Anglo-French Alliance (1716–1731)

The Anglo-French Alliance is the name for the alliance between Great Britain and France between 1716 and 1731. It formed part of the stately quadrille in which the Great Powers of Europe repeatedly switched partners to try to build a superior alliance.

Foreign alliances of France
Frankish–Abbasid Alliance 777–800s
Franco-Mongol Alliance 1220–1316
Franco-Scottish Alliance 1295–1560
Franco-Polish Alliance 1524–1526
Franco-Hungarian Alliance 1528–1552
Franco-Ottoman Alliance 1536–1798
Franco–English Alliance 1657–1660
Franco–indigenous alliances 1603–1763
Franco–British Alliance 1716–1731
Franco-Spanish Alliance 1733–1792
Franco-Prussian Alliance 1741–1756
Franco-Austrian Alliance 1756–1792
Franco-Indian Alliances 1700s
Franco-Vietnamese
Alliance		 1777–1820
Franco-American Alliance 1778–1794
Franco-Persian Alliance 1807–1809
Franco-Prussian Alliance 1812–1813
Franco-Russian Alliance 1892–1917
Entente Cordiale 1904-present
Franco-Polish Alliance 1921–1940
Franco-Italian Alliance 1935
Franco-Soviet Alliance 1936–1939
Western Union 1948–1954
North Atlantic Alliance 1949–present
Western European Union 1954–2011
European Defence Union 1993–present
Regional relations

Creation

Following the end of the War of the Spanish Succession by the Treaty of Utrecht, British and French interests converged as they wished to stop the expansion of Spanish and Russian power. Although British Whig politicians had attacked the Treaty of Utrecht under the slogan "No Peace Without Spain", given it seemingly placed Spain under French control, they soon developed close relations with Paris having returned to power following the Hanoverian succession. France faced an uncertain succession, as their King Louis XV was currently young and childless. Britain was wary of alienating the much-larger France. The two states co-operated during the War of the Quadruple Alliance to stop a Spanish attempt to conquer parts of Italy. Shortly afterwards they managed to check the Russian advance across the Baltic.

End

The birth of a Dauphin in 1729 began to dissolve the French interest in the alliance, as their future was increasingly secure. In Britain a group of Austrophiles suggested that Austria would make a better potential partner for Britain. The actions of the French Chief Minister Cardinal Fleury were increasingly hostile towards Britain. The French failure to support the British during the Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729) convinced many that they were no longer a reliable ally but were instead returning to the traditional position of a rival. The end of the alliance was never formally declared, but by early 1731, it was widely considered to be over.

In 1731, Britain, sensing the direction Cardinal Fleury was taking France, concluded an alliance with Austria. By 1742, Britain and France were on opposite sides during the War of the Austrian Succession and their colonial rivalry in North America continued. Some have suggested that between 1688 and 1815 Britain and France were 'natural enemies' and the period has become known as the Second Hundred Years' War, but the 17 years spent as allies has been used to challenge the theory that the two states were implacable enemies.

See also

Bibliography
  • Browning, Reed. The Duke of Newcastle. Yale University Press, 1975.
  • McLynn, Frank. 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World. Pimlico, 2005.
  • Murphy, Orvile T. Charles Gravier: Comete de Vergennes: French Diplomacy in the Age of Revolution. New York Press, 1982.
  • Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008.
  • Whiteley, Peter. Lord North: The Prime Minister who lost America. The Hambledon Press, 1996.
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