How a fake legal claim triggered the first of Louis XIV’s expansionist wars
In 1667, Louis XIV invoked an obscure medieval law to claim the Spanish Netherlands as his own. This maneuver, aimed at securing French economic growth, shattered a long-standing alliance with the Dutch Republic and launched a series of conflicts that would define European power dynamics for the next several decades.
The War of Devolution, lasting from May 1667 to May 1668, was rooted in Louis XIV’s marriage to Maria Theresa of Spain. Under the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees, she had renounced her inheritance rights in exchange for a dowry of 500,000 gold écus. When this sum remained unpaid, French lawyers argued that her renunciation was void. They utilized the Jus Devolutionis, a law restricting inheritance to children from a first marriage, to claim that Spanish territories had 'devolved' to Louis. Spain rejected this, noting the law applied only to private property in specific regions, not feudal rights.
Louis’s expansionist policy was heavily influenced by his Finance Minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who viewed control of the Spanish Netherlands as vital for French economic prosperity. By 1667, France had modernized its military under Michel Le Tellier, fielding 51,000 troops for the campaign. The French army quickly occupied parts of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté, encountering minimal resistance. However, the invasion alarmed other European powers, leading to the formation of the Triple Alliance between England, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic, which aimed to force a diplomatic resolution.
The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in May 1668. While France returned much of its occupied territory, it retained eleven strategic towns, including Lille and Tournai, which reinforced its northern border. The war’s legacy was complex: it marked the end of the Franco-Dutch alliance and intensified internal Dutch political divisions between the Republican faction and the Orangists. Louis, frustrated by the Dutch opposition, began planning for a future conflict, setting the stage for the Franco-Dutch War and the eventual formation of the 1689 Grand Alliance.
Source: War of Devolution
