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 Badajoz (1801) Treaty of Badajoz (1801) The Treaty of Badajoz was signed by Spain and Portugal on 6 June 1801. Portugal ceded the border town of Olivença to Spain and closed its ports to British military and commercial shipping. On the same day, Portugal signed a separate Treaty of Badajoz with France, which Napoleon, then First Consul of France, refused to sign. An amended version was agreed in September 1801, which is known as the Treaty of Madrid; France received large parts of Portuguese South America in what is now Brazil plus a payment of 20 million francs. For much of the