]

Further French successes

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outbreak of the war on the Rhine. at once advanced, and in 1690 reconquered Servia, Widdin, and Belgrade. However, at the battle of Szalankemen, Margrave Lewis of Baden, on August 19, 1691, defeated the Turks after a terrific struggle. Grosswardein was taken; but hostilities languished during the next few years, and it was not till September 11, 1697, that Prince Eugene was able to deliver an overwhelming blow upon the Turks in the battle of Zenta. In January, 1699, the Treaty of Carlowitz closed a war in satisfactory fashion for Austria, and enabled the Emperor Leopold to concentrate his attention upon the Spanish Succession question.

The Grand Vezir Mustafa Kiuprili

During the four remaining years (1693-7) of the war in western Europe, while the financial distress of France, aggravated by bad harvests of 1692 and 1693, became more and more serious, the importance of the command of the Mediterranean was emphasised in a striking fashion. The withdrawal of English troops from Tangier in 1684 had been followed by the establishment of French supremacy in the Mediterranean and by the culmination of Louis' triumphs. The Truce of Ratisbon was signed six months after the retirement of the English fleet from the Mediterranean, and it was not till 1693 that any real attempt was made to interfere seriously with French naval preponderance in the south of Europe. In that year, William had been defeated at Neerwinden (Landen), and Tourville had captured a portion of the great Anglo-Dutch fleet which was making for Smyrna. The Duke of Savoy had been defeated in the battle of Marsaglia by Catinat, who was thus enabled to invade Piedmont, while the Spaniards had failed to check the advance of another French army under the Duc de Noailles into Catalonia. Unless the English fleet made a demonstration in the Mediterranean, it seemed more than likely that Louis would force Spain and Savoy to retire from the war. French supremacy in the Mediterranean being thus secured, Louis could withdraw his forces from the south of Europe and concentrate his attacks upon William III and the Emperor.

The Tory admirals were

Immediate action was, therefore, necessary. dismissed; Russell was restored to his former position of Commander-inChief; and in May, 1694, he sailed for the Mediterranean. He arrived at a critical moment. Aided by the French fleet under Tourville, Noailles had invaded Spain, capturing Palamos and Gerona. The fall of Barcelona was imminent. The entry of Russell with his fleet into the Mediterranean at once changed the aspect of affairs. The advance of Noailles was checked; Barcelona was saved; and Tourville retired to Toulon. It was obvious that the recovery by the English fleet of the command of the Mediterranean would overthrow the plans of the French King, and would probably hasten the conclusion of peace. In 1695, Russell, who had wintered at Cadiz, planned to attack Toulon or Marseilles, to overthrow Tourville's fleet, and, with the co-operation of

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The war in the Mediterranean

[1695-7 Duke Victor Amadeus of Savoy, to deal the French sea-power in the Mediterranean an overwhelming blow. But the Duke was already meditating an arrangement with Louis, and Tourville continued his defensive tactics and remained safely in the harbour of Toulon, while the English fleet was unable to bring on a decisive action. Yet the presence of the fleet in the Mediterranean, and the tenacity shown by William III in the Netherlands, where he had besieged Namur, prevented Louis from achieving any striking success, and tended to exhaust the French resources. Nevertheless, during the later months of 1695, and throughout 1696, Louis was able to profit from the weakness and treachery of some of his opponents. The Duke of Savoy deserted the Grand Alliance, and, in consequence of this defection, the King of Spain and the Emperor were compelled to consent to the neutralisation of Italy. An attempted invasion of England in the winter of 1695-6 had, indeed, ended in failure; but the English Government had decided to recall the fleet from the Mediterranean, so that in 1696 Tourville was able to bring his squadron safely from Toulon to Brest.

The results of the English command of the Mediterranean during the years 1694-5 had, however, exercised a most profound effect upon the course of the war. Louis' plans had been upset; Spain had not been conquered; and the French fleet was no longer in a condition to carry out any important movement.

The adhesion of the Duke of Savoy on August 29, 1696, to the French cause, and the neutralisation of Italy, tended to reconcile William III to the prospect of peace; for the defection of Savoy would enable Louis to bring some 30,000 troops under Catinat into the Netherlands. William, indeed, on September 5, 1695, had taken advantage of the death of Luxembourg in the previous January, and had followed up the seizure by the allies of Dixmude and Huy by himself capturing Namur. For the first time during the war, the French armies had been badly beaten, and Europe was encouraged to find that Louis was not invincible. This success, however, was counterbalanced by the defection of Savoy in the following year, by Vendôme's reduction of Barcelona after fifty-two days' siege, and by Catinat's capture of several important Spanish towns in Flanders. In spite of these proofs of the growing weakness of the Grand Alliance, and in spite of the overtures of peace made by Louis to Holland and England, William III was, in the autumn of 1696, supported by Parliament in his determination not to treat with France except "with our swords in our hands." Early in 1697, however, to his astonishment, Louis expressed his willingness to restore Lorraine and Luxemburg to their lawful owners, to recognise William as King of England, and to surrender all the conquests made by France during the war. Accordingly, negotiations under the mediation of Sweden were begun. In May, 1697, the Congress of Ryswyk was opened, and on September 20 a general peace was concluded.

1697]

The peace of Ryswyk

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The first treaty was made by France with England, Spain, and Holland. William III was recognised by Louis as King of Great Britain and Ireland, and Anne, second daughter of James II, was declared heiress to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. Louis, moreover, promised not to encourage plots against William III. All places won since the Peace of Nymegen were to be restored, France thus regaining Pondicherry and Nova Scotia, and Spain recovering Catalonia, Mons, Luxemburg, Ath, and Courtray. On the other hand, France restored Fort Albany to the Hudson's Bay Company, which had been driven out of most of its possessions in 1685. The chief forts in the Spanish Netherlands, such as Namur, Ypres, and Menin, were to be garrisoned by Dutch troops, and the Dutch were to obtain an advantageous treaty of commerce with France.

The Emperor made peace with France very reluctantly, and it was not till October 30 that William III induced him to agree to a treaty with Louis. By it France ceded all places taken since the Treaty of Nymegen, except Strassburg and Landau. She also withdrew from the right bank of the Rhine, yielding Philippsburg, Freiburg, and Breisach, and she restored Lorraine to its Duke, keeping only Saarlouis in her hands. Louis, moreover, abandoned his candidate for the electorate of Cologne, and renounced the claims of the Duchess of Orleans to the Palatinate for a sum of money.

In view of the imminence of the Spanish Succession question and of the financial distress in France, Louis acted wisely in coming to terms with his foes. He hoped, moreover, by his concessions to win over to his side a number of the German Princes, who presumably might be expected to regard with alarm the great increase of the Imperial power consequent upon the defeat of the Turks and the annexation of all Hungary and Transylvania. At any rate, the Grand Alliance was broken up, and France, with her recuperative powers and her well-organised government, remained the strongest and most united Power in Europe.

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