Treaty of Joinville

The Treaty of Joinville was signed in secret on 31 December 1584 by the Catholic League, led by the French House of Guise, and Habsburg Spain.

[3] It was believed, though falsely, the aim of the treaty was to form a Catholic alliance against Protestants throughout Europe.

[3] However, Elizabeth was terrified by the nightmare scenario of a Catholic alliance between France and Spain against England, even if the prospect had been remote because of the prolonged Habsburg-Valois conflict.

The Spanish response was a crackdown under a hardline military governor, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma.

As a direct consequence, Elizabeth signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the United Provinces in 1585 and financed an expedition to the Netherlands, led by Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, of 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers.