Franco-Dutch War Analysis

Franco-Dutch War, commonly referred to simply as the Dutch War, was a conflict in which France attacked the Spanish Netherlands (1), a territory in the Low Countries controlled by Spain (2). In 1670, England and France signed the Treaty of Dover, uniting them against the Dutch (1). When French forces under Louis XIV invaded the Netherlands, Dutch armies flooded vast portions of the country by opening the dikes, impeding French movement. William III of Orange, the Dutch monarch, oversaw the naval defense of key Dutch regions. Sweden united with France in gaining territory in the Spanish Netherlands and on the Rhine River. With assistance from Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Lorraine, the Dutch successfully resisted further French advancement.
Louis XIV considered himself to be appointed by God as an absolute ruler of France, the “Roi-Soleil” (5). He lived lavishly at Versailles, and pacified the nobility and foreign diplomats by including them in his indulgent lifestyle (5). Louis aspired to make France the most powerful state in Europe; he was, as Voltaire stated, “passionné pour la gloire” of France. Likely from a point of patriotic pride, he especially wished to recover former land holdings that had belonged to France under Charlemagne. He likewise aimed to control territory along the Rhine for the purpose of strategic defense of French borders (3). Louis’ wife, Maria Theresa, was a Spanish monarch who had surrendered her right to inherit Spanish territory on the condition that a dowry be paid to Louis. Spain never paid the dowry, and Louis believed that she was, therefore, entitled to territory in the Spanish Netherlands.
From infancy, William III took the place of his deceased father as the head of the house of Orange and was raised to be the Dutch ruler. He married Mary, the daughter of the Duke of York, in the hopes of fostering cooperation between England and the Netherlands against an aggressive France. Louis XIV and William III were each other’s lifelong enemies
In 1623, the Dutch massacred English merchants in Amboina, setting off a series of offensive military behavior between the two powers (6). War officially broke out between the two from 1652 to 1654. Each was attempting to become the undisputed world leader in trade, and pursued campaigns to interfere with shipping routes, port access, and foreign trade policies. The British won the first Anglo-Dutch war, but another such conflict arose in 1664 when England attacked African territories belonging to the Dutch. The English proceeded to claim the Dutch Republic’s North American colonies, causing injury to Dutch trade. At this time France engaged in war with England, but took no active interest in Dutch victory. The Dutch eventually gained the upper hand in a series of battles and the peace treaty, the 1667 Treaty of Breda, marked a triumph for the Dutch with regards to trade. The agreement prompted a shift in land holdings between the two powers, however, and trade remained a point of contention between Europe’s leading countries. Much of the hostility that remained was directed at the Dutch, most significantly on the part of the French (4). France’s many alliances placed in in a relatively secure position leading up to the Dutch War. French diplomat Arnauld de Pomponne forged strategic alliances with English,