Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659)

The Franco-Spanish War lasted from May 1635 to November 1659 and was fought between France and Spain, each supported by changing allies. It had two phases. The first, from 1635 to 1648, is counted as a related conflict of the Thirty Years War, when France declared war on Spain after years of backing the Dutch Republic and Sweden indirectly and then also entered the war against Austria. The second phase continued after the Thirty Years War ended in 1648, until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. Fighting centred on northern Italy, the Spanish Netherlands and the Rhineland, and each crown encouraged rebellion in the other camp, France supporting revolts in Portugal, Catalonia and Naples while Spain backed the Fronde in France. Neither side won decisively, and by 1658 both were financially exhausted. France made modest gains in Flanders and the Pyrenees, and the settlement was sealed by the marriage of Louis XIV to Maria Theresa of Spain.