Treaty of Lisbon (1667)

The treaty was designed to facilitate the French occupation of the Spanish Netherlands.

The treaty was one of a series of agreements signed between 1662 and 1668 in response to changes in the European balance of power. France supported the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years' War with Spain as part of a general policy of opposing Habsburg power. The war substantially weakened Spain, and the 1648 Peace of Münster confirmed Dutch independence and permanently closed the Scheldt estuary. It also gave Amsterdam control of imports and exports through Northwestern Europe and eliminated its closest rival, Antwerp. Retaining that monopoly became a Dutch priority.[1]

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French finance minister, argued that Antwerp and the Spanish Netherlands were essential for France's economic growth. By 1663, Louis concluded that the Dutch would never make the concessions that he required and so he began preparations to seize the Spanish Netherlands. The treaty was intended to minimise Spain's ability to reinforce its garrisons.[2]

In 1581, the Crowns of Portugal and Spain were united under Philip II, but opposition to Spanish policies led to the Portuguese Restoration War in 1640. By the end of 1665, attempts to reconquer Portugal had clearly failed, and Spanish government finances had collapsed under the strain of paying for the war. The Crown declared bankruptcy seven times between 1643 and 1666.[3] The death of Philip IV in September 1665 left his four-year-old-son as king and resulted in a struggle for control between Mariana of Austria and John of Austria.[4]

Maria Francisca of Savoy, whose marriage to Afonso was a preliminary to the agreement but proved unsuccessful.

Afonso VI succeeded as king of Portugal in 1653; as he was physically impaired and mentally unstable, his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, controlled the government. In 1662, she was removed in a coup, organised by the Count of Castelo Melhor; Afonso made him chief minister and sent Luisa to a convent, where she died in February 1666.[5]

The Portuguese government was split into pro-French and pro-English factions, led respectively by Castelo Melhor and Afonso's younger brother, Pedro. In 1662, Charles II of England married Afonso's sister Catherine and provided military support, which, although limited, proved to be decisive in defeating the 1663-1665 Spanish offensive. After the Second Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665, English diplomats focused on building an Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish alliance against the Dutch, and they offered to mediate between both countries.[6]

Castelo Melhor suggested Charles' marriage to Catherine to be balanced by a French princess marrying into the Portuguese royal family. Maria Francisca of Savoy was selected for that role; she was first offered to Pedro, who turned her down, but then was accepted by Afonso. Louis persuaded Charles to agree by providing the unpaid portion of Catherine's dowry. Maria arrived in Portugal on 2 August 1666, accompanied by a new French ambassador, the Marquis de St Romain. The wedding took place the same day; Afonso left the festivities early and reportedly displayed a similar lack of interest in consummating the marriage.[5]

In the early stages of the Restoration War, Portugal had licensed English and Dutch privateers to operate against Spanish merchant shipping. The Dutch used the opportunity to attack Portuguese colonies. Under the 1661 Treaty of The Hague, Portugal gave up most of its territories in Asia but retained those in Brazil and Africa. Castelo Melhor and others within the Portuguese elite believed that a rupture between France and the Dutch Republic was inevitable and that a treaty with France would provide an opportunity to regain those losses.[7]

For Louis, the treaty was a way to threaten Spain without declaring war. He argued that the Spanish Netherlands were his by right, making the War of Devolution a 'voyage'. Castelo Melhor hoped the French alliance would end the Restoration War on terms favourable to Portugal.[8]

There was also an agreement that if England formally ended the 1654-1660 Anglo-Spanish War, France would declare war on Spain within 30 months or pay the Portuguese 900,000 cruzados. Portugal would continue the war with Spain and, in return, would receive a subsidy of 600,000 cruzados a month. The treaty gave French merchants the same commercial advantages that had been granted to the English and Dutch. Louis also agreed to demand the return of Portuguese trading posts of Kannur and Kochi, in India, which had been seized by the Dutch in 1663.[9]

The parties also agreed not to make peace until Spain complied with Louis' claims in the Spanish Netherlands, which potentially required Portugal to continue the war for France's benefit. Although that was balanced by a French commitment to ensure the Portuguese regained any territories held by the Spanish, they had already achieved that in reality.[10]

Afonso VI, deposed by Pedro and held in the Palace of Sintra.

Louis achieved his objective of minimising interference with his occupation of the Spanish Netherlands, but other powers began to see France as a common threat. On 27 May, Spain and England signed the Treaty of Madrid, followed, on 31 July, by the Treaty of Breda, which ended the Anglo-Dutch War. That led to the 1668 Triple Alliance between England, the Dutch Republic and Sweden, which forced France to return most of its conquests in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.[11]

Although Castelo Melhor considered the marriage and the treaty with France to be a triumph, Portugal was financially exhausted and needed to focus on rebuilding its trading networks. Many opposed an agreement that committed them to continuing the war on France's behalf, especially the clause preventing a separate peace. In addition, Maria was an intelligent and resolute individual who wanted to serve French interests and exercise real power. Afonso was controlled by Castelo Melhor, who had no intention of allowing that. She was thus driven to co-operate with her brother-in-law Pedro at first before she allegedly begin an affair with him.[12]

Maria persuaded Louis that Pedro was a better asset for furthering French interests. In September, Castelo Melhor was dismissed and went into exile in England, where he became an advisor to King Charles II. In January 1668, the Cortes appointed Pedro as regent, and Afonso spent the rest of his life in close confinement, initially the Azores and then the Palace of Sintra in Lisbon, where he died in 1683.[13]

That facilitated the February 1668 Treaty of Lisbon, which ended the war between Spain and Portugal. Maria retired to a convent and asked for her marriage to be annulled on the grounds of non-consummation. That was approved by her relative, Cardinal Vendôme. She then married Pedro in September 1668.[14]

• Transcription of the treaty (in Latin, IEG Mainz)