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Congress of Breda
The Congress of Breda, also known as the Breda peace talks, were a series of bilateral negotiations between Great Britain and France, held in the Dutch city of Breda from 1746 to 1748. The discussions led to the agreement of terms that later became the basis of the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
By 1746, the War of the Austrian Succession had effectively become a proxy contest between Britain and France, with French victories in Flanders offset by British naval success. Both sides were concerned by the financial costs, although the French position was significantly worse, with the Royal Navy blockade causing severe food shortages. The intention was to agree terms between France and Britain and end the war by presenting them to the other parties, who were not consulted.
The British deliberately extended discussions, hoping to improve their position, but defeat at Lauffeld in July 1747 and the loss of Bergen op Zoom in September led them to agree terms. These were imposed by France and Britain on their allies at Aix-la-Chapelle with minimal consultation.
In the long-term, it marked the point at which the Austrian Habsburg monarchy began moving closer to France, after over 300 years where conflict between them was the dominant theme of European politics.
When the War of the Austrian Succession began in 1740, Britain was focused on the 1739-1748 War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain; fought mostly in the Caribbean, by the end of 1742, this had largely reached stalemate. France declared war on Britain in March 1744, while Spain joined the conflict in Europe, hoping to regain possessions in Northern Italy lost to Austria and Sardinia in 1713. With the help of British subsidies, they repulsed Spanish troops from Northern Italy in late 1746; France was unable to continue funding Spain, while Maria_Theresa of Austria wanted peace in order to restructure her administration.
Despite the victories of Maurice_de_Saxe in Flanders, the British naval blockade was strangling French trade, while their own had recovered from the post 1739 decline and was expanding once again. This negated a key French objective of reducing the post-1713 expansion of British commercial strength, which they viewed as a threat to the European balance of power. Declaring war on the Dutch Republic made the immediate situation worse, since the neutral Dutch had previously been the main carriers of French imports and exports. By 1747, the French financial system was on the verge of collapse, accompanied by severe food shortages.
The Congress was an attempt to reach agreement between the two main protagonists and end the war but doing so was delayed by internal debates within the British government. They were also finding the financial burden hard to sustain, but the pro-war party led by the Duke of Newcastle argued Dutch support provided an opportunity to recover the Austrian Netherlands. Instead, it revealed the extent of their decline since 1713 while hopes of building an alliance with Spain after the death of Philip V in July 1746 also proved fruitless.
Discussions began in August 1746, led by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and the Louis Philogène Brûlart, vicomte de Puisieulx. Sandwich and the British delegation were based near Breda Castle lent to them by William IV, Prince of Orange. Negotiations proceeded slowly, since the British wanted to extend discussions long enough for their position in Flanders to improve. On the other side, France wanted to reach agreement immediately, the terms including making the Low Countries neutral territory in future conflicts; these were drawn up by Gabriel de Mably, who shortly afterwards fell from favour.
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Congress of Breda
The Congress of Breda, also known as the Breda peace talks, were a series of bilateral negotiations between Great Britain and France, held in the Dutch city of Breda from 1746 to 1748. The discussions led to the agreement of terms that later became the basis of the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
By 1746, the War of the Austrian Succession had effectively become a proxy contest between Britain and France, with French victories in Flanders offset by British naval success. Both sides were concerned by the financial costs, although the French position was significantly worse, with the Royal Navy blockade causing severe food shortages. The intention was to agree terms between France and Britain and end the war by presenting them to the other parties, who were not consulted.
The British deliberately extended discussions, hoping to improve their position, but defeat at Lauffeld in July 1747 and the loss of Bergen op Zoom in September led them to agree terms. These were imposed by France and Britain on their allies at Aix-la-Chapelle with minimal consultation.
In the long-term, it marked the point at which the Austrian Habsburg monarchy began moving closer to France, after over 300 years where conflict between them was the dominant theme of European politics.
When the War of the Austrian Succession began in 1740, Britain was focused on the 1739-1748 War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain; fought mostly in the Caribbean, by the end of 1742, this had largely reached stalemate. France declared war on Britain in March 1744, while Spain joined the conflict in Europe, hoping to regain possessions in Northern Italy lost to Austria and Sardinia in 1713. With the help of British subsidies, they repulsed Spanish troops from Northern Italy in late 1746; France was unable to continue funding Spain, while Maria_Theresa of Austria wanted peace in order to restructure her administration.
Despite the victories of Maurice_de_Saxe in Flanders, the British naval blockade was strangling French trade, while their own had recovered from the post 1739 decline and was expanding once again. This negated a key French objective of reducing the post-1713 expansion of British commercial strength, which they viewed as a threat to the European balance of power. Declaring war on the Dutch Republic made the immediate situation worse, since the neutral Dutch had previously been the main carriers of French imports and exports. By 1747, the French financial system was on the verge of collapse, accompanied by severe food shortages.
The Congress was an attempt to reach agreement between the two main protagonists and end the war but doing so was delayed by internal debates within the British government. They were also finding the financial burden hard to sustain, but the pro-war party led by the Duke of Newcastle argued Dutch support provided an opportunity to recover the Austrian Netherlands. Instead, it revealed the extent of their decline since 1713 while hopes of building an alliance with Spain after the death of Philip V in July 1746 also proved fruitless.
Discussions began in August 1746, led by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and the Louis Philogène Brûlart, vicomte de Puisieulx. Sandwich and the British delegation were based near Breda Castle lent to them by William IV, Prince of Orange. Negotiations proceeded slowly, since the British wanted to extend discussions long enough for their position in Flanders to improve. On the other side, France wanted to reach agreement immediately, the terms including making the Low Countries neutral territory in future conflicts; these were drawn up by Gabriel de Mably, who shortly afterwards fell from favour.