Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
The Franco-Spanish War was fought from 1635 to 1659 between France and Spain, each supported by various allies at different points. The first phase, beginning in May 1635 and ending with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, is considered a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War. The second phase continued until 1659, when France and Spain agreed to peace terms in the Treaty of the Pyrenees.
| Franco–Spanish War | |||||||||
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| Part of the Thirty Years' War | |||||||||
The war was driven by long standing French attempts to strengthen their borders with Habsburg Spain (red) and Habsburg Austria (yellow) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Phase I: 1635–1648 Kingdom of France Dutch Republic Savoy Duchy of Modena and Reggio (1647–1649) Duchy of Parma (1635–1637) Phase II: 1648–1659 Kingdom of France Savoy Duchy of Modena and Reggio (1655–1659) Commonwealth (1657–1659) |
Phase I: 1635–1648 Spanish Empire Holy Roman Empire Duchy of Modena and Reggio (1636–1646) Phase II: 1648–1659 Spanish Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Turenne |
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand Francisco de Melo John of Austria Caracena Vélez Leopold Wilhelm Condé (from 1652) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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c. 100,000 (1640s) c. 120,000 (1653) c. 110,000–125,000 (1653–1659) | c. 110,000 (1640) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 200,000–300,000 killed or wounded | Unknown | ||||||||
Major areas of conflict included northern Italy, the Spanish Netherlands and the German Rhineland. In addition, France supported revolts against Spanish rule in Portugal (1640–1668), Catalonia (1640–1653) and Naples (1647), and from 1647 to 1653, Spain backed French rebels in the civil war known as the Fronde. Both also backed opposing sides in the 1639 to 1642 Piedmontese Civil War.
France avoided direct participation in the Thirty Years' War until May 1635, when it declared war on Spain and the Holy Roman Empire and entered the conflict as an ally of the Dutch Republic and of Sweden. After Westphalia in 1648, the war continued between Spain and France, with neither side able to achieve decisive victory. France made some gains in Flanders and along the north-eastern end of the Pyrenees, but by 1658 both sides were financially exhausted, which led them to make peace in November 1659.
French territorial gains were minor but strengthened the kingdom's borders; additionally, Louis XIV married Maria Theresa of Spain, the eldest daughter of Philip IV. Spain retained a vast global empire, but the treaty marked the end of its position as the predominant European power.