French–Habsburg rivalry

The term France–Habsburg rivalry (Rivalité franco-habsbourgeoise; Habsburgisch-Französischer Gegensatz) describes the rivalry between the House of and the. The Habsburgs were the largest and most powerful royal house of the from the  until the, and survived with large possessions in the Austro-Hungarian region until the. In addition to holding the, the Habsburg dynasty controlled the (1482-1794),  (1504–1700) and the  (1438–1806). All these lands were notably in under  and formed the Habsburg ring around France. As the House of Habsburg expanded into western Europe, border friction began with the Kingdom of France. The subsequent rivalry became a cause for several major wars, including the 1494–1559; the  1618–1648; the  1688–1697; the, the , and the.

Middle Ages
During the late Middle Ages, the Habsburgs, whose dominions consisted principally of Austria, and later Spain, sought coalitions, principally through marriage, a policy which had the added benefit of gaining territory through marital inheritance. Territorial expansion in this way allowed the Habsburgs to gain territories throughout such as the, ,  and the. This practice was described by Hungarian king ' quote: Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! – "Let others wage war. You, happy Austria, marry!" Following this tradition, married, the last  ruler of  and the Netherlands, in 1477. Nineteen years later, their son married, who became heir to the Spanish thrones. Joanna and Philip's son,, united all of these possessions in 1519. France had the Habsburgs on three sides as its neighbor, with Spain to the south, the Netherlands to the north, and the to the east.

Italian Wars 1494–1559
The were a long series of wars fought between 1494 and 1559 in Italy during the. The Italian peninsula, economically advanced but politically divided between several states, became the main battleground for European supremacy. The conflicts involved the major powers of Italy and Europe, in a series of events that followed the end of the 40-years long agreed in 1454 with the formation of an.

The collapse of the alliance in the 1490s left Italy open to the ambitions of, who invaded the in 1494 on the ground of a dynastic claim. The French were however forced to leave Naples after the formed an alliance with  and.

An important consequence of the was the political marriage arranged by  for the son he had with :  married Joanna the Mad (daughter of  and ) to reinforce the anti-French alliance between  and. The son of Philip and Joanna will become in 1519 succeeding Maximilian and controlling an Habsburg empire inclusive of, , , and the , thus encircling France.

The (1559), which put an end to the Italian Wars, had mixed results: France renounced its claims to territories in Italy, but gained certain other territories, including the and the. In addition, even if the Habsburgs maintained a position of primacy, France managed to change the European balance of power by forcing Charles V to abdicate during the Eighth Italian War and divide the Habsburg Empire between Austria and Spain.

Thirty Years' War 1618–1648
Even though the realm of Charles V was divided between the German and the Spanish branches of his dynasty in 1556, most of the territories of the Burgundian Inheritance, including Flanders, stayed with the Spanish crown, whereas the German and North Italian regions remained with the Austrian branch of the dynasty within the Holy Roman Empire. France regarded the encirclement by the Habsburg powers as a permanent threat, and intervened in several years, to prevent an Austrian-Spanish dominance in Europe.

The began in 1618 as a result of religious intolerance and insurrection between the  and Protestants in, a region belonging to Austria. Eventually, the conflict spread from an intrastate rebellion into a full-scale war between two religious groups: the Protestant North states (which later included Denmark and ); and the Catholic powers with the Holy Alliance of Austria, Spain and the Papal States. France later joined the conflict, but despite the fact its national religion was Catholicism, it fought on the Protestant side for the political reason of attempting to prevent the Habsburgs from achieving total hegemony over the German lands.

After 1648, France became predominant in central Europe. Following the peace treaty of in 1648 and, more particularly, the  in 1659, Spain's power began its slow decline in what proved to be the last decades of a degenerating Habsburg regime there. After their victory over the Turks in the second Turkish of  in 1683, the Austrian Habsburgs focused less and less on their conflicts with the  in the. After the death of the last Spanish Habsburg in 1700, King  claimed the Spanish throne for his grandson. This caused the. In the, Louis succeeded in installing the in a Spain that was by now a second-rank power, and in bringing the Habsburg encirclement of France to an end.

After two centuries, the rivalry had lost its original cause. After the potent decline of Spain, the 18th Century witnessed a major restructuring in European politics. Austria, the dominant power in Central Europe, now had to face the rising power of in the north. Russia finally grew to become a recognized great power after its success against Sweden. And last, Britain's ever-growing might in Europe and America finally challenged the hegemony that France had upheld for years. Nevertheless, the two powers remained hostile for another 40 years.

Nine Years' War 1688–1697
The ' 1688–1697, often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg''' – was a conflict between and a European coalition of Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, Spain, England and Savoy. It was fought in Europe and the surrounding seas, North America and in India. It is sometimes considered the first. The conflict encompassed the and  in Scotland, where  and  struggled for control of England and Ireland, and a campaign in colonial North America between French and English settlers and their respective Indigenous allies, today called  by Americans.

Louis XIV had emerged from the in 1678 as the most powerful monarch in Europe, an  ruler who had won numerous military victories. Using a combination of aggression, annexation, and quasi-legal means, Louis set about extending his gains to stabilize and strengthen France's frontiers, culminating in the brief (1683–84). The guaranteed France's new borders for twenty years, but Louis's subsequent actions – notably his  (the revocation of the Edict of Nantes) in 1685 – led to the deterioration of his military and political dominance. Louis's decision to cross the in September 1688 was designed to extend his influence and pressure the  into accepting his territorial and dynastic claims. and the German princes resolved to resist, and when the and William III brought the Dutch and the English into the war against France, the French king faced a powerful coalition aimed at curtailing his ambitions.

The main fighting took place around France's borders in the, the , the and. The fighting generally favoured France's armies, but by 1696 his country was in the grip of an economic crisis. The Maritime Powers (England and the Dutch Republic) were also financially exhausted, and when Savoy defected from the Alliance, all parties were keen to negotiate a settlement. By the terms of the (1697) France retained the whole of  but was forced to return  to its ruler and give up any gains on the right bank of the Rhine. Louis also accepted William III as the rightful king of England, while the Dutch acquired a system in the Spanish Netherlands to help secure their borders. With the ailing and childless approaching his end, a new conflict over the inheritance of the  embroiled Louis and the Grand Alliance in the.

Seven Years' War
A significant reversal in French-Habsburg relations occurred in 1756 during the, which involved , Great Britain, , France, and Austria. In a move known as the, masterminded by Austrian diplomat , France and Austria became allies for the first time in over two hundred years. The alliance was sealed with the marriage of Austrian princess to the, who later became King. France and Austria, allied by virtue of and, along with Russia, fought against , which was founded on the Westminster Convention of 1756.

The diplomatic change was triggered by a separation of interests between Austria and Britain. The which had concluded the  in 1748 had left  dissatisfied with the. Despite having successfully defended her claim to the Habsburg throne and had her husband,, crowned Emperor in 1745, she had been forced to relinquish valuable territory in the process. Under British diplomatic pressure, Maria Theresa had given up most of and occupied, as well as ceding  to Spain and the. Finally, the valuable Bohemian crown land of had been given up to, who had occupied it during the war. That acquisition had further advanced Prussia as a great European power, which now posed an increasing threat to Austria's central European position, and the growth of Prussia was welcomed by the British, who saw it as a means of balancing French power and reducing French influence in Germany, which might otherwise have grown in response to Austria's weakness. Conversely, the French, determined to impede further Prussian progress, were now willing to support Austria whose force had grown less intimidating.

Despite early successes in the war, the Franco-Austrian alliance did not prevail. The war ended in a victory for Britain and Prussia, aided by the and Britain's control of the seas, and both France and Austria were left in weakened positions. The, which ended the war in 1763, established France's withdrawal from the American continent and consolidated Prussian gains in Europe to Austria's detriment.

Napoleonic Wars
The was opposed by the Habsburgs in Austria, who sought to destroy the  with assistance from several coalitions of monarchical nations, including  and several states within the Holy Roman Empire. According to Chris McNab: "The problems faced by the Austrian Emperor were in large part due to past Habsburg successes. Primarily through marriages, they had acquired many provinces with varied ethnic and racial populations – therefore, no universal language existed in the army." Due to difficulties such as this, the Austrian Army suffered defeats during the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. After the on 2 December 1805, the ability of the Habsburgs to govern the Holy Roman Empire was dramatically weakened. This led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, which was divided between France and Austria, leading to the formation of the.