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1 England, the Mediator
King Willam III engineered a mediation position for England — such that they threw themselves to counter-balance any fights.
- England's KBhHIST201RaisonDeEtat, CLAIM @KBhHIST201Kissinger did not require them to expand, for "national interest is in the preservation of European balance."
- Glorious revolution kicked James II off the throne, chose William of Orange of the Netherlands as replacement
Willam used the fact that if France occupied Belgium, it would surely eat up the Netherlands, to cause England to fight in the war: starting a bitter fight between him and Louis XIV.
1.1 Grand Alliance
To fight the growing France, England formed the grand alliance
- Sweden
- Spanish Savoy
- Austria
- Netherlands
- England
all versus France.
Constantly fought, and left France to be strong but not dominant => Textbook balance of power!
Textbook example of KBhHIST201RaisonDeEtat: ideologically, England and France are on the same side. However, it is not in England's best interest to join them
In this manner, Great Britain became the balancer of the European equilibrium, first almost by default, later by conscious strategy. Without Great Britain 's tenacious commitment to that role, France would almost surely have achieved hegemony over Europe in the eighteenth or nine- teenth century, and Germany would have done the same in the modern period.