Sold alliance of Zurich with Louis XIV.
The Sold alliance Zurich with Louis XIV. Was a military alliance of 1663 , which on 22. May 1658 initiated and on June 1 by the same year France ratified allowed the Sun King that the troops of the old Confederation under France's grade were directed against their own country.
In 1663, a federal delegation from the thirteen towns in Paris, led by Zurich Mayor Waser , conjured Zurich's pay alliance with the Sun King. Konrad Werdmüller and Heinrich Escher also belonged to the Zurich delegation . The disadvantages of this alliance became apparent when the hegemonic policy of Louis XIV and the dwindling power of Habsburg Austria fundamentally changed the political landscape of Europe. For Protestant Zurich and its federal allies, the increasingly anti-Protestant policies of the Sun King, especially after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes , as well as his wars of conquest against their fellow believers in the Netherlands became a heavy burden. One began to wonder more and more seriously about the usefulness of this alliance, the disadvantages of which were evident. So all those who had advocated this connection came under fire. Her attitude was suspected to be a personal gain, an assessment that has since been revised.
The reasons for the renewal of the pay alliance with France were, on the one hand, the economic necessity of good trade relations with France, and, on the other, the protection of the Protestant interests of Zurich. Since a connection with England and Holland failed, it was inevitable for Zurich to follow the rivals of Spain and Austria.
After France succeeded in renewing the pay alliance with the Catholic places alone, Protestant Zurich could no longer stand aside, especially since France campaigned for stable conditions in the Confederation and was able to intervene by Austria, Spain or Savoy on the side of the Catholic places prevent.
After seven years of tough negotiations and haggling over the terms of the alliance extension, after a long diplomatic intrigue and after massive economic pressure from France, the evangelical towns gave way in 1658. They renewed the old pay alliance with letters and explanations. France promised to resume after the peace agreement with Spain both the annual pension payments and the interest service on the old bonds, to settle the outstanding claims and to lift the customs duties for the federal merchants again.
See also
- Wasertaler : The Wasertaler, minted in 1660, aroused the displeasure of the republican residents of Zurich mainly in connection with the Soldallianz.
Web links
- The Wasertaler - a questionable naming convention ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
literature
- Walter Schmid, Mayor Johann Heinrich Waser and France. A literary and source-critical investigation. Zurich paperback 1947.
- Norbert Domeisen, Mayor Johann Heinrich Waser (1600–1669) as a politician. A contribution to Swiss history in the 17th century. Zurich 1975. pp . 152-164 .
- Norbert Domeisen, Zurich's pay alliance with Ludwig XIV. Zurich paperback for 1977.