Congress of Breda - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Congress of Breda often also known as the Breda peace talks were a series of negotiations between representatives of Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

and France

Early Modern France

Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...

in the Dutch

Dutch Republic

The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

city of Breda

Breda

Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

that took place between 1746 and 1748. They were designed to bring an end to the Austrian War of Succession and laid the foundations for the ultimate peace settlement at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...

. They were not official peace talks, and lacked the participation of the other warring European states.

Background

The War of the Austrian Succession

War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...

had been raging since 1740 in one form or another, although Britain and France had only formally gone to war with each other in 1744. There was a strong anti-war faction in Britain, who grew in strength after a number of military setbacks. Equally in France there were those who advocated peace because the war was draining French resources and money. Talks were arranged and agreed to be held by representatives of the two states in the Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic

, in practice a warring state allied to Britain, but officially neutral.

Congress

The British were represented by Lord Sandwich

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...

and the French by the Marquis de Puyzieulx

Marquis de Puyzieulx

The Marquis de Puyzieulx was a French statesman and diplomat of the 18th century. He represented France for much of the Breda Peace Talks, which were aimed at bringing the War of the Austrian Succession to an end....

. Sandwich and the British delegation set up their headquarters in the pavilion of Breda Castle

Breda Castle

In the 12th century, a fortress was located at Breda. The city of Breda came into existence nearby the fortress. In 1350, the Duke of Brabant sold Breda to Jan II of Polanen . He reinforced the castle with four towers and a channel...

which was lent to them by their ally, William IV, Prince of Orange

William IV, Prince of Orange

William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau , born Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, was the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands.-Early life:...

for the duration of the talks. Their instructions from the Duke of Newcastle were to prolong the talks until a significant British victory on the battlefield allowed them to negotiate from a position of strength. Although the French entered the talks following a string of victories, they had been beset by a financial crisis and wanted to bring the war to a swift conclusion.

The discussions convened in August 1746. Almost immediately they started to flounder, as it became apparent to both sides that the other was holding something back. France wanted to negotiate a treaty there and then, on behalf of their respective coalitions - but the British insisted that any settlement had to involve all parties. The British also rejected a French proposal to declare the Low Countries

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

as "neutral territory" ending the war there, because they believed they would need the Dutch as allies in future conflicts.

Unsatisfied by his performance, the French had recalled Puyzieulx and replaced him. Sandwich stalled the talks for some time by demanding that his replacement proof his accreditation. There were further delays when a Spanish delegate turned up, claiming to have authority to represent the King of Spain. The British were constantly aware of the French negotiating strategy, as letters to the French delegates were intercepted and copied by postmasters in British pay.

While there Sandwich was appointed British Ambassador to the Dutch Republic

Dutch Republic

. In this role he was instrumental in a coup which helped the Prince of Orange take power in the Netherlands - a move that was designed to boost the anti-French coalition in Flanders.

In spite of this, by 1747 the Allied war situation had grown more grave following defeats at Lauffeld

Battle of Lauffeld

The Battle of Lauffeld, also known as the Battle of Lafelt or Battle of Maastricht, also Battle of Val, took place on 2 July 1747, during the French invasion of the Netherlands. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession...

and Bergen op Zoom

Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1747)

The Siege of Bergen op Zoom took place during the Austrian War of Succession, when a French army, under the command of Lowendal and the overall direction of Marshal Maurice de Saxe, laid siege and captured the strategic Dutch border fortress of Bergen op Zoom on the border of Brabant and Zealand...

, and the British were forced to take the talks more seriously. Eventually an offer was made to exhange Madras captured by the French for Louisbourg which had been captured by the British in 1745. This provided the basis for further talks and agreements on the European state of affairs. France would withdraw from the Low Countries

Low Countries

and Prussian control over Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

would be recognised.

Despite their earlier insistence that any peace agreement must be drawn up between all parties, the British began to move towards agreeing the terms solely with France - and then presenting them to the other states to agree. To enable this a fresh congress at Aix-la-Chapelle was arranged, where all warring states would participate - to offer formal approval to the agreement between Britain and France.

Aftermath

The peace was formally concluded with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)

in 1748, in which all parties participated through the terms had already been agreed in advance by Britain and France at Breda. The terms proved deeply unsatisfactory to Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

who was outraged that Austria had lost Silesia

Silesia

and that the British had agreed this at Breda without any Austrians being present. In the long run this contributed to the breakdown of the Anglo-Austrian Alliance

Anglo-Austrian Alliance

The Anglo-Austrian Alliance connected the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Habsburg monarchy during the first half of the 18th century. It was largely the work of the British statesman Duke of Newcastle, who considered an alliance with Austria crucial to prevent the further expansion of French...

.

Sandwich was rewarded for his role at the Congress, by being made First Lord of the Admiralty, a post in the British cabinet. Newcastle and he were attacked by the Opposition for giving up Louisbourg, Britain's only significant gain in the war, to France. In France there was enormous disquiet about how France's seemingly advantageous position on the European continent had been given up. A phrase "as stupid as the peace" became popular in France, to express contempt for the terms agreed at Breda and Aix-la-Chapelle.

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