European balance of power Austria which continued to rule as Holy Roman Emperor. Hapsburg Austria did directly control some states outside of the Holy Roman Empire. It was France who took the status of dominant continental power from the Habsburgs thanks to the Treaty of Westphalia and the Treaty of the Pyrenees. In the 16th and 17th centuries, English foreign policy strove to prevent a creation of a single universal monarchy in Europe, which many believed France or Spain might attempt to create. To maintain the balance of power, the English made alliances with other states—including Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, and the Netherlands—to counter
Nine-Power Treaty Nine-Power Treaty The or Nine Power Agreement () was a 1922 treaty affirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China as per the Open Door Policy. This was after the Suzerainty system fell apart after the Western invasions of the Opium Wars, that outlawed the Chinese "Closed Door Policy" into China of the former Imperial Qing dynasty. The Nine-Power Treaty was signed on 6 February 1922 by all of the attendees to the Washington Naval Conference: the United States, Belgium, the British Empire, Republic of China, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Portugal. United States Secretary of State John Hay