The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, Spain,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

, Sweden, Denmark-Norway, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The most significant of the treaties was the first, which established peace between France and the Dutch Republic and placed the northern border of France very near its modern position.

Background

The

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-No ...

of 1672–78 was the source of all the other wars that were ended formally at Nijmegen. Separate peace treaties were arranged for conflicts like the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

and the Scanian War, but all of them had been directly caused by and form part of the Franco-Dutch War. England initially participated in the war on the French side but withdrew in 1674, after the Treaty of Westminster. The Electorate of Cologne left the war in 1674, while the Prince-Bishopric of Münster switched sides from France to join the anti-French coalition that year. Denmark-Norway also joined the anti-French side in 1675, primarily fighting against Sweden. At the end of the Franco-Dutch and Scanian Wars, these were the belligerents: ;Anti-French coalition: * Statenvlag

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

(including Spanish Netherlands) * Flag of Denmark

Denmark-Norway * Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400)

: **

Kriegsflagge Kur-Brandenburgische Flotte

Brandenburg-Prussia ** Flag of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster

Prince-Bishopric of Münster ** DEU Fuerstentum Lueneburg COA

Principality of Lüneburg (Celle) **

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following t ...

** and others ;France and allies * Royal Standard of the King of France

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, ; fi, Ruotsi; fit, Ruotti; se, Ruoŧŧa; smj, Svierik; sje, Sverji; sju, Sverje; sma, Sveerje or ; yi, שוועדן, Shvedn; rmu, Svedikko; rmf, Sveittiko. formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on t ...

Treaties

Peace negotiations had begun as early as 1676, but nothing was agreed to and signed before 1678. Most treaties were concluded in Nijmegen, therefore the sum of all documents is known as the 'Treaties of Nijmegen'. Some of the countries involved signed peace deals elsewhere, such as the Treaty of Celle (Sweden made peace with Lüneburg (Celle)), Treaty of Saint-Germain (France and Sweden made peace with Brandenburg) and Treaty of Fontainebleau (France dictated peace between Sweden and Denmark-Norway).

Terms

Treaty of Nijmegen between Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire 1679 01

The Franco–Dutch War ended with a treaty which gave France control over the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

. France also gained further territories of the Spanish Netherlands, adding to those it had annexed under the 1659 Peace of the Pyrenees and 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. These included the town of Saint-Omer with the remaining northwestern part of the former Imperial County of Artois; the lands of Cassel, Aire and

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

in southwestern

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

; the Bishopric of Cambrai; and the towns of Valenciennes and Maubeuge in the southern County of Hainaut. In turn, French King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

ceded the occupied town of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and the

Principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, a ...

to the Dutch stadtholder William III. The French forces withdrew from several occupied territories in northern Flanders and Hainaut. Emperor Leopold I retained the captured fortress of Philippsburg but had to accept the French occupation of the towns of Freiburg (until 1697) and Kehl (until 1698) on the right bank of the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

. The treaties did not result in a lasting peace.

Culture

Marc-Antoine Charpentier wrote a

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chu ...

for this occasion. The

prelude Prelude may refer to: Music *Prelude (music), a musical form *Prelude (band), an English-based folk band *Prelude Records (record label), a former New York-based dance independent record label *Chorale prelude, a short liturgical composition for ...

of the Te Deum is also known as the Eurovision Song Contest theme.

References

External links