French-Austrian relations in the second part of the eighteenth century: On the reversal of alliances
Michaud, Claude
French-Austrian relations in the second part of the eighteenth century: On the reversal of alliances - 2017.
70
Was the overthrow of the 1756 alliances a diplomatic revolution that put an end to the age-old antagonism between the Valois and then the Bourbon dynasties, and the House of Austria? In reality, the lobby hostile to the Austrians did not disarm. Just after the Seven Years’ War, during which the military commitment of France had been limited, the French reluctance, clearly voiced by Minister Vergennes, turned to open hostility in response to the “expansionist” initiatives of Joseph II. At the end of the reign of Louis XVI, the alliance had no basis in reality whatsoever. The Revolution did not bear witness to an abrupt break with an Ancien Régime tradition that had become so well-established. In spite of Talleyrand’s endeavors to maintain the monarchy of Vienna as a basic element of the European equilibrium, certainly at the cost of a migration towards the east of its center of gravity, the Directory, and then Napoleon Bonaparte, pursued the tradition of hostility toward Austria. But the continuity is only apparent. Under Louis XV and Louis XVI, France did not try to acquire new territories, nor go beyond natural boundaries, unlike revolutionary and imperial France.
French-Austrian relations in the second part of the eighteenth century: On the reversal of alliances - 2017.
70
Was the overthrow of the 1756 alliances a diplomatic revolution that put an end to the age-old antagonism between the Valois and then the Bourbon dynasties, and the House of Austria? In reality, the lobby hostile to the Austrians did not disarm. Just after the Seven Years’ War, during which the military commitment of France had been limited, the French reluctance, clearly voiced by Minister Vergennes, turned to open hostility in response to the “expansionist” initiatives of Joseph II. At the end of the reign of Louis XVI, the alliance had no basis in reality whatsoever. The Revolution did not bear witness to an abrupt break with an Ancien Régime tradition that had become so well-established. In spite of Talleyrand’s endeavors to maintain the monarchy of Vienna as a basic element of the European equilibrium, certainly at the cost of a migration towards the east of its center of gravity, the Directory, and then Napoleon Bonaparte, pursued the tradition of hostility toward Austria. But the continuity is only apparent. Under Louis XV and Louis XVI, France did not try to acquire new territories, nor go beyond natural boundaries, unlike revolutionary and imperial France.
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