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 Paris (1810) Treaty of Paris (1810) The Treaty of Paris, signed on 6 January 1810, ended the war between France and Sweden after Sweden's defeat by Russia, an ally of France, in the Finnish War of 1808-1809. Russia had previously been an ally of Sweden in the Third and Fourth Coalitions against France, but after Russia's defeat at Friedland, she joined France and attacked Sweden so as to compel her to join Napoleon's Continental System. The primary result of the treaty was Sweden's agreement to join the Continental System, so that Sweden would not trade with the UK. Shortly after the treaty