Treaty for Defensive Alliance between Brandenburg and France
Description of Terms
According to the text of the treaty, the Netherlands would have
to defend Brandenburg in Cleves, Juliers, Bergue, Marck, and
Ravensberg and all the countries that Brandenburg had on the
Baltic Sea. Brandenburg would have to defend the Netherlands
against any attack on its country or against any trouble directed
against its commerce and navigation in the Baltic Sea. If one
party was attacked, the other had three months after notifica-
tion before entering the conflict. The alliance was not meant to
interfere with Brandenburg’s prior entente with the Holy
Roman Empire, the king of Poland, or any prior contracts with
cities, kings, princes, or other parties.
Specific provisions held that if the Netherlands were
attacked, Brandenburg would have to provide 2,000 men, while
the Netherlands had to provide Brandenburg 4,000 men. Those
men were to be housed at the expense of the attacked country,
but all other expenses would be paid by the assisting country.
Aid could also alternatively come in the form of warships,
monies, or munitions, and the help would be provided in pro-
portions determined by the attacked country.
The countries of Cleves and others of Brandenburg were to
be exempt, except for housing and passage. Navigations, com-
merce, and traffic would continue, and both parties were
allowed entrance to each other’s ports. Any other country that
wished entry into the alliance was free to do so as long as the
two original countries consented. If England, Scotland, and Ire-
land asked for admission in the entente, they would be
accepted. This alliance was to last eight years, with a convention
held after six years to renegotiate. Both sides would attempt to
woo powerful cities, especially the circles of Westphalia and of
Lower Saxony, to the alliance.
1.1004 Treaty for Defensive Alliance between
Brandenburg and France
Alliance Members:Brandenburg and France
Signed On:February 24, 1656, in the city of Königsberg (Russia)
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Dumont,vol. 4, part 2, p. 129.
Additional Citations:Consolidated Treaty Series,vol. 4, p. 41.
SUMMARY
Brandenburg’s alignment with Sweden and the latter’s initial over-
whelming successes during the First Northern War forced Frederick
William I to submit to Sweden’s interests. After the Treaty of Königs-
berg (January 17, 1656) codified Brandenburg’s recognition of
Sweden’s sphere of influence,Frederick William was left with an
unemployed army and a seemingly settled frontier to the east. He
therefore quickly formed an alliance in support of France’s war with
Spain in exchange for France’s support of Brandenburg’s limited
territorial claims on its western frontier, most notably the Jülich-
Cleves states. The treaty was ratified by France on April 12 and by
Brandenburg on October 24 of 1656.
Description of Terms
In time of war, France would provide 5,000 men, 1,200 horses
and artillery, or the money necessary to acquire these numbers
within two months after a demand by Brandenburg. Similarly,
Brandenburg would provide 2,400 men and 600 horses within
three months of a demand by France. The soldiers would be
maintained by the attacked country but paid by the sending
country. If the attacked country was faced with an overwhelm-
ing force, the assisting country had to provide additional aid
that would be reimbursed after the conflict. The assisting coun-
try would keep control of its armies except from the general of
the attacked army. Both countries promised to leave to the
church any of its possessions. The attacked could not make a
peace treaty with the aggressor without the consent of the other
party; a cease-fire of only three weeks would be allowed for
negotiations.
This alliance text provided for a term that would last six
years, and the treaty was not to prejudice the alliances with the
king of Sweden, the Netherlands, or any other alliances of the
two countries.1.1005 Treaty among France, England, and the
Netherlands (Treaty of the Hague)
Alliance Members:France, England, and the Netherlands
Signed On:May 21, 1659, in the city of The Hague (Netherlands)
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Aitzema,vol. IX, p. 407.
Additional Citations:Consolidated Treaty Series,vol. 5, p. 265;
Dumont,vol. 5, part 2, p. 252.SUMMARY
This alliance was an attempt to foster peace between Sweden and Den-
mark. The most significant part of the agreement was the joint pledge
from English and Dutch forces. The Dutch naval forces had backed the
Danes, and the English were set to aid the Swedes, but both naval pow-
ers came to understand pacification of the area as their primary goal.
Thus, by coordinating their actions, both naval powers sought to
reduce mutual tensions exacerbated by the conflict and by the contin-
uing competition over trade.
Although the alliance led to increased negotiations among the com-
batants, these meetings were largely ineffectual. The British negotia-
tors, driven largely by domestic political turmoil at home, hardly
proved to be honest brokers as they inconsistently vacillated across
issues ranging from their alignment with Swedish interests to their
trade competition with the Dutch and English in a pacified Baltic. The
war ended as the combatants wearied of war following the death of
King Gustavus of Sweden in February of 1660.Description of Terms
The treaty stipulated that France, England, and the Netherlands
would maintain the peace between Sweden and Denmark based
on the treaty of March 8, 1658. The warships that England and
the Netherlands sent would not join Sweden or Denmark for a