Treaty of Dover

Timeline

1. 1669–1670London–Paris · Western EuropeCabal ministers Henry Bennett (Arlington) and Thomas Clifford, among others, negotiated secretly with France's Colbert, Louvois, and others. The two sides sought deals on war against the Dutch, colonial interests, and Charles II's personal financial needs, and separately drafted religious and succession clauses not to be disclosed publicly.
2. 1670Dover · KentOn May 31, 1670, Anglo-French representatives signed the treaty at Dover. The public portion pledged joint war against the Dutch Republic; the secret annex agreed that Charles II would convert to Catholicism, that France would provide an annual subsidy of about £230,000, and that English Catholics would be granted limited rights. The treaty remained secret for a long time, only partially leaking during the political crises of the 1680s.
3. 1672–1674North Sea and continental Europe · Low CountriesThe Treaty of Dover directly led to the joint Anglo-French declaration of war on the Dutch in 1672, triggering the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Although Charles II received French subsidies, parliamentary and public suspicion of the pro-French, pro-Catholic line deepened; the 1673 Test Act forced James and other officials to publicly renounce the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. The treaty's political legacy long plagued the Stuart dynasty.