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 Pont-à-Vendin and Aire-sur-la-Lys. Philip II let them know that he would release them once they signed a treaty in which they would cede the two captured towns to France. Eventually, on 25 February 1212, they both signed this treaty at Pont-à-Vendin, a Flemish-Artesian border town on the Deûle between Lens and Lille. Philip now thought that with Ferdinand he had appointed a count of Flanders who he could easily manipulate. Treaty of Pont-à-Vendin The Treaty of Pont-à-Vendin was a treaty signed on 25 February 1212 at Pont-à-Vendin between king Philip II of France and the count ("iure uxoris") and countess of