Grand Alliance

Grand Alliance, coalition formed in 1689 and again in 1701 against Louis XIV, king of France. The first coalition, terminated in 1697 by the Treaty of Ryswick, was aimed at enforcing the provisions of the Peace of Westphalia and the Peace of the Pyrenees. The members were the Holy Roman emperor, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Savoy, Sweden, and a number of German states. The second coalition was formed by the emperor, England, the Netherlands, and Denmark to nullify the accession of a grandson of Louis XIV to the throne of Spain, which would place both France and Spain under Bourbon rule. The second alliance was subsequently joined by Prussia, Portugal, and Savoy. The ensuing conflict between the two forces became known as the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).