War of Devolution

The War of Devolution (May 24, 1667 - May 2, 1668) was a war between Louis XIV's France and Spain fought in the Spanish Netherlands.

Louis XIV justified the war by arguing that while laws in Spain meant the throne Philip IV passed to his son Carlos II the laws of the Spanish Netherlands meant that the region should pass to Phillip daughter from her first marriage, Louis' wife Marie Thérêse under the principle of devolution. The Spanish contested this claim. When Phillip died in 1665 Louis began preparing for war. He expanded his army from 50,000 to 80,000 men.

The Spanish, a nation in rapid decline, could put up little resistance to the French assault. With no main Spanish army in the region the war became a series of French sieges against Spanish towns and fortresses. Under manned and with no hope of relief most of these sieges ended quickly and the French took towns such as Charleroi, Tournai, and Douai. The only long siege was that of Lille from August 28 to September 25.

The great success of the French began to worry the other powers of Europe, especially long time French allies the Dutch. The Dutch as well as the English, the various German states, and the Swedes had been quite content to have the weak and non-threatening Spanish in control of the strategically vital region. If France gained control of the region it would mean a strong and aggressive state on the Dutch border, and in control of the excellent ports opposite England and the North Sea. Thus the Triple Alliance was formed between the Netherlands, England, and Sweden. They issued a decree granting Louis the territory he had demanded at the start of the war, but warned that if the French continued their offensive beyond those lines the three would join the Spanish in repelling them.

With his troops ill positioned to resist the Triple Alliance Louis he agreed to their demands. Inwardly he was seething. he had hoped to take the entirety of the Spanish Netherlands and felt betrayed by the Dutch, who were only independent due to French help in their war of independence. The War of Devolution thus lead directly to the Dutch War of 1672-1678.