That Sweet Enemy The French And the British from the Sun King to the Present

Chapter 1 Britain joins Europe England is worth conquering, and whenever there is a probability of getting it, it will surely be attempted. When the people are . . . weak, cowardly, without discipline, poor, discontented, they are easily subdued; and this is our condition . . . nothing can be added to render them an easy prey to a foreigner unless a sense of their misery and hate of them that cause it make them look on any invader as a deliverer.Algernon Sidney, political writer A Nation which hath stood its ground, and kept its privileges and freedoms for Hundreds of Years, is in less than a Third of a Century quite undone; hath lavishly spent above 160 Millions in that time, made Hecatombs of British Lives, stockjobb'd (or cannonaded) away its Trade, perverted and then jested away its Honour, Law, and Justice.Political pamphlet, 1719 In a Europe devastated by more than a century of ferocious religious conflicts, culminating in a Thirty Years War (161848) that had killed millions, France, emerging from its own internal conflicts in the 1650s, became the pre-eminent power by reason of its population, armed force, wealth and cultural influence. The embodiment of that power was Louis XIV, who acceded to the throne at the age of four in 1643 and reigned for seventy-two years. Of the fifty-four years when he effectively ruled, thirty-three were years of war. His life was dedicated to ensuring that the king dominated Franceculturally and politicallyand that France dominated Europe. This was a time when war and predation were normal conditions. Themetier de roithe king's jobwas to direct these conflicts, burnishing his gloire and that of his dynasty and realm, whose prosperity and security were the prizes of his strength and cunning. Louis XIV dominated Europe less by force of intellect or characterhe was hard-working rather than brilliantthan by the length of his reign and his tireless devotion to promoting an image of majesty. Artists, writers, architects, musicians and priests were enrolled, to create (as Louis himself wrote) "an extremely useful impression of magnificence, power, wealth and grandeur." Versailles, practically complete by 1688, provided a setting that impressed all Europe. It has long been believedand Louis's own comments lend supportthat his motivation was a reckless thirst for glory. This is not wholly false, butla gloiremust be understood to include overtones of "renown," even "duty." Unlike some British historians, French historians argue that France under Louis was following no grand strategy, whether to seize the Spanish Empire or to gain territory up to what would later be claimed as France's "natural frontiers"the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Rhine. He and his entourage certainly believed in his right as Europe's greatest monarch to aggrandize his kingdom and dynasty, and to equal or surpass the great men of historyhe was hailed as an "Augustus," a "new Constantine" or "new Charlemagne." These vague and potentially unlimited ambitions, manifested in imperious words and belligerent acts, rallied most of Europe against him. That Britain was dragged into this maelstrom was Louis's part in British history. That, against the odds, Britain came to lead the coalition against Louis was its part in his. His personal support of the Stuartspart chivalry, part piety, partRealpolitikcaused durable bitterness within and between the Three Kingdoms, and made conflict with France inevitable. By the early 1680s Louis and his ministers could contemplate Europe with satisfaction.[read more]