Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
| Franco–Spanish War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of French-Habsburg rivalry | |||||||||
The war was driven by long standing French attempts to strengthen their borders with Habsburg Spain (red) and Habsburg Austria (yellow) | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
France Savoy Modena and Regio (1647–1649; 1655–1659) Parma (1635–1637) Commonwealth (1657–1659) |
Spanish Empire Modena and Reggio (1636–1646) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Turenne Condé (until 1652) Jean de Gassion Choiseul Charles de La Porte de La Ferté Prince of Orange Bernard of Saxe-Weimar |
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand Francisco de Melo John of Austria Caracena Vélez Archduke Leopold Condé (from 1652) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
France: c. 100,000–125,000 |
Spain: c. 200,000 (1640) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
France: c. 200,000 to 300,000 killed or wounded 300,000 killed or wounded in combat |
Spain: Unknown | ||||||||
.svg){kind=link}
The Franco-Spanish War , May 1635 to November 1659, was fought between France and Spain, each supported by various allies at different points. The first phase, beginning in May 1635 and ending with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, is considered a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War. The second continued until 1659, when France and Spain agreed to peace terms in the Treaty of the Pyrenees.
Major areas of conflict included northern Italy, the Spanish Netherlands and the Rhineland. France supported revolts against Spanish rule in Portugal (1640–1668), Catalonia (1640–1653) and Naples (1647), while Spain backed French rebels in the 1647 to 1653 civil war or "Fronde". Both also backed opposing sides in the 1639 to 1642 Piedmontese Civil War.
Prior to May 1635, France provided significant support to Habsburg opponents such as the Dutch Republic and Sweden, but had avoided direct conflict with Spain or Austria. The Franco-Spanish War began when France declared war on Spain, then shortly afterwards separately entered the 30 Years War against Austria. After the latter ended in 1648, fighting continued between Spain and France, with neither able to achieve decisive victory. France made some gains in Flanders and along the north-eastern end of the Pyrenees, but by 1658 both sides were financially exhausted, which led them to make peace in November 1659.
While relatively minor in extent, French territorial gains significantly strengthened their borders, while Louis XIV married Maria Theresa of Spain, eldest daughter of Philip IV. Although Spain retained its vast global empire, some commentators argue the Treaty of the Pyrenees marks the end of its position as the predominant European power.