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
Treaty of Whitehall The treaty was short lived, however, and was broken following the outbreak of King William's War in 1689, the first in the series of French and Indian Wars. Treaty of Whitehall The Treaty of Whitehall (or the Treaty of American Neutrality) was signed between Louis XIV of France and James II of England in November 1686 as an agreement that Continental conflict would not disrupt peace and neutrality in New France and New England. It declared that "though the two Countries might be at war in Europe their Colonies in America should continue in peace and Neutrality." The treaty specifically