League of Augsburg

Timeline

1. 1684–1686Upper Rhine and the Alsatian frontier · Upper RhineFrance merged courts to annex Alsace and occupied Strasbourg, and the 1684 Truce of Regensburg recognized only a twenty-year status quo. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the persecution of Waldensians in Savoy prompted Spain, Sweden, and several German states to feel the need for a clearer defensive arrangement.
2. 1686Augsburg · BavariaLeopold I concluded a defensive league at Augsburg with Spain, Sweden, and electorates such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Palatinate, agreeing to mutually guarantee the imperial circles and the existing treaty order against Louis XIV's continued expansion along the Rhine. The terms were largely declaratory and lacked unified operational command.
3. 1688–1689Western Europe · Western EuropeIn September 1688 French forces crossed the Rhine and besieged Philippsburg; the League failed to deter France. After the Glorious Revolution, William III, as king of England and the Netherlands, drew the maritime powers into the conflict, expanding the League of Augsburg into the Grand Alliance as the Nine Years' War erupted in full.
4. 1689–1697Ryswick · Dutch RepublicThe Grand Alliance fought France on land and sea for nine years. On September 20, 1697, France signed with England, Spain, and the Netherlands at Ryswick, and the emperor joined on October 30. Louis XIV recognized William III as king of England, and France retained Strasbourg. The defensive league completed its cycle of war and was not renewed.