Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg)

Signed by William III on behalf of the Dutch Republic and England, and Emperor Leopold I for the Habsburg Monarchy, its primary purpose was to oppose the expansionist policies of Louis XIV of France.At the same time, payments by Louis XIV to states, including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Cologne and Brandenburg-Prussia, threatened Habsburg influence within the Holy Roman Empire.[3] This sense of threat increased when Protestant Denmark–Norway also received financial backing, while in February 1685, the accession of the Catholic James II as King of England potentially provided Louis with another ally.[5] Concern at these policies led Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, to invite French exiles to settle in his territories, while he also agreed a treaty with the Dutch Republic in October 1685.[9] The same model was used for the 1682 Laxenburg Alliance, which grouped Austria with the Upper Rhenish and Franconian Circles to defend the Rhineland, but the War of Reunions proved it could not oppose France on its own.[16] Lastly, some writers fail to differentiate between the Grand Alliance, i.e. England, the Dutch Republic, Spain and Austria, and the wider anti-French 'alliance,' which included German states like Bavaria, the Palatinate, etc.European diplomacy was extremely hierarchical; the Grand Alliance acknowledged the Dutch Republic and England as Leopold's equals, a status he guarded with great care.This made the later admission of Savoy a major triumph for Victor Amadeus, but Leopold refused to allow Bavaria and Brandenburg-Prussia separate representation at the Ryswick peace talks in 1697.[21] The main area of conflict was in the Spanish Netherlands, with the Dutch doing much of the fighting; Habsburg forces were occupied by a renewed Ottoman offensive in Southeastern Europe, while the War in Ireland absorbed resources in England and Scotland until 1692.
The persecution of French Huguenots and his expansionist policies meant Protestant states like the Dutch Republic saw Louis XIV of France as a threat
The Imperial Circles ca 1560; these grouped states within the Empire for mutual defence and support. The Burgundian Circle shown here includes the Dutch Republic, which became independent in 1648.
The Grand Alliance sought to halt French expansion under Louis XIV (marked in orange)
The Battle of Lagos by Théodore Gudin ; fought off Lagos Bay , Portugal in 1693, the loss of Dutch and English merchant ships in the battle caused huge financial losses, and increased opposition to the war
William IIIThe HagueHabsburg MonarchyDutch RepublicEnglandEmperor Leopold ILouis XIV of FranceNine Years' WarFrancePeace of RyswickTreaty of The HagueWar of the Spanish SuccessionPeace of UtrechtLouis XIVPeace of WestphaliaHoly Roman EmpireImperial CirclesFranco-Dutch WarTreaties of NijmegenWar of the ReunionsAlsaceGreat Turkish WarOttomansBavariaPalatinateCologneBrandenburg-PrussiapersecutionHuguenotsProtestantDenmark–NorwayCatholicJames IIEdict of FontainebleauFrench HuguenotsFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburgmassacre of around 2,000 Vaudois ProtestantsCounter-ReformationWilliam of OrangePrince Georg Friedrich of WaldeckAustriaUpper RhenishFranconianPhilip WilliamElizabeth Charlotte of the PalatinatePhilippe of OrléansBattle of ViennaBurgundian CircleSwedish PomeraniaPhilippsburgGlorious RevolutionScotlandSwabian CircleImperial DietCharles XI of SwedenLower Saxon CircleSpanish NetherlandsKingdom of SpainVictor AmadeusWestphaliaDuchy of LorraineCharles IITreaty of DoverWar in IrelandCataloniaSaxonyBattle of LagosThéodore GudinLagos BayTreaty of TurinEnglishLondonAmsterdamEnglish ToriesRoyal NavyJames RalphGermanSpielvogel, Jackson J