War of Devolution - Background

Background

Louis's claims to the Spanish Netherlands were tenuous: in 1659, France and Spain had concluded the Treaty of the Pyrenees, which ended 24 years of war between the two states. With the Treaty, King Philip IV of Spain had to cede certain territories, and also had to consent to the marriage of his daughter Maria Theresa of Spain to the young Louis XIV of France. Furthermore, it was agreed that with this marriage, Maria Theresa explicitly renounced all rights to her father's inheritance. As compensation, a dowry of 500 000 gold écus was promised to the Bourbon Louis XIV; this was not paid, however.

When Philip IV died on 17 September 1665, the French king immediately laid claim to parts of the Spanish Netherlands: the Duchies of Brabant and Limburg, Cambrai, the marquessate of Antwerpen, the Lordship of Mechelen, Guelders, the counties of Namur, Artois and Hainaut, a third of the County of Burgundy and a quarter of the Duchy of Luxembourg. Louis XIV justified this with the fact that the promised dowry had not been paid and that the Queen's renunciation of her inheritance was therefore invalid.

French legal scholars concluded from this and the clause of 'devolution' that the Spanish Netherlands should not go to the still underage heir to the Spanish throne Charles II of Spain, since he had been born as a result of the second marriage of Philip IV. Maria Theresa on the other hand was a result of his first marriage and was therefore entitled to the inheritance in Brabant, and, through her, Louis XIV. The Queen could not renounce this natural right for her children as well.

Maria Theresa's stepmother, Queen Mariana of Spain, who was taking care of government business for her underage son along with her confessor Cardinal Johann Eberhard Neidhardt, rejected these claims, referring to the renunciation by Maria Theresa of all inheritance rights. At this, the French king began preparations for a new campaign against Spain. His able financial minister Colbert reorganized the army and expanded it from 50,000 to 80,000 men. Spain, on the other hand, was a fragmented nation struggling to cope with major inflation.