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Nine Years’ War: A Visual History

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Visual history of a war

Louis XIV against the Grand Alliance of William III: the Palatinate burned, James II lost Ireland at the Boyne, and the war ended where it began.

Fought
1688 to 1697
Duration
9 years
Dates
September 1688 to September 1697
Deaths
About 680,000 soldiers; hundreds of thousands of civilians in famine and devastation
France
Louis XIV; Luxembourg, Catinat, Tourville; Jacobites
Grand Alliance
Dutch Republic, England, Emperor Leopold, Spain, Savoy, Sweden, Bavaria, Brandenburg
Result
Peace of Ryswick; French expansion checked; William recognised

The Nine Years' War (1688-1697) began when Louis XIV invaded the Palatinate to intimidate the German princes and instead united them with the Dutch Republic, England (after William of Orange took its throne in the Glorious Revolution), Spain, Savoy and the Emperor in the Grand Alliance. French armies devastated the Rhineland, won at Fleurus, Steenkerque, Neerwinden and Marsaglia and took Namur, but William held the Netherlands and defeated James II's Jacobite-French bid for Ireland at the Boyne (1690); the Anglo-Dutch fleet won at La Hogue (1692) after losing Beachy Head. Fighting spread to America (King William's War) and India. Exhaustion produced the Peace of Ryswick (1697): Louis kept Strasbourg but returned other conquests and recognised William as king.

When it was fought: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Nine Years' War. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

800100012001400160018002000Nine Years' War (1688 to 1697)Open: Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman Empire (800 to 1806)Open: Spanish EmpireSpanish Empire (1492 to 1976)Open: First French colonial empireFirst French colonial empire (1534 to 1814)Open: Danish colonial empireDanish colonial empire (1536 to 1953)Open: Northern WarsNorthern Wars (1554 to 1721)Open: Eighty Years' War (Dutch Revolt)Eighty Years' War (Dutch Revolt) (1568 to 1648)Open: British EmpireBritish Empire (1583 to 1997)Open: Irish Nine Years' War (Tyrone's Rebellion)Irish Nine Years' War (Tyrone's Rebellion) (1593 to 1603)Open: Dutch EmpireDutch Empire (1602 to 1975)Open: Franco-Dutch WarFranco-Dutch War (1672 to 1678)Open: Great Northern WarGreat Northern War (1700 to 1721)Open: War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish Succession (1701 to 1714)

French army size

01002003004001688: 2001690: 3001693: 4001697: 3401698: 140169016951698thousands

Timeline of the Nine Years' War

  1. 1688
    France attacks the Palatinate; William lands in England
  2. 1689
    Palatinate devastated; Grand Alliance formed
  3. 1690
    Boyne; Fleurus; Beachy Head
  4. 1692
    Namur; Steenkerque; La Hogue
  5. 1693
    Neerwinden; Marsaglia; famine
  6. 1695
    William retakes Namur
  7. 1696
    Savoy makes peace
  8. 1697
    Peace of Ryswick

The Palatinate and the Glorious Revolution

Louis's reunions and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes had alarmed Europe; in September 1688 he attacked Philippsburg and ordered the Palatinate laid waste, burning Heidelberg, Mannheim, Speyer and Worms in 1689. The diversion let William of Orange land in England in November 1688 and take the crown from James II, bringing England and its navy into the war against France. The League of Augsburg became the Grand Alliance in 1689.

Ireland, Flanders and the sea

James landed in Ireland with French troops in 1689; the siege of Derry failed and William beat him at the Boyne on 1 July 1690 (12 July new style, still marched by Orangemen); Aughrim (1691) and the Treaty of Limerick ended the Jacobite war and sent the 'Wild Geese' to France. Marshal Luxembourg beat the Allies at Fleurus, Steenkerque and Neerwinden and Louis took Namur (1692), but William retook it in 1695. Tourville won at Beachy Head (1690) and lost his fleet at Barfleur-La Hogue (1692), ending invasion plans; France turned to privateering under Jean Bart. Catinat beat Savoy at Staffarda and Marsaglia; Savoy defected in 1696.

Ryswick

Famine in France in 1693-1694, financial exhaustion on all sides and the looming Spanish succession brought peace at Ryswick in September 1697. Louis returned Lorraine, Luxembourg and his reunions except Strasbourg, recognised William III and the Dutch barrier, and restored trade; Spain regained Catalonia. It was the first war in which Louis gained essentially nothing, and it prepared the Spanish Succession war three years later.

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8 surprising things about the Nine Years' War

  1. The Battle of the Boyne, fought on 1 July 1690 old style, is commemorated on 12 July because of the calendar change.
  2. The burning of the Palatinate made Louis XIV hated in Germany for generations; Heidelberg castle is still a ruin.
  3. The Wild Geese, Irish Jacobite soldiers who left in 1691, served France for a century; an Irish brigade fought at Fontenoy.
  4. The war's American theatre saw the French and Indians raid Schenectady and the English fail to take Quebec.
  5. The Bank of England was founded in 1694 to finance the war.
  6. Louis XIV's 'grand hiver' and famine of 1693-1694 killed perhaps 1.3 million French people, more than the war.
  7. The Peace of Ryswick was the first time Louis recognised a Protestant king of England.
  8. Vauban's fortresses on both sides made the war a series of sieges; Namur changed hands twice in three years.

Sources

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