The Old Swiss Confederacy a "de facto" independent state throughout the early modern period, although still nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1648 when the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War. The Swiss Reformation divided the confederates into Reformed and Catholic parties, resulting in internal conflict from the 16th to the 18th centuries; as a result, the federal diet () was often paralysed by hostility between the factions. The Swiss Confederacy fell to invasion by the French Revolutionary Army in 1798, after which it became the short-lived Helvetic Republic. The adjective "old" was introduced after the Napoleonic era with ,
War of the Spanish Succession was reliant on the so-called "Maritime Powers" (England and the Dutch Republic) and also a higher priority for them. By formalising religious divisions within the Empire, the [[Peace of Westphalia|1648 Peace of Westphalia]] weakened its integrity and by 1700, the larger German states were pursuing their own policies. [[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavaria]] allied itself with France while as King of Poland, [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus of Saxony]] was fully occupied by the [[Great Northern War]]. To gain [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick of Prussia]]'s support, Leopold recognised him as King, with Prussia made an equal member of the Grand Alliance. [[George I