The Treaty of Ryswick came about as the concluding chapter to the European ‘War of Grand Alliance’. The war pitted France on one hand to a grand alliance of four powers, namely England, Spain, The Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces of Netherlands. The war was fought over territories held by the belligerents both in Europe and in the colonies owned by these European powers. The relevance of this European treaty to the later day history of Hispaniola is that the treaty formally recognized the presence of France on the island of Ayti; and the outcome of the treaty was the de jure splitting of Hispaniola island, a once unified administrative unit, into two colonies; the western part to France and the eastern part to Spain. Ayti became the proverbial sacrificial lamb and a peace offering to the gods of European internecine conflict.

Negotiations leading to Treaty of Ryswick Apparently unable to defeat each other in war, and being weighed down with the huge financial and human costs of the long drawn out conflict; the European powers decided to end the war by sharing the territories being fought over between themselves. All parties to the War of Grand Alliance gathered in the year 1697 AD, in what is today known as Holland or the Dutch Republic, to sort out their differences. The French who were then the most powerful military presence in Europe, quartered their representatives in the Hague, while the four allied powers had their base in Delft. In between the two towns hosting the protagonists was the city of Ryswick, where the negotiating conference took place at the Huis ter Nieuwburg.

Negotiations started on an ad-hoc basis. When mutual acrimonious debates did not allow the warring parties to reach any sort of meaningful agreement for several weeks, it was tentatively decided that a smaller negotiating team made up of one principal member from each camp should meet and work out a compromise. The four warlords in this conflict were: King William of Orange, King Louis the Fourteenth of France, King Charles the Second of Spain, and Emperor Leonard the First of the Holy Roman Empire. The two major protagonists in this war were King William of Orange who was at this time battling to reclaim the throne of England from King James the Second; and King Louis the fourteen who was giving support to King Charles the Second of England. King William of Orange chose William Bentinck, Earl of Portland, to represent the Grand Alliance; while King Louis IV picked Marshal Boufflers to represent France. Both men met and after private negotiations, drew up terms of agreement for sharing the territories being fought over between the two warring parties. King Louis IV of France, and King William of Orange endorsed these agreements. However, both Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire, and King Charles II of Spain budged, and would not endorse the agreements reached between France and England. After much persuasion by their war ally England, the recalcitrant Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the King of Spain, were brought round to put their signatures on the treaty document.

Page 1 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next