The wars of Louis XIV that began in 1667 led to a number of anti-French coalitions, the most significant being the so-called Grand Alliance formed on 20 December 1689 by England, the Dutch Republic and Emperor Leopold.

[4] Despite the Partition Treaties, William had remained sceptical of Louis' intentions, given his history of negotiating while simultaneously planning military action and his decision to keep the French army in being after the end of the Nine Years War, rather than the usual practice of disbanding it.

[6] As a result, William was forced to recognise Philip as king of Spain, but a foreign observer noted Tory opposition to war included the important qualifier 'so long as English commerce does not suffer.

[8] This threatened the Dutch monopoly over the Scheldt granted by the 1648 Peace of Münster and English mercantile interests, since control of Antwerp and Ostend would allow France to blockade the Channel at will.

[10] Parliament now authorised the creation of an anti-French alliance and a force of 10,000 men to support the Dutch, led by Marlborough who was also appointed Envoy to the United Provinces.

His experience and dual role as King and Stadtholder made William a powerful figure but his death was widely anticipated; aware much of their influence with Leopold would disappear with him, the Dutch accepted the Austrian position, forcing England to follow.

[16] The Treaty provisions concealed two important issues; first, neither England nor the Dutch Republic would allow the other to control the Spanish Netherlands and thus preferred to assign it to Austria, for whom as a mon-maritime power it was a burden, not an asset.