The Julich-Kleve succession crisis (1609-1620): A study in international relations
A complicated succession problem opened in March 1609 with the death of the Duke of Julich-Kleve, for he left no male heirs. Although the duchies were relatively small, their strategic location in the Rhineland area of the German Empire on the border with the divided Netherlands made the succession an international concern. In 1609-10 and 1614 there were two crises which resulted in foreign powers mobilizing armies to intervene in Julich-Kleve; nevertheless no war was fought over the duchies. Indeed the Julich-Kleve succession has the distinction of being the first international crisis in modern times which was solved by diplomacy. Based on research from fourteen European archives, this dissertation examines why England, France, Spain, the Dutch Republic and other German states were willing to go to war over the succession, and why nothing more than a few minor skirmishes actually took place. It also probes international relations and the strengths and limitations of diplomacy in early seventeenth-century Europe.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign