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176-831: The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance . Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa . Related conflicts include the Williamite war in Ireland , and King William's War in North America. Louis XIV of France emerged from the Franco-Dutch War in 1678 as

352-471: A sovereign state and does not have its own foreign affairs or defence policies; these remain largely with the member states , which include France, Germany and, before Brexit , the United Kingdom (referred to collectively as the " EU three "). Brazil and India are widely regarded as emerging powers with the potential to be great powers. Political scientist Stephen P. Cohen asserts that India

528-511: A system of impregnable fortresses along the frontier to keep France's enemies out. To construct a proper system, however, the King needed to acquire more land from his neighbours to form a solid forward line. That rationalisation of the frontier would make it far more defensible and define it more clearly in a political sense, but it also created the paradox that while Louis's ultimate goals were defensive, he pursued them by offensive means. He grabbed

704-666: A Jacobite restoration (Louis XIV threatened to overthrow the Glorious Revolution and the precarious political settlement by supporting the old king over the new one). William III had secured his goal of mobilising Britain's resources for the anti-French coalition, but the Jacobite threat in Scotland and Ireland meant only a small English expeditionary force could be committed to assist the Dutch States Army in

880-845: A combined Imperial, German and Polish army defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna and forced them to retreat. After halting the Ottoman advance at Vienna, the Habsburgs were able to turn their attentions to the west. Spain declared war on France on 26 October 1683 and on the night of 3–4 November, an army under the Duke of Humières entered the Spanish Netherlands and surrounded Courtrai . After it surrendered on 6 November, he then advanced on Diksmuide , which surrendered without

1056-469: A continuation of the War of Devolution (1667–1668) and the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), which were driven by Louis XIV 's determination to establish defensible boundaries along France's northern and eastern borders. Despite the peace established by the 1678 Treaty of Nijmegen , Louis retained a large army, an action extremely unusual in the period. In 1681, his troops seized Strasbourg and in 1682 occupied

1232-626: A definition of a Great power that it must be able to maintain itself against all others, even when they are united, then Frederick has raised Prussia to that position." These positions have been the subject of criticism. In 2011, the US had 10 major strengths according to Chinese scholar Peng Yuan, the director of the Institute of American Studies of the China Institutes for Contemporary International Studies. However he also noted where

1408-590: A determination to support the arrangement agreed upon, and to turn the general influence and if necessary the general arms against the Power that shall first attempt to disturb the Continental peace." The Congress of Vienna consisted of five main powers: the Austrian Empire , France , Prussia , Russia , and Great Britain . These five primary participants constituted the original great powers as we know

1584-576: A favorable commercial treaty. However, both sides viewed the peace as only a pause in hostilities, since it failed to resolve who would succeed the ailing and childless Charles II of Spain as ruler of the Spanish Empire, a question that had dominated European politics for over 30 years. This would lead to the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701. In the years following the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78), Louis XIV of France, now at

1760-505: A fight on 10th. Between 22 and 26 December, a second force under Marshal François de Créquy bombarded Luxembourg with 3,000 to 4,000 mortar shells but with winter approaching and the city refusing to yield, he withdrew. Louis renewed the siege of Luxembourg in April 1684, assisted by his technical expert on siege warfare, Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban . Its 2,500 defenders surrendered on 3 June, although fighting continued elsewhere until

1936-540: A great power with an important position in some spheres of influence. Others suggest India and Brazil may even have the potential to emerge as a superpower . Permanent membership of the UN Security Council is widely regarded as being a central tenet of great power status in the modern world; Brazil, Germany, India and Japan form the G4 nations which support one another (and have varying degrees of support from

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2112-494: A great power. As a nation will seldom declare that it is acting as such, this usually entails a retrospective examination of state conduct. As a result, this is of limited use in establishing the nature of contemporary powers, at least not without the exercise of subjective observation. Other important criteria throughout history are that great powers should have enough influence to be included in discussions of contemporary political and diplomatic questions, and exercise influence on

2288-643: A minor action near Leuze . Now that the defence of the Spanish Netherlands depended almost wholly on the Allies William III insisted on replacing its Spanish governor, the Marquis of Gastañaga , with the Elector of Bavaria, thus overcoming delays in getting decisions from Madrid. In 1691 there was little significant fighting in the Catalan and Rhineland fronts. In contrast, the northern Italian theatre

2464-469: A nation's great power status has also been a criterion for being a great power. As political scientist George Modelski notes, "The status of Great power is sometimes confused with the condition of being powerful. The office, as it is known, did in fact evolve from the role played by the great military states in earlier periods... But the Great power system institutionalizes the position of the powerful state in

2640-708: A new front in Piedmont-Savoy proved more eventful. A ferment of religious animosities and Savoyard hatred of the French produced a theatre characterised by massacres and atrocities: constant guerrilla attacks by the armed populace were met by draconian reprisals. In 1690 Saint-Ruth took most of the Victor Amadeus II's exposed Duchy of Savoy, routing the Savoyard army in the process until only the great fortress of Montmélian remained in ducal hands; while to

2816-612: A plan to besiege Namur or Charleroi. For the Emperor and the German princes, though, the most serious fact of 1690 was that the Turks had been victorious on the Danube, requiring them to send reinforcements to the east. The Elector of Bavaria – now Imperial commander-in-chief following Lorraine's death in April – could offer nothing on the lower or upper Rhine, and the campaign failed to produce

2992-494: A political force exerting an effect co-extensive with the widest range of the society in which it operates. The Great powers of 1914 were 'world-powers' because Western society had recently become 'world-wide'." Other suggestions have been made that a great power should have the capacity to engage in extra-regional affairs and that a great power ought to be possessed of extra-regional interests, two propositions which are often closely connected. Formal or informal acknowledgment of

3168-721: A powerful coalition aimed at forcing France to recognise Europe's rights and interests. The main fighting of the Nine Years' War took place around France's borders: in the Spanish Netherlands ; the Rhineland ; Catalonia ; and Piedmont-Savoy . The importance of the Spanish Netherlands was the result of its geographic position, sandwiched between France and the Dutch Republic. Initially Marshal Humières commanded French forces in this theatre but in 1689, while

3344-651: A prelude to offering generous peace terms before the Grand Alliance Louis XIV planned to go over to the offensive: Luxembourg would campaign in Flanders, Catinat in northern Italy, and in Germany, where Louis XIV had hoped for a war-winning advantage, Marshal de Lorge would attack Heidelberg . In the event, Heidelberg fell on 22 May before Luxembourg's army took to the field in the Netherlands, but

3520-558: A resounding French victory. Turin now lay open to attack but further manpower and supply difficulties prevented Catinat from exploiting his gain, and all the French could get out of their victory was renewed breathing-space to restock what was left of Pinerolo. Elsewhere, Noailles secured the valuable seaport of Rosas in Catalonia on 9 June before withdrawing into Roussillon. When his opponent, Medina-Sidonia, abandoned plans to besiege Bellver , both sides entered winter quarters. Meanwhile,

3696-546: A series of delays and conflicting orders ensured a very uneven naval contest in the English Channel. The engagement was fought at the tip of the Cherbourg peninsula , and lasted six days. At the action off Cape Barfleur on 29 May, the French fleet of 44 rated vessels under Admiral Tourville put up stern resistance against Admirals Russell 's, Rooke 's and Almonde 's 82 rated English and Dutch vessels. Nevertheless,

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3872-531: A settlement. Under the terms of the 1697 Peace of Ryswick , French control over the entirety of Alsace was officially recognized, but Lorraine and gains on the right bank of the Rhine were relinquished and restored to their rulers. Louis XIV also recognised William III as the rightful king of England, while the Dutch acquired barrier fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands to help secure their borders and were granted

4048-542: A short truce for negotiations. By the time it concluded on 28 May, two thirds of the city had been destroyed. While Louis refused to send aid to the Empire and even dispatched secret envoys to encourage the Ottomans, contemporary accounts indicate that it would be unseemly for him to continue fighting the Empire on its western border. Thus, Louis agreed to the Truce of Ratisbon , guaranteeing 20 years of peace between France and

4224-559: A similar force of observation under Luxembourg), Marshal Vauban invested the stronghold on 29 May. The town soon fell but the citadel – defended by van Coehoorn – held out until 30 June. Endeavouring to restore the situation in the Spanish Netherlands William III surprised Luxembourg's army near the village of Steenkirk on 3 August. The Allies enjoyed some initial success, but as French reinforcements came up William III's advance stalled. The Allies retired from

4400-623: A single major battle or siege. The smallest front of the war was in Catalonia. In 1689 the Duke of Noailles had led French forces there aimed at bringing further pressure to bear on the Spanish by re-igniting a peasant rising against Charles II, which initially broke out in 1687. Exploiting the situation, Noailles captured Camprodon on 22 May, but a larger Spanish army under the Duke of Villahermosa forced him to withdraw back to Roussillon in August. The Catalan campaign settled down in 1690, but

4576-644: A son to James's second wife in June displaced William's wife Mary as James's heir apparent. With the French busy creating their cordon sanitaire in the Palatinate (too busy to consider serious intervention in the Spanish Netherlands or to move against the south-eastern Dutch provinces along the Rhine) the States General unanimously gave William their full support in the knowledge that the overthrow of James II

4752-496: A town changed hands, it normally included the economic hinterland surrounding it but treaties often failed to define the boundaries of these dependent regions. Although willing to negotiate those within the Spanish Netherlands on a bilateral basis, Louis regarded acquisitions in Alsace and Lorraine as essential to securing his borders. For these areas, he set up " Chambers of Reunion " to determine whether France had been awarded all

4928-660: A treaty to supply William III with 7,000 troops in return for a subsidy. However, in March 1691 Sweden and Denmark put aside their mutual distrust and made a treaty of armed neutrality for the protection of their commerce and to prevent the war spreading north. To the annoyance of the Maritime Powers the Swedes now saw their rôle outside the great power-struggle of the Nine Years' War, exploiting opportunities to increase their own maritime trade. Nevertheless, Louis XIV at last faced

5104-485: A web of rights and obligations." This approach restricts analysis to the epoch following the Congress of Vienna at which great powers were first formally recognized. In the absence of such a formal act of recognition it has been suggested that great power status can arise by implication by judging the nature of a state's relations with other great powers. A further option is to examine a state's willingness to act as

5280-588: Is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence, which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers' opinions before taking actions of their own. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status dimensions. While some nations are widely considered to be great powers, there

5456-461: Is an emerging power, but highlights that some strategists consider India to be already a great power. Some academics such as Zbigniew Brzezinski and David A. Robinson already regard India as a major or great power. Former British Ambassador to Brazil, Peter Collecott identifies that Brazil's recognition as a potential great and superpower largely stems from its own national identity and ambition. Professor Kwang Ho Chun feels that Brazil will emerge as

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5632-618: Is considerable debate on the exact criteria of great power status. Historically, the status of great powers has been formally recognized in organizations such as the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 or the United Nations Security Council , of which permanent members are: China , France , Russia , the United Kingdom , and the United States . The United Nations Security Council, NATO Quint ,

5808-452: Is extracted from her discussion of these three dimensions, including all of the citations. Early writings on the subject tended to judge states by the realist criterion, as expressed by the historian A. J. P. Taylor when he noted that "The test of a great power is the test of strength for war." Later writers have expanded this test, attempting to define power in terms of overall military, economic, and political capacity. Kenneth Waltz ,

5984-528: Is from the third century, when the Persian prophet Mani described Rome , China , Aksum , and Persia as the four greatest kingdoms of his time. During the Napoleonic wars in Europe, American diplomat James Monroe observed that, "The respect which one power has for another is in exact proportion of the means which they respectively have of injuring each other." The term "great power" first appears at

6160-653: The Alpine districts of Piedmont in the Duchy of Savoy , a northern Italian state that was nominally part of the Empire. From their fort at Pinerolo, the French were able to exert considerable pressure on the Duke of Savoy and to force him to persecute his own Protestant community, the Vaudois (Valdesi). The constant threat of interference and intrusion into his domestic affairs was a source of concern for Victor Amadeus, and in 1687,

6336-568: The Danube at Buda in September 1686, and Mohács a year later had convinced the French that the Emperor, in alliance with Spain and William of Orange, would soon turn his attention towards France and retake what had recently been won by Louis's military intimidation. In response, Louis XIV sought to guarantee his territorial gains of the Reunions by forcing his German neighbours into converting

6512-660: The Duke of Savoy , and to threaten the Spanish Duchy of Milan . All of the Reunion claims and annexations were important strategic points of entry and exit between France and its neighbours and were immediately fortified by Vauban and incorporated into his fortress system. Thus, the Reunions carved territory from the frontiers of present-day Germany, and the annexations established French power in Italy. However, by seeking to construct his impregnable border, Louis XIV so alarmed

6688-526: The Franco-Dutch War . In the same way, Luxembourg dominated regions annexed from the Spanish Netherlands. Louis believed that only the possession of these two could ensure the security of his newly acquired territories. Imperial troops could not respond since they were engaged in the Great Turkish War , the largest offensive ever by the Ottomans against the Empire's eastern border. Strasbourg

6864-752: The G7 , the BRICS , and the Contact Group have all been described as great power concerts. A 2017 study by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies qualified China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia and the United States as the current great powers. With continuing European integration , the European Union is increasingly being seen as a great power in its own right, with representation at

7040-491: The G7 , the BRICS , and the Contact Group have all been described as great power concerts. The term "great power" was first used to represent the most important powers in Europe during the post- Napoleonic era. The "Great Powers" constituted the " Concert of Europe " and claimed the right to joint enforcement of the postwar treaties. The formalization of the division between small powers and great powers came about with

7216-866: The Locarno Treaties , which made it a member of the League of Nations, and later left (and withdrew from the League in 1933 ); Japan left, and the Soviet Union joined. When World War II began in 1939, it divided the world into two alliances: the Allies (initially the United Kingdom and France, and Poland, followed in 1941 by the Soviet Union , China, and the United States) and the Axis powers ( Germany , Italy, and Japan). During World War II,

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7392-485: The Marquis of Chamlay and Vauban. Louvois' death also brought changes to state policy with the less adventurous Duc de Beauvilliers and the Marquis de Pomponne entering Louis' government as ministers of state. From 1691 onwards the king and Pomponne pursued efforts to unglue the Grand Alliance, including secret talks with Emperor Leopold I and, from August, attempts of religious solidarity with Catholic Spain. The approaches made to Spain came to naught (the Nine Years' War

7568-410: The Porte that he would not support the Emperor. He had also urged John III Sobieski of Poland, unsuccessfully, against siding with Leopold I and pressed the malcontent princes of Transylvania and Hungary to join with the Sultan's forces and free their territory from Habsburg rule. When the Ottomans besieged Vienna in the spring of 1683 , Louis did nothing to help the defenders. Taking advantage of

7744-412: The Principality of Orange , then a possession of William of Orange . When hostilities began in 1683, French support for the Ottomans in their war with Austria allowed Louis to capture Luxembourg and consolidate his position in Alsace . The Truce of Ratisbon that ended the conflict marked the high water mark of French territorial gains under Louis XIV. Afterwards, his opponents would recognize

7920-423: The Risorgimento era , Japan during the Meiji era , and the United States after its civil war . By 1900, the balance of world power had changed substantially since the Congress of Vienna. The Eight-Nation Alliance was an alliance of eight nations created in response to the Boxer Rebellion in China. It formed in 1900 and consisted of the five Congress powers plus Italy, Japan, and the United States, representing

8096-400: The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , and maintain military expenditures which are among the largest in the world. However, there is no unanimous agreement among authorities as to the current status of these powers or what precisely defines a great power. For example, following the Cold War and the two decades after it, some sources referred to China, France, Russia and

8272-478: The Truce of Ratisbon on 15 August 1684. France retained territory taken during the war, including Strasbourg and Luxembourg and subsequent actions were intended to make the truce permanent. Despite its limited scope and length, the war is remembered as being especially bloody, since Louis XIV deliberately employed violence as state policy, with the aim of pressuring enemy officials to surrender. Louvois ordered Montal to burn 20 villages near Charleroi because

8448-425: The United Nations Security Council . Since the end of the World Wars, the term "great power" has been joined by a number of other power classifications. Foremost among these is the concept of the superpower, used to describe those nations with overwhelming power and influence in the rest of the world. It was first coined in 1944 by William T. R. Fox and according to him, there were three superpowers: Great Britain,

8624-423: The WTO and at G7 and G-20 summits. This is most notable in areas where the European Union has exclusive competence (i.e. economic affairs). It also reflects a non-traditional conception of Europe's world role as a global "civilian power", exercising collective influence in the functional spheres of trade and diplomacy, as an alternative to military dominance. The European Union is a supranational union and not

8800-596: The third and fourth largest economies respectively) rather than their strategic and hard power capabilities (i.e., the lack of permanent seats and veto power on the UN Security Council or strategic military reach). Germany has been a member together with the five permanent Security Council members in the P5+1 grouping of world powers. Like China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom; Germany and Japan have also been referred to as middle powers. In his 2014 publication Great Power Peace and American Primacy , Joshua Baron considers China, France, Russia, Germany, Japan,

8976-438: The "Sun King", a more mature Louis, conscious that he had failed to achieve decisive results against the Dutch, had turned from conquest to security by using threats, rather than open war, to intimidate his neighbours into submission. Louis XIV, along with his chief military advisor, Louvois , his foreign minister, Colbert de Croissy , and his technical expert, Vauban , developed France's defensive strategy. Vauban had advocated

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9152-402: The 16th century. During the recent war, they allowed the Spanish to recruit mercenaries from Genoese territory and use their port building some galleys for the Spanish navy. As a punishment, on 5 May a French fleet commanded by Admiral Abraham Duquesne left the Mediterranean naval base of Toulon and began a bombardment of Genoa on 17 May 1684, which lasted for the next 12 days apart from

9328-412: The Allies his 'rights' to the Spanish succession should Charles II die during the conflict, did not desire a peace that would not prove personally advantageous. The Grand Alliance would not come apart as long as there was money available and a belief that the growing strength of their armies would soon be much greater than those of France. In the Spanish Netherlands Luxembourg still had 100,000 men; but he

9504-410: The Allies on most of the mainland fronts, yet their victories had not broken the Grand Alliance. With the hope of unhinging the coalition French commanders in 1691 prepared for an early double-blow: the capture of Mons in the Spanish Netherlands, and Nice in northern Italy. Boufflers invested Mons on 15 March with some 46,000 men, while Luxembourg commanded a similar force of observation. After some of

9680-462: The Allies who, as early as August, had 45,000 men (on paper) in the region, enabling them to regain Carmagnola in October. Louis XIV offered peace terms in December, but anticipating military superiority for the following campaign Amadeus was not prepared to negotiate seriously. After the sudden death of the influential Louvois in July 1691 Louis XIV had assumed a more active role in the direction of military policy, relying on advice from experts such as

9856-402: The Anglo-Dutch fleet soon regained maritime supremacy, and the opportunity was lost. By the end of 1690, French and Jacobite troops were confined to the south and west of Ireland. Although repulsed with heavy losses at Limerick in September, William transferred command to Godert de Ginkel and returned to Flanders. Despite receiving reinforcements and a new general in the Marquis de St Ruth ,

10032-418: The Cold War, Japan, France, the United Kingdom and West Germany rebuilt their economies. France and the United Kingdom maintained technologically advanced armed forces with power projection capabilities and maintain large defense budgets to this day. Yet, as the Cold War continued, authorities began to question if France and the United Kingdom could retain their long-held statuses as great powers. China, with

10208-413: The Congress of Vienna in 1815. The Congress established the Concert of Europe as an attempt to preserve peace after the years of Napoleonic Wars . Lord Castlereagh , the British foreign secretary , first used the term in its diplomatic context, writing on 13 February 1814: "there is every prospect of the Congress terminating with a general accord and Guarantee between the Great powers of Europe, with

10384-405: The Duke's policy started to become increasingly anti-French as he searched for a chance to assert his aspirations and concerns. Criticism of Louis XIV's regime spread all over Europe. The Truce of Ratisbon, followed by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, caused suspicion as to Louis's true intentions. Many also feared the King's supposed designs on universal monarchy, the uniting of the Spanish and

10560-485: The Dutch Republic tying William's hands and the Elector of Brandenburg stubbornly holding to his alliance with Louis, no possible outcome could occur but complete French victory. The War of the Reunions was brief and devastating. With the fall of Courtrai in early November, followed by Dixmude in December and Luxembourg in June 1684, Charles II was compelled to accept Louis XIV's peace. The Truce of Ratisbon (Regensburg), signed on 15 August by France on one side and by

10736-507: The Dutch Republic, Switzerland, and Germany, and spread tales of brutality at the hands of the monarch of Versailles . The direct effect on France of the loss of the community is debatable, but the flight helped destroy the pro-French faction in the Dutch Republic because of its Protestant affiliations, and the exodus of Huguenot merchants and the harassment of Dutch merchants living in France also greatly affected Franco-Dutch trade. The persecution had another effect on Dutch public opinion since

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10912-441: The Dutch side. The Convention Parliament did not see that the offer of joint monarchy carried with it the corollary of a declaration of war, but the subsequent actions of the deposed king finally swung Parliament behind William's war policy. British historian J. R. Jones states that King William was given supreme command within the alliance throughout the Nine Years' War. His experience and knowledge of European affairs made him

11088-439: The Elector led his army on Bonn, which, having endured a heavy bombardment , finally capitulated on 10 October. The invasion of the Rhineland had united the German princes in their opposition to Louis XIV who had lost more than he had gained that year along the Rhine. The campaign had also created a diversion of French forces and sufficient time for William of Orange to invade England. James II's ill-advised attempts to Catholicise

11264-497: The Elector of Bavaria secured Belgrade for the Empire. With the Ottomans appearing close to collapse, Louis XIV's ministers, Louvois and Colbert de Croissy, felt it essential to have a quick resolution along the German frontier before the Emperor turned from the Balkans to lead a comparatively united German Empire against France on the Rhine and reverse the Ratisbon settlement. On 24 September Louis published his manifesto, his Mémoire de raisons , listing his grievances: he demanded that

11440-437: The Elector of Brandenburg joined the anti-French coalition on 6 September. However, few of the minor powers were as devoted to the common cause, and all protected their own interests; some never hesitated to exact a high price for continuing their support. Charles XI of Sweden supplied the contingents due from his German possessions to the Allied cause (6,000 men and 12 warships), while in August Christian V of Denmark agreed to

11616-449: The Emperor and Spain on the other, rewarded the French with Strasbourg, Luxembourg and the gains of the Reunion (Courtrai and Dixmude were returned to Spain). The resolution was not a definitive peace but only a truce for 20 years. However, Louis had sound reasons to feel satisfied since the Emperor and German princes were fully occupied in Hungary, and in the Dutch Republic, William of Orange remained isolated and powerless, largely because of

11792-470: The English and Dutch during the Nine Years' War. Meanwhile, in southern Europe the Duke of Savoy with 29,000 men (substantially exceeding Catinat's number who had sent some troops to the Netherlands) invaded Dauphiné via the mountain trails shown to them by the Vaudois. The Allies invested Embrun , which capitulated on 15 August, before sacking the deserted town of Gap . However, with their commander falling ill with smallpox, and concluding that holding Embrun

11968-408: The English looked upon French pretensions in New France as encroaching upon their own possessions. The rivalry had spread to the other side of the world, where English and French East India Companies had already embarked upon hostilities. Many in Germany reacted negatively to the persecution of the Huguenots, which disabused the Protestant princes of the idea that Louis XIV was their ally against

12144-602: The English military organisation to reform the English army according to the Dutch model and train the troops in the 'Dutch Exercise', a musketry drill more commonly referred to as platoon fire . To make their dominance over the English army less painful for the British, the Dutch agreed that an Englishman would always be in command of a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet. After his flight from England in December 1688, James II had been given refuge by Louis XIV, who provided him financial and diplomatic assistance. Accompanied by 6,000 French troops, on 12 March 1689 he landed in Ireland, where he

12320-402: The Franco-Irish army was defeated at Aughrim on 12 July 1691; the war in Ireland ended with the Treaty of Limerick in October, allowing the bulk of the Williamite forces to be shipped to the Low Countries. The success of William's invasion of England rapidly led to the coalition he had long desired. On 12 May 1689 the Dutch and the Holy Roman Emperor had signed an offensive compact in Vienna,

12496-453: The French commander relieved the siege of Ebernburg on the left bank of the Rhine before returning to winter quarters. By 1693 the French army had reached an official size of over 400,000 men (on paper), but Louis XIV was facing an economic crisis. France and northern Italy witnessed severe harvest failures resulting in widespread famine which, by the end of 1694, had accounted for the deaths of an estimated two million people. Nevertheless, as

12672-515: The French concentrated on the Rhine, it produced little more than a stand-off – the most significant engagement occurred when William's second-in-command, the Prince of Waldeck , defeated Humières at the Battle of Walcourt on 25 August. However, by 1690 the Spanish Netherlands had become the main seat of the war where the French formed two armies: Boufflers' army on the Moselle , and a larger force to

12848-633: The French navy achieved victory in its final fleet action of the war. On 27 June Tourville's combined Brest and Toulon squadrons ambushed the Smyrna convoy (a fleet of between 200 and 400 Allied merchant vessels travelling under escort to the Mediterranean) as it rounded Cape St. Vincent . The Allies lost approximately 90 merchant ships with a value of some 30 million livres. French arms at Heidelberg, Rosas, Huy, Landen, Charleroi and Marsaglia had achieved considerable battlefield success, but with

13024-707: The French were forced to disengage: some escaped, but the 15 ships that had sought safety in Cherbourg and La Hogue were destroyed by English seamen and fireships on 2–3 June. With the Allies now dominant in the English Channel James II's invasion was abandoned. Yet the battle itself was not the death-blow for the French navy: the subsequent mismanagement and underfunding of the fleet under Pontchartrain , coupled with Louis' own personal lack of interest, were central to France's loss of naval superiority over

13200-568: The German crowns with that of France. In response, representatives from the Emperor, the southern German princes, Spain (motivated by the French attack in 1683 and the imposed truce of 1684) and Sweden (in its capacity as princes in the Empire) met in Augsburg to form a defensive league of the Rhine in July 1686. Pope Innocent XI , partly because of his anger at Louis's failure to go on crusade against

13376-514: The German states into accepting his conditions, while encouraging the Ottoman Turks to continue their own struggle with the Emperor in the east. Louis XIV and his ministers had hoped for a quick resolution similar to that secured from the War of the Reunions, but by 1688 the situation was drastically different. In the east, an Imperial army, now manned with veteran officers and men, had dispelled

13552-539: The Holy Roman Empire declared war on France on 11 February 1689, beginning a unified imperial war effort . The Germans prepared to take back what they had lost, and in 1689 formed three armies along the Rhine. The smallest of these, initially under the Elector of Bavaria, protected the upper Rhine between the lines north of Strasbourg to the Black Forest . On the middle Rhine stood the largest army under

13728-629: The Huguenot presence gave an immense boost to anti-French discourse and joined forces with elements in England that had already been highly suspicious of James. Moreover, conflicts between French and English commercial interests in North America had caused severe friction between both countries since the French had grown antagonistic towards the Hudson's Bay Company and the New England colonies, but

13904-752: The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) grouping of world powers. Some analysts assert that Italy is an "intermittent" or the " Least of the Great Powers ", while some others believe Italy is a middle or regional power. International relations academics Gabriele Abbondanza and Thomas Wilkins have classified Italy as an "awkward" great power on account of its top-tier economic, military, political, and socio-cultural capabilities and credentials - including its G7 and NATO Quint membership - which are moderated by its lack of national nuclear weapons and permanent membership to

14080-541: The November 1688 Glorious Revolution secured English resources and support for the Alliance. Over the next few years, fighting focused around the Spanish Netherlands , the Rhineland , the Duchy of Savoy , and Catalonia . Although engagements generally favoured Louis' armies, neither side was able to gain a significant advantage, and by 1696 the main belligerents were financially exhausted, making them keen to negotiate

14256-516: The Ottoman defeat at Vienna on 12 September had emboldened it. In the hope that Leopold I would now make peace in the east and come to his assistance, Charles II declared war on France on 26 October. However, the Emperor had decided to continue the Turkish war in the Balkans and to compromise in the west for the time being. With Leopold I unwilling to fight on two fronts, a strong neutralist party in

14432-549: The Ottoman front to defend south Germany. The French had not prepared for such an eventuality. Realising that the war in Germany was not going to end quickly and that the Rhineland blitz would not be a brief and decisive parade of French glory, Louis XIV and Louvois resolved upon a scorched earth policy in the Palatinate, Baden and Württemberg , intent on denying enemy troops local resources and prevent them from invading French territory. By 20 December, Louvois had selected all

14608-438: The Ottoman threat in the east, Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands on 1 September 1683 and renewed the siege of Luxembourg, which had been abandoned the previous year. The French required of the Emperor and of Charles II of Spain a recognition of the legality of the recent Reunions, but the Spanish were unwilling to see any more of their holdings fall under Louis's jurisdiction. Spain's military options were highly limited, but

14784-498: The People's Republic of China. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are often referred to as great powers by academics due to "their political and economic dominance of the global arena". These five nations are the only states to have permanent seats with veto power on the UN Security Council. They are also the only state entities to have met the conditions to be considered " Nuclear Weapons States " under

14960-671: The Piedmontese plain was far from successful. Although Carmagnola fell in June, the Marquis of Feuquières , on learning of the approach of Prince Eugene of Savoy 's relief force, precipitously abandoned the Siege of Cuneo with the loss of some 800 men and all his heavy guns. With Louis XIV concentrating his resources in Alsace and the Low Countries, Catinat was forced onto the defensive. The initiative in northern Italy now passed to

15136-502: The Postwar Period', the French historian Jean-Baptiste Duroselle spoke of the concept of multi-polarity: "A Great power is one which is capable of preserving its own independence against any other single power." This differed from earlier writers, notably from Leopold von Ranke , who clearly had a different idea of the world situation. In his essay 'The Great Powers', written in 1833, von Ranke wrote: "If one could establish as

15312-503: The Rhine, the others being Breisach, which was already in French hands, and Philippsburg , which Louis XIV had lost by the Treaty of Nijmegen. On the same day that Strasbourg fell, French forces marched into Casale , in northern Italy. The fortress was not taken in the process of the Reunions but had been purchased from the Duke of Mantua , which, together with the French possession of Pinerolo , enabled France to tie down Victor Amadeus II,

15488-639: The Rhineland, the most important parts of the treaty were the secret articles pledging England and the States-General to assist him in securing the Spanish succession should Charles II die without an heir, and to use their influence to secure his son's election to succeed him as Emperor. William III regarded the war as an opportunity to reduce the power of France and protect the Dutch Republic, while providing conditions that would encourage trade and commerce. Although there remained territorial anomalies, Dutch war aims did not involve substantial alterations to

15664-700: The School of International Relations and Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews , criticizes the concept of a great power, arguing that it is dated, vaguely defined, and inconsistently applied. He states that the term is used to "describe everything from true superpowers such as the United States and China, which wield the full spectrum of economic, technological, and military might, to better-than-average military powers such as Russia, which have nuclear weapons but little else that would be considered indicators of great power. " O'Brien advocates for

15840-408: The Spanish Netherlands 'buffer-zone' would be effectively bypassed. The day after Louis issued his manifesto – well before his enemies could have known its details – the main French army crossed the Rhine as a prelude to investing Philippsburg , the key post between Luxembourg (annexed in 1684) and Strasbourg (seized in 1681), and other Rhineland towns. This pre-emptive strike was intended to intimidate

16016-518: The Spanish previously destroyed two barns on the outskirts of two French villages, and insisted that not a single house should remain standing. A separate but related conflict took place in the Republic of Genoa , whose bankers and financial houses such as the Centurioni, Palavicini and Vivaldi families had longstanding relationships with Spain, and had been lending money to its government since

16192-519: The Treaty of Neuilly, with Bulgaria; the Treaty of Trianon, with Hungary; and the Treaty of Sèvres, with the Ottoman Empire . During the decision-making of the Treaty of Versailles , Italy pulled out of the conference because a part of its demands were not met and temporarily left the other three countries as the sole major architects of that treaty, referred to as the "Big Three". The status of

16368-614: The Truce of Ratisbon be turned into a permanent resolution, and that Fürstenburg be appointed Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. He also proposed to occupy the territories that he believed belonged to his sister-in-law regarding the Palatinate succession. The Emperor and the German princes, the Pope, and William of Orange were quite unwilling to grant these demands. For the Dutch in particular, Louis's control of Cologne and Liège would be strategically unacceptable, for with these territories in French hands

16544-456: The Truce of Ratisbon into a permanent settlement. However, a French ultimatum issued in 1687 failed to gain the desired assurances from the Emperor whose victories in the east made the Germans less anxious to compromise in the west. Another testing point concerned the pro-French Archbishop-Elector, Maximilian Henry , and the question of his succession in the state of Cologne . The territory of

16720-488: The Turkish threat and crushed Imre Thököly 's revolt in Hungary; while in the west and north, William of Orange was fast becoming the leader of a coalition of Protestant states, anxious to join with the Emperor and Spain, and end the hegemony of France. Louis wanted a short defensive war, yet by crossing the Rhine that summer he began a long war of attrition; a war framed by interests of the state, its defensible frontiers, and

16896-470: The Turks, gave his secret support. The League of Augsburg had little military power – the Empire and its Allies in the form of the Holy League were still busy fighting the Ottoman Turks in Hungary. Many of the petty princes were reluctant to act due to the fear of French retaliation. Nevertheless, Louis XIV watched with apprehension Leopold I's advances against the Ottomans . Habsburg victories along

17072-433: The UN Security Council. In addition to these contemporary great powers mentioned above, Zbigniew Brzezinski considers India to be a great power. However, there is no collective agreement among observers as to the status of India, for example, a number of academics believe that India is emerging as a great power, while some believe that India remains a middle power. The United Nations Security Council, NATO Quint ,

17248-486: The US had recently slipped: All states have a geographic scope of interests, actions, or projected power. This is a crucial factor in distinguishing a great power from a regional power; by definition, the scope of a regional power is restricted to its region. It has been suggested that a great power should be possessed of actual influence throughout the scope of the prevailing international system. Arnold J. Toynbee , for example, observes that "Great power may be defined as

17424-557: The US, UK, USSR, and China were referred as a "trusteeship of the powerful" and were recognized as the Allied " Big Four " in Declaration by United Nations in 1942. These four countries were referred as the " Four Policemen " of the Allies and considered as the primary victors of World War II. The importance of France was acknowledged by their inclusion, along with the other four, in the group of countries allotted permanent seats in

17600-572: The United Kingdom as middle powers. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union , its UN Security Council permanent seat was transferred to the Russian Federation in 1991, as its largest successor state . The newly formed Russian Federation emerged on the level of a great power, leaving the United States as the only remaining global superpower (although some support a multipolar world view ). Japan and Germany are great powers too, though due to their large advanced economies (having

17776-455: The United Kingdom and the United States as the current great powers. Italy has been referred to as a great power by a number of academics and commentators throughout the post-WWII era. The American international legal scholar Milena Sterio writes: The great powers are super-sovereign states: an exclusive club of the most powerful states economically, militarily, politically and strategically. These states include veto-wielding members of

17952-568: The United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia), as well as economic powerhouses such as Germany, Italy and Japan. Sterio also cites Italy's status in the Group of Seven (G7) and the nation's influence in regional and international organizations for its status as a great power. Italy has been a member together with the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany in

18128-656: The United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc , which began following World War II. The term " cold " is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers , but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars . The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. During

18304-418: The United States, and the Soviet Union. But after World War II Britain lost its superpower status. The term middle power has emerged for those nations which exercise a degree of global influence but are insufficient to be decisive on international affairs. Regional powers are those whose influence is generally confined to their region of the world. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between

18480-639: The Youngest and Vice-Admiral Philips van Almonde . Louis XIV had considered William's invasion as a declaration of war between France and the Dutch Republic (officially declared on 26 November); but he did little to stop the invasion – his main concern was the Rhineland. Moreover, French diplomats had calculated that William's action would plunge England into a protracted civil war that would either absorb Dutch resources or draw England closer to France. However, after his forces landed unhindered at Torbay on 5 November ( O.S ), many welcomed William with open arms, and

18656-492: The aims of which were no less than to force France back to her borders as they were at the end of the Franco-Spanish War (1659), thus depriving Louis XIV of all his gains since his personal rule began. This meant for the Emperor and the German princes the reconquest of Lorraine, Strasbourg, parts of Alsace, and some Rhineland fortresses. Leopold I had tried to disentangle himself from the Turkish war to concentrate on

18832-506: The archbishopric lay along the left bank of the Rhine and included three fortresses of the river-line: Bonn , Rheinberg , and Kaiserswerth , excluding the free-city of Cologne itself. Moreover, the archbishop was also prince-bishop of Liège , the small state astride the strategic highway of the river Meuse . When the Elector died on 3 June, Louis XIV pressed for the pro-French Bishop of Strasbourg, Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg , to succeed him. The Emperor, however, favoured Joseph Clement ,

19008-571: The army, government and other institutions had proved increasingly unpopular with his mainly Protestant subjects. His open Catholicism and his dealings with Catholic France had also strained relations between England and the Dutch Republic, but because his daughter Mary was the Protestant heir to the English throne, her husband William of Orange had been reluctant to act against James II for fear it would ruin her succession prospects. Yet if England

19184-471: The ascendancy in the Dutch Republic and finally lay the groundwork for his long-sought alliance against France. Although James II had permitted the Huguenots to settle in England, he had enjoyed an amicable relationship with his fellow Catholic Louis XIV since James realised the importance of the friendship for his own Catholicising measures at home against the suspicions of the Protestant majority. However,

19360-418: The assessor. However, this approach has the disadvantage of subjectivity. As a result, there have been attempts to derive some common criteria and to treat these as essential elements of great power status. Danilovic (2002) highlights three central characteristics, which she terms as "power, spatial, and status dimensions," that distinguish major powers from other states. The following section ("Characteristics")

19536-557: The balance of power in Europe. Marshal Duras , Vauban, and 30,000 men – all under the nominal command of the Dauphin – besieged the Elector of Trier's fortress of Philippsburg on 27 September 1688. After a vigorous defence it fell on 30 October. Louis XIV's army proceeded to take Mannheim , which capitulated on 11 November, shortly followed by Frankenthal . Other towns fell without resistance, including Oppenheim , Worms , Bingen , Kaiserslautern , Heidelberg , Speyer and, above all,

19712-473: The best Imperial general, and commander-in-chief, Charles V, Duke of Lorraine . Charles V cleared away the French threat on Frankfurt and opened trenches around Mainz on 22/23 July. After a bloody two months siege, the Marquis of Huxelles finally yielded the town on 8 September. Meanwhile, on the lower Rhine stood the Elector of Brandenburg who, aided by the celebrated Dutch engineer Menno van Coehoorn , besieged Kaiserswerth. Kaiserswerth fell on 26 June before

19888-405: The brother of Max Emanuel , Elector of Bavaria . With neither candidate able to secure the necessary two-thirds of the vote of the canons of the cathedral chapter , the matter was referred to Rome . There was no prospect of the Pope, already in deep conflict with Louis, favouring the French candidate, and on 26 August he awarded the election to Clement. On 6 September, Leopold I's forces under

20064-473: The citadel of Turin) to guarantee communications between Pinerolo and Casale. French demands on Victor Amadeus, and their determination to prevent the Duke from achieving his dynastic aims, were nothing less than an attack on Savoyard independence, convincing the Duke that he had to stand up to French aggression. The Elector of Bavaria consented to add his name to the Grand Alliance on 4 May 1690, while

20240-406: The cities, towns, villages and châteaux intended for destruction. On 2 March 1689, Count of Tessé torched Heidelberg; on 8 March Montclar levelled Mannheim. Oppenheim and Worms were finally destroyed on 31 May, followed by Speyer on 1 June, and Bingen on 4 June. In all, French troops burnt over 20 substantial towns as well as numerous villages and remaining medieval castles. The Imperial Diet of

20416-429: The coalition in the Spanish Netherlands for the first three years of the war. The Duke of Lorraine also joined the Alliance at the same time as England, while the King of Spain (who had been at war with France since April) and the Duke of Savoy signed in June 1690. The Allies had offered Victor Amadeus handsome terms to join the Grand Alliance, including the return of Casale to Mantua (he hoped it would revert to him upon

20592-433: The coming struggle, but the French invasion of the Rhineland had encouraged the Turks to stiffen their terms for peace and make demands the Emperor could not conceivably accept. Leopold I's decision to side with the coalition (against the opposition of many of his advisers) was, therefore, a decision to intervene in the west while continuing to fight the Ottomans in the Balkans. Although the Emperor's immediate concerns were for

20768-511: The concept of a "full-spectrum power", which takes into account "all the fundamentals on which superior military power is built", including economic resources, domestic politics and political systems (which can restrain or expand dimensions of power), technological capabilities, and social and cultural factors (such as a society's willingness to go to war or invest in military development). Various sets of great, or significant, powers have existed throughout history. An early reference to great powers

20944-635: The conduct of the Catholic King of France made them look more anxiously at James II , now the Catholic King of England. Many in The Hague believed that James II was closer to his cousin Louis XIV than to his son-in-law and nephew William, which engendered suspicion and, in turn, hostility between Louis and William. Louis's seemingly endless territorial claims, coupled with his persecution of Protestants, enabled William of Orange and his party to gain

21120-462: The continuing problems with French finance and a complete breakdown in the supply chain prevented Catinat's push into Piedmont. However, in Catalonia the fighting proved more eventful. On 27 May Marshal Noailles, supported by French warships, soundly defeated the Marquis of Escalona 's Spanish forces at the Battle of Torroella on the banks of the river Ter ; the French proceeded to take Palamós on 10 June, Gerona on 29 June, and Hostalric , opening

21296-531: The creation of the Grand Alliance, headed by William of Orange . In September 1688 Louis led an army across the Rhine to seize additional territories beyond it. This move was designed to extend his influence and pressure the Holy Roman Empire into accepting his territorial and dynastic claims. However, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and German princes supported the Dutch in opposing French aims, while

21472-452: The dawn of the 20th century had served to create an entirely different balance of power. Great Britain and the new German Empire (from 1871), experienced continued economic growth and political power. Others, such as Russia and Austria-Hungary, stagnated. At the same time, other states were emerging and expanding in power, largely through the process of industrialization. These countries seeking to attain great power status were: Italy after

21648-459: The death of the childless Duke of Mantua ) and of Pinerolo to himself. His adhesion to the Allied cause would facilitate the invasion of France through Dauphiné and Provence , where the naval base of Toulon lay. In contrast Louis XIV had embarked on a policy of overt military intimidation to retain Savoy in the French orbit, and had envisaged the military occupation of parts of Piedmont (including

21824-487: The disputed County of Montbéliard , lying between Franche-Comté and Alsace, had been separated from the Duchy of Württemberg , and by August, Louis XIV had secured the whole of Alsace with the exception of Strasbourg . The Chamber of Reunion of Metz soon laid claims to land around the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun and most of the Spanish Duchy of Luxembourg . The fortress of Luxembourg City itself

22000-627: The existing permanent members) in becoming permanent members. The G4 is opposed by the Italian-led Uniting for Consensus group. There are however few signs that reform of the Security Council will happen in the near future. War of the Reunions The War of the Reunions (1683–84) was a conflict between France , Spain and the Holy Roman Empire , with limited involvement by Genoa . It can be seen as

22176-504: The extent of its overseas empire , which ushered in a century of Pax Britannica . The balance of power between the Great Powers became a major influence in European politics, prompting Otto von Bismarck to say "All politics reduces itself to this formula: try to be one of three, as long as the world is governed by the unstable equilibrium of five great powers." Over time, the relative power of these five nations fluctuated, which by

22352-534: The field in good order, and both sides claimed victory: the French because they repulsed the assault; the Allies because they had saved Liège from the same fate as Namur. However, due to the nature of late 17th-century warfare the battle, like Fleurus before it, produced little of consequence. ( See below ). While French arms had proved successful at Namur the proposed descent on England was a failure. James II believed that there would be considerable support for his cause once he had established himself on English soil, but

22528-588: The fleet under Admiral Russell was ordered to the Mediterranean, linking up with Spanish vessels off Cadiz . The Allied naval presence compelled the French fleet back to the safety of Toulon, which, in turn, forced Noailles to withdraw to the line of the Ter, harassed en route by General Trinxería's miquelets . By shielding Barcelona in this way the Allies kept Spain in the war for two more years. Great power List of forms of government A great power

22704-473: The formulation of policy. Before British forces could effectively take part in the war, the English army had to be reorganised. James' commander-in-chief Louis de Duras, Earl of Feversham , had disbanded the English army in December 1688 so it had to be effectively rebuilt from scratch. Hendrik Trajectinus, Count of Solms and other Dutch officers and officials were appointed by William III in key positions in

22880-423: The founder of the neorealist theory of international relations, uses a set of six criteria to determine great power: population and territory, resource endowment, military strength, economic capability, political stability and competence. John Mearsheimer defines great powers as those that "have sufficient military assets to put up a serious fight in an all-out conventional war against the most powerful state in

23056-709: The frontier; but William did aim to secure his new position in Britain. By seeking refuge in France and subsequently invading Ireland, James II had given William III the ideal instrument to convince the English parliament that entry into a major European war was unavoidable. With the support of Parliament, William III and Mary II declared war on 17 May (O.S.); they then passed the Trade with France Act 1688 (1 Will. & Mar. c. 34), which prohibited all English trade and commerce with France, effective 24 August. This Anglo-Dutch alignment

23232-424: The great powers at the beginning of the 20th century. Shifts of international power have most notably occurred through major conflicts. The conclusion of World War I and the resulting treaties of Versailles , St-Germain , Neuilly , Trianon , and Sèvres made Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States the chief arbiters of the new world order. The German Empire was defeated, Austria-Hungary

23408-422: The height of his power, sought to impose religious unity in France and to solidify and expand his frontiers. He had already won personal glory by conquering new territory, but he was no longer willing to pursue an open-ended militarist policy of the kind that he had undertaken in 1672. Instead, he would rely upon France's clear military superiority to achieve specific strategic objectives along his borders. Proclaimed

23584-651: The indispensable director of Allied diplomatic and military strategy, and he derived additional authority from his enhanced status as king of England – even the Emperor Leopold ;... recognized his leadership. William's English subjects played subordinate or even minor roles in diplomatic and military affairs, having a major share only in the direction of the war at sea. Parliament and the nation had to provide money, men and ships, and William had found it expedient to explain his intentions ... but this did not mean that Parliament or even ministers assisted in

23760-636: The intolerant practices of the Catholic Habsburgs. The Elector of Brandenburg answered the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by promulgating the Edict of Potsdam , which invited the fleeing Huguenots to Brandenburg . However, there were motivations other than religious adherence that disabused him and other German princes of his allegiance to France. Louis XIV had pretensions in the Palatinate in

23936-478: The key fortress of Mainz . After Coblenz failed to surrender Boufflers put it under heavy bombardment, but it did not fall to the French. Louis XIV now mastered the Rhine south of Mainz to the Swiss border, but although the attacks kept the Turks fighting in the east, the impact on Leopold I and the German states had the opposite effect of what had been intended. The League of Augsburg was not strong enough to meet

24112-464: The leader of anti-French forces in the Holy Roman Empire and Catholic Europe. Both wanted to act, but effective opposition in 1681–1682 was out of the question since Amsterdam 's burghers wanted no further conflict with France, and both were fully aware of the current weaknesses of Spain and the empire, whose important German princes from Mainz , Trier , Cologne , Saxony , Bavaria and (significantly) Frederick William I of Brandenburg remained in

24288-406: The most intense fighting of all of Louis XIV's wars the town inevitably capitulated on 8 April. Luxembourg proceeded to take Halle at the end of May, while Boufflers bombarded Liège ; but these acts proved to have no political nor strategic consequence. The final action of note in the Low Countries came on 19 September when Luxembourg's cavalry surprised and defeated the rear of the Allied forces in

24464-412: The most powerful monarch in Europe. Using a combination of aggression, annexation, and quasi-legal means, he then set about extending his gains to strengthen France's frontiers, culminating in the 1683 to 1684 War of the Reunions . The Truce of Ratisbon guaranteed these new borders for twenty years, but concerns among European Protestant states over French expansion and anti-Protestant policies led to

24640-440: The name of his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte , and threatened further annexations of the Rhineland. Thus, Frederick-William, spurning his French subsidies, ended his alliance with France and reached agreements with William of Orange, the Emperor and King Charles XI of Sweden , the last of which by temporarily putting aside their differences over Pomerania . The flight of the Huguenots in southern France caused outright war in

24816-589: The necessary territory in the Reunions , a strategy that combined legalism, arrogance and aggression. The Treaties of Nijmegen (1678) and the earlier Peace of Westphalia (1648) provided Louis XIV with the justification for the Reunions. These treaties had awarded France territorial gains, but owing to the vagaries of their language (as with most treaties of the time) they were notoriously imprecise and self-contradictory, and never specified exact boundary lines. That imprecision often led to differing interpretations of

24992-482: The need for unity in order to resist further expansion, leading to the 1688 creation of the Grand Alliance , an anti-French coalition that fought in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession . Under the treaties of Westphalia in 1648, Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668 and Nijmegen in 1678, France acquired territories in the Rhineland and along its northern border with the Spanish Netherlands . When

25168-423: The new Imperial commander on the Rhine, Prince Louis of Baden , provided a strong defence and prevented further French gains. In the Low Countries, the French took Huy and on 23 July, Luxembourg found William's army near the villages of Neerwinden and Landen. The ensuing engagement on 29 July was a close and costly encounter but French forces, whose cavalry once again showed their superiority, prevailed. William

25344-469: The other European states that a general war, which he had sought to avoid, became inevitable. His fortresses covered his frontiers but also projected French power. Only two statesmen might hope to oppose Louis XIV. One was William of Orange, the stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic, the natural leader of Protestant opposition, and the other was Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I ,

25520-492: The outcome and resolution. Historically, when major political questions were addressed, several great powers met to discuss them. Before the era of groups like the United Nations, participants of such meetings were not officially named but rather were decided based on their great power status. These were conferences that settled important questions based on major historical events. Historian Phillips P. O'Brien , Head of

25696-579: The pay of France. Ever since Leopold I's intervention in the Franco-Dutch War, Louis XIV considered him his most dangerous enemy, although there was little reason to fear him. Leopold I was weak and was in grave danger along his Hungarian borders, where the Ottoman Turks were threatening to overrun all of Central Europe from the south. Louis had encouraged and assisted the Ottoman drive against Leopold I's Habsburg lands and he assured

25872-469: The pro-French mood in Amsterdam. At Ratisbon in 1684, France had been in a position to impose its will on Europe; however, after 1685, its dominant military and diplomatic position began to deteriorate. One of the main factors for the diminution was Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes , which caused the dispersal of France's Protestant community. As many as 200,000 Huguenots fled to England,

26048-605: The rising had been largely suppressed, although pockets of resistance continued in the Highlands until early 1692. At the same time, William III assumed command of government troops in Ireland and gained an important success at The Battle of the Boyne in July 1690, before victory at Beachy Head gave the French temporary control of the English Channel . James returned to France to urge an immediate invasion of England, but

26224-565: The route to Barcelona. With the Spanish King threatening to make a separate peace with France unless the Allies came to his assistance, William III prepared the Anglo-Dutch fleet for action. Part of the fleet under Admiral Berkeley would remain in the north, first leading the disastrous amphibious assault on Brest on 18 June, before bombarding French coastal defences at Dieppe , Saint-Malo , Le Havre , and Calais . The remainder of

26400-413: The severe hardships of 1693 continuing through to the summer of 1694 France was unable to expend the same level of energy and finance for the forthcoming campaign. The crisis reshaped French strategy, forcing commanders to redraft plans to fit the dictates of fiscal shortfalls. In the background, Louis XIV's agents were working hard diplomatically to unhinge the coalition but the Emperor, who had secured with

26576-417: The signing of the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. Since then, the international balance of power has shifted numerous times, most dramatically during World War I and World War II . In literature, alternative terms for great power are often world power or major power . There are no set or defined characteristics of a great power. These characteristics have often been treated as empirical, self-evident to

26752-506: The south in Piedmont, Nicolas Catinat led 12,000 men and soundly defeated Victor Amadeus at the Battle of Staffarda on 18 August. Catinat immediately took Saluzzo , followed by Savigliano , Fossano , and Susa , but lacking sufficient troops, and with sickness rife within his army, Catinat was obliged to withdraw back across the Alps for the winter. French successes in 1690 had checked

26928-414: The subsequent Glorious Revolution brought a rapid end to James II's reign. On 13 February 1689 (O.S.) William of Orange became King William III of England – reigning jointly with his wife Mary – and bound together the fortunes of England and the Dutch Republic. Yet few people in England suspected that William had sought the crown for himself or that his aim was to bring England into the war against France on

27104-456: The term today. Other powers, such as Spain, Portugal, and Sweden, which were great powers during the 17th century and the earlier 18th century, were consulted on certain specific issues, but they were not full participants. After the Congress of Vienna, Great Britain emerged as the pre-eminent global hegemon, due to it being the first nation to industrialize , possessing the largest navy, and

27280-554: The territory owed; since those appointed to the Chambers were French lawyers, the normal result was to demand additional concessions but as these generally consisted of small towns and villages, they went unopposed. The exceptions were Strasbourg and Luxembourg , both of which remained part of the Holy Roman Empire . While France controlled much of the surrounding area, the bridge over the Rhine at Strasbourg had been used by Imperial troops to invade Alsace on three occasions during

27456-527: The text and resulted in long disputes over frontier zones, where one side might gain a town or area and its "dependencies", but it was often unclear what the dependencies were. The machinery needed to determine the territorial ambiguities was already in place through the medium of the parlements at Metz (technically, the only Chamber of Reunion ), Besançon and a superior court at Breisach , dealing respectively with Lorraine , Franche-Comté and Alsace . The courts usually found in Louis XIV's favour. By 1680,

27632-576: The threat, but on 22 October 1688 the powerful German princes, including the Elector of Brandenburg , John George III, Elector of Saxony , Ernest Augustus of Hanover , and Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel , reached an agreement in Magdeburg that mobilised the forces of north Germany. Meanwhile, the Emperor recalled the Bavarian, Swabian , and Franconian troops under the Elector of Bavaria from

27808-479: The town on 10 October which, together with the earlier prizes of Mons, Namur and Huy, provided the French with a new and impressive forward line of defence. In northern Italy, meanwhile, Catinat marched on Rivoli (with reinforcements from the Rhine and Catalan fronts), forcing the Duke of Savoy to abandon the siege and bombardment of Pinerolo (25 September – 1 October) before withdrawing to protect his rear. The resultant Battle of Marsaglia on 4 October 1693 ended in

27984-404: The victorious great powers were recognised by permanent seats at the League of Nations Council, where they acted as a type of executive body directing the Assembly of the League. However, the council began with only four permanent members – Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan – because the United States, meant to be the fifth permanent member, never joined the League. Germany later joined after

28160-412: The west under Humières' successor – and Louis XIV's greatest general of the period – Marshal Luxembourg . On 1 July Luxembourg secured a clear tactical victory over Waldeck at the Battle of Fleurus ; but his success produced little benefit – Louis XIV's concerns for the dauphin on the Rhine (where Marshal de Lorge now held actual command) overrode strategic necessity in the other theatres and forestalled

28336-478: The winter of 1691/92 the French devised a grand plan to gain the ascendancy over their enemies – a design for the invasion of England in one more effort to support James II in his attempts to regain his kingdoms; and a simultaneous assault on Namur in the Spanish Netherlands. The French hoped that Namur's seizure might inspire the Dutch to make peace, but if not, its capture would nevertheless be an important pawn at any future negotiations. With 60,000 men (protected by

28512-403: The world's largest population, has slowly risen to great power status, with large growth in economic and military power in the post-war period. After 1949, the Republic of China began to lose its recognition as the sole legitimate government of China by the other great powers, in favour of the People's Republic of China. Subsequently, in 1971, it lost its permanent seat at the UN Security Council to

28688-451: The world." As noted above, for many, power capabilities were the sole criterion. However, even under the more expansive tests, power retains a vital place. This aspect has received mixed treatment, with some confusion as to the degree of power required. Writers have approached the concept of great power with differing conceptualizations of the world situation, from multi-polarity to overwhelming hegemony . In his essay, 'French Diplomacy in

28864-410: Was backed by the majority Catholic population. His supporters were known as " Jacobites ", and the war in Ireland was accompanied by a rising in Scotland ; for James, the main objective was to retake England and thus he viewed both Scotland and Ireland as strategic dead ends. On the other hand, Louis saw them as an opportunity to divert British resources from the Low Countries, a difference in aims that

29040-403: Was divided into new, less powerful states and the Russian Empire fell to revolution . During the Paris Peace Conference , the " Big Four " – Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States – controlled the proceedings and outcome of the treaties more than Japan. The Big Four were the architects of the Treaty of Versailles which was signed by Germany; the Treaty of St. Germain, with Austria;

29216-426: Was however able to quickly replace his losses, while Luxembourg's infantry was so battered that he had to refrain from besieging Liège, the city that had been the main objective for the French that year. To still make something of the campaign Louis ordered Luxembourg and Vauban to take Charleroi, the last Spanish stronghold on the sambre, sandwiched between the French fortifications of Mons and Namur. The French captured

29392-503: Was in the security interests of their own state. The invasion fleet consisted of 463  ships and 40,000  men on board, roughly twice the size of the Spanish Armada , with 49  warships, 76  transports carrying soldiers and 120 for the five  thousand horses required by the cavalry and supply train. For propaganda purposes, English admiral Arthur Herbert was nominally put in command, but in reality operational control remained with Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Evertsen

29568-426: Was left to itself the situation could become desperate for the Dutch Republic: Louis XIV might intervene and so make James II his vassal; or James, wishing to distract his subjects, might even join with Louis in a repetition of the attack made on the Dutch Republic in 1672 . By the end of 1687, therefore, William had envisaged intervention, and by early 1688 he had secretly begun to make active preparations. The birth of

29744-772: Was never adequately resolved. James' Catholic deputy, the Earl of Tyrconnell , had raised an Army of around 36,000, although many were poorly equipped and it was almost impossible to feed, pay and supply so many. Although they quickly occupied much of Ireland, including largely Protestant Ulster , they were unable to capture the key northern port of Derry and were forced to retreat at the end of July. In August, Williamite general Schomberg landed in Belfast Lough with 15,000 reinforcements, but logistics failures meant his army stalled at Dundalk and suffered heavily from sickness and desertion. The Scottish Jacobites suffered heavy losses in securing victory at Killiecrankie in July 1689, including their leader Viscount Dundee . By May 1690

29920-453: Was not a religious war ), but the Maritime Powers were also keen for peace. Talks were hampered, however, by Louis' reluctance to cede his earlier gains (at least those made in the Reunions) and, in his deference to the principle of the divine right of kings, his unwillingness to recognise William III's claim to the English throne. For his part William was intensely suspicious of the Sun King and his supposed designs for universal monarchy. Over

30096-413: Was occupied on 30 September 1681 and officially became part of France, although it retained a degree of economic and political autonomy until 1726. Marshal Boufflers simultaneously laid siege to Luxembourg but Louis now decided it was impolitic for him to attack another Christian kingdom while it was under attack from the Turks and in March 1682 Boufflers withdrew his troops. However, on 12 September 1683

30272-435: Was outnumbered. Lacking sufficient supplies to mount an attack, Luxembourg was unable to prevent the Allies from capturing Dixmude, and on 27 September 1694 the Allies under the Duke of Holstein-Plön recaptured Huy , an essential preliminary to future operations against Namur. Elsewhere, de Lorge marched and manoeuvred against Baden on the Rhine with undramatic results before the campaign petered out in October; while in Italy,

30448-409: Was the basis for the Grand Alliance , ratified on 20 December by William III representing England, Anthonie Heinsius and Treasurer Jacob Hop representing the Dutch Republic, and Königsegg and Stratman representing Emperor Leopold I. Like the Dutch the English were not preoccupied with territorial gains on the Continent, but were deeply concerned with limiting the power of France to defend against

30624-420: Was then blockaded with the intention of it becoming part of his defensible frontier. On 30 September 1681, French troops also seized Strasbourg and its outpost, Kehl , on the right bank of the Rhine, a bridge that Holy Roman Empire ("imperial") troops had regularly exploited during the latter stages of the Dutch War. By forcibly taking the imperial city, the French now controlled two of the three bridgeheads over

30800-411: Was untenable, the Allies abandoned Dauphiné in mid-September, leaving behind seventy villages and châteaux burned and pillaged. The attack on Dauphiné had required Noailles give up troops to bolster Catinat, condemning him to a passive campaign in Catalonia; but on the Rhine the French gained the upper hand. De Lorge devoted much of his effort imposing contributions in Swabia and up to Franconia. In October

30976-400: Was very active. Villefranche fell to French forces on 20 March, followed by Nice on 1 April, forestalling any chance of an Allied invasion of France along the coast. Meanwhile, to the north, in the Duchy of Savoy, the Marquis of La Hoguette took Montmélian (the region's last remaining stronghold) on 22 December – a major loss for the Grand Alliance. However, by comparison the French campaign on

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