Triple Alliance (1668)

The Triple Alliance

Sir William Temple, English ambassador in the Hague and driving force behind the Alliance
Context	England, the Dutch Republic and Sweden agree to a pact of mutual support
Signed	23 January 1668 (1668-01-23) England, Dutch Republic 25 April 1668 (1668-04-25) Sweden
Location	The Hague 23 January 1668 (1668-01-23) London 5 May 1668 (1668-05-05)
Mediators	François-Paul de Lisola
Negotiators	Sir William Temple Johan de Witt Count Dohna
Signatories	Charles II of England Johan de Witt Count Dohna [1]
Parties	England  Dutch Republic Swedish Empire

The Triple Alliance (Dutch: Triple Alliantie; Swedish: Trippelalliansen) was signed by the Kingdom of England, the Swedish Empire and the Dutch Republic in May 1668. It was created in response to the occupation of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté by France. Although Spain and Emperor Leopold were not signatories, they were closely involved in the negotiations.

It consisted of three separate agreements: a defensive alliance, an undertaking to oblige Spain and France to make peace, and secret clauses that included mediating an end to the war between Spain and Portugal and enforcing the peace by military action if required.

By 1663, Louis XIV had accepted that French and Dutch objectives in the Low Countries were incompatible and used the Second Anglo-Dutch War to launch the War of Devolution in May 1667. He and Leopold were co-heirs to Charles of Spain, and in January 1668, they signed a treaty that divided the Spanish Empire if Charles died without an heir, and it awarded Louis the Spanish Netherlands and set the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The alliance was short-lived since both Sweden and England backed France at the outset of the Franco-Dutch War four years later, but it marked the point at which England and the Dutch came to see France as a common threat. That made it the forerunner of the Grand Alliance, which fought the 1688-1697 Nine Years' War and the 1701-1714 War of the Spanish Succession.