The French king began his aggressions by an effort to annex
the Belgian or Spanish Netherlands, which then belonged to Spain. A triple
alliance of Holland, England, and Sweden forced him to relinquish all his
conquests, except a few frontier towns (1668 A.D.). Louis blamed the Dutch for
his setback, and determined to punish them. Moreover, the Dutch represented
everything to which he was opposed, for Holland was a republic, the keen rival
of France in trade, and Protestant in religion. By skillful diplomacy he
persuaded England and Sweden to stand aloof, while his armies entered Holland
and drew near to Amsterdam At this critical moment William, Prince of Orange,
became the Dutch leader. He was a descendant of that William the Silent, who, a
century before, had saved the Dutch out of the hands of Spain. When urged to
submit, seeing that his country was surely lost, William replied, "I know
one way of never seeing it, and that way is to die on the last dike." By
William's orders the Dutch cut the dikes and interposed a watery barrier to
further advance by the French. Then he formed another Continental coalition,
which carried on the war till Louis signified his desire for peace. The Dutch
did not lose a foot of territory, but Spain was obliged to cede to France the
important province of Franche Comté (1678 A.D.).
A THIRD WAR, 1689-1697 A.D.
Ten years later Louis again sought to gain additional
territory along the Rhine, but again an alliance of Spain, Holland, England,
and the Holy Roman Empire compelled 1689-1697 him to sue for peace (1697 A.D.).
[12] During the course of the war the French inflicted a frightful devastation
on the Rhenish Palatinate, so that it might not support armies for the invasion
of France. Twelve hundred towns and villages were destroyed, and the
countryside was laid waste. The responsibility for this barbarous act rests
upon Louvois who advised it and Louis who allowed it.
[12] In America the war was known as "King William's
War."
