page_title: Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
section_title: Phase II; 1648 to 1659
hierarchical_section_title: Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) / Phase II; 1648 to 1659
caption_attribution_description: English: Blank physical map of Northern Italy, for geo-location purpose. Equirectangular projection, WGS84 datum *Standard meridian: 012° 36' E *Central parallel: 41° 21' N Geographic limits of the map: *West: 6.4° E *East: 14.1° E *North: 47.3° N *South: 43.6° N
context_page_description: The Franco-Spanish War of 1635 to 1659 was fought between France, and their Habsburg rivals in Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. It consists of two segments, the first as a connected conflict of the Thirty Years War, ended by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the second continuing until the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees. The war is generally viewed by historians as inconclusive.
  Major areas of conflict included Northern Italy, the Spanish Netherlands, Catalonia, and the Rhineland. In addition, Spain backed the 1648 to 1653 French civil war known as the Fronde, while France supported revolts against Spanish rule in Portugal, Catalonia and Naples. Their contest for influence included taking opposing sides in unrelated conflicts like the 1639 to 1642 Piedmontese Civil War.
  France avoided direct confrontation with the Habsburgs until May 1635, when it declared war on Spain, and entered the Thirty Years War through alliances with Sweden and the Dutch Republic. After Westphalia in 1648, the Dutch and Emperor Ferdinand left the war, leaving only Spain and France.
context_section_description: By 1648, both sides were under increasing financial strain, forcing Philip to prioritise Catalonia, although he nonetheless had to declare bankruptcy in 1647 and 1653. A combination of political conflict and economic stress led to the 1648 to 1653 French civil war known as the Fronde; in 1651, Mazarin forced Condé into exile in the Spanish Netherlands, where he signed an alliance with Philip. He was replaced by Turenne, also a talented commander, but far less powerful politically. 
  Spain recaptured Barcelona in October 1652, and although fighting continued in Roussillon, by 1653 the front had stabilised along the modern Pyrenees border. After the Fronde ended in 1653, France resumed attempts to capture Milan, which provided access to the vulnerable southern border of Habsburg territories in Austria. Despite support from Savoy, the Duke of Modena and Portugal, they failed to achieve this.
  By now, the two antagonists were exhausted, and neither could establish dominance over the other. From 1654 to 1656, French victories at Arras, Landrecies and Saint-Ghislain were offset by Spanish success at Pavia, in Lombardy, and Valenciennes. Under pressure from Pope Alexander VII, Mazarin offered peace terms, but refused to accept Spain's insistence Condé must be restored to his French titles and lands. Philip viewed this as a personal obligation, and with the war apparently going his way, rejected talks.
  Prior to the 1660s, France lacked a powerful navy of its own, and instead relied on the Dutch, who ceased to provide this after 1648. Since 1654, Spain had been involved in a naval conflict with the English Commonwealth, and in 1657, Mazarin negotiated an Anglo-French alliance. France was required to end its backing for the exiled Charles II, some of whose supporters joined the Spanish as a result. 
  1658 featured an Anglo-French offensive in North Flanders, whose main objective was Dunkirk, a centre for Spanish privateer attacks on English shipping. After the loss of Dunkirk in June, Spain requested a truce, which Mazarin initially refused. However, Cromwell's death led to political chaos in England, while French allies Savoy and Modena ended the war in Northern Italy by agreeing a truce with the Spanish commander, Caracena.
caption: Northern Italy; key locations 1635-1659 (note Pinerolo, ceded to France in 1648)
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