Treaty of the Pyrenees

Timeline

1. 1658Near Dunkirk (site of the Battle of the Dunes) · FlandersOn 14 June 1658, Turenne routed the combined Spanish and Condé forces at the Battle of the Dunes near Dunkirk, completely shattering Spain's military superiority in Flanders. The defeat convinced Spain that the war could no longer be won, prompting Philip IV to accept peace negotiations and providing the decisive military foundation for the talks that produced the Treaty of the Pyrenees.
2. 1659Pheasant Island (Île des Faisans) · PyreneesOn 13 August 1659, Cardinal Mazarin, chief French representative, and the Spanish representative Don Luis de Haro met for the first time on Pheasant Island in the middle of the Bidasoa River and opened formal negotiations. The two sides held nearly three months of arduous talks on the core issues of territorial cession, a royal marriage, and Condé's pardon. Pheasant Island, lying exactly on the border between the two countries, embodied the principle of sovereign equality.
3. 1659Pheasant Island (Île des Faisans) · PyreneesOn 7 November 1659, Mazarin and Haro formally signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees (Traité des Pyrénées) on Pheasant Island. Main terms: ① France gained Roussillon, Cerdanya (northern Catalonia), and Artois, among others; ② Spain retained part of its territories in Flanders; ③ the Spanish infanta Maria Theresa of Austria was betrothed to Louis XIV (married the following year), and Maria Theresa renounced her right of succession to the Spanish throne (though Louis XIV later launched the War of Devolution on the grounds that this renunciation had not been fully honored); ④ the Prince of Condé was pardoned and his lands restored.
4. 1659–1660Europe · EuropeThe Treaty of the Pyrenees marked the end of Spain's continental hegemony and the full rise of France. Through the treaty France expanded its northern and southern frontiers; after Maria Theresa married into the French royal house, Louis XIV later launched the War of Devolution in 1667 on the grounds of the Spanish succession, further expanding French influence. The treaty was epoch-making in the history of European diplomacy, establishing the framework of French dominance over European politics for more than a century.