ABSTRACT
Between 1674 and 1677 England turned from a pro-French to a pro-Dutch attitude. Parliamentary pressure had forced England to withdraw from the war with the Dutch in 1674, and with the coming of the peace the Cabal fell from power taking with them their foreign policy of favouring France. Even Buckingham preached against popery and favoured a variety of protestant patriotism, but it fell to Charles's new chief minister, Danby, to direct the political nation along its new path. For the military this volte-face caused some alarm, as by 1677 it was clear that England was heading for a war with France in alliance with the United Provinces; to have fought alongside the best army in Europe had been one thing but to oppose it was quite another. It took some time for Danby to wean the king towards the new alignment, but, late in 1677, William of Orange married Mary Stuart, daughter of the Duke of York. England was committed to the cause of protestant Europe and its fight against Louis XIV, and it appeared that king and Parliament were in agreement over foreign policy, but the mood was not to last. On 31 December 1677, England and the States General signed a treaty by which each undertook to restore a general peace to Europe on the basis of France surrendering Charleroi, Courtrai, Ath, Oudenarde, CondÉ, Tournai and Valenciennes, in return for her retention of Franche ComtÉ, Cambrai, Aire and St Omer. This settlement was to be enforced, if necessary, and Ostend was granted to England as an advance base for an expeditionary force of 11,000 foot and 1,000 horse to fight alongside the Dutch and Spanish in the Low Countries. This treaty also required the recall of British troops from France.
