Barrier treaty

Barrier treaty ("Border Protection Treaty ") are the names of the treaties in which the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of European states were granted occupation rights in the Spanish and Austrian Netherlands .

1. Barrier treaty

During the War of the Spanish Succession on October 29, 1709 , Great Britain assured the United Provinces in the first barrier treaty the possession of a number of permanent places ( fortresses and fortifications) to secure against France. These places were in the Spanish Netherlands along the French border.

2. Barrier treaty

The first contract was replaced by a second on January 29, 1713 , which limited the English guarantee on the right of occupation in Veurne , Knokke , Ypres , Menen , Tournai , Mons , Charleroi and Namur .

3. Barrier treaty

After the peace treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt transferred the Spanish Netherlands to Austria , a third final barrier treaty was concluded between Austria and the United Netherlands on November 15, 1715 . Herein the United Netherlands was allowed to exercise exclusive occupation rights in Veurne, Knokke, Ypres, Menen (Menin) and Doornik (Tournai) as well as in Namen (Namur) and Warneton , while in Dendermonde and Roermond they were only allowed to use it together with Austria. For the maintenance of these places Austria should provide 500,000 Reichstalers annually . During the War of the Austrian Succession , the places were conquered by the French and mostly razed. In 1781 the barrier treaty of Emperor Joseph II was unilaterally canceled. The Netherlands had to vacate the barrier places in 1782 and formally waived their occupation rights in 1785.

Later development

In the Second Peace of Paris ( 1815 ), France had to pay a substantial sum to restore these places, which were now in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands . With the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium , the barrier places fell to this from 1830.

literature

• Heinrich Benedikt: When Belgium was Austrian . Herold, Vienna, Munich 1965, p. 17-19 .