Europe turned out to be unreliable. English Tory politicians crafted the Treaty of Utrecht, which favored France's aspirations even though France had nearly lost the recent war. German intellectuals were unhappy with Europe, yet they still had to trust in Europe and to promote the European idea if Hanover's King George was to continue his aspirations to the English throne. He crossed the Channel in 1714 and had to survive a phase of political turmoil in 1715 and 1716 — covered by Marteau with all the old anti-French political bias: France promoted the Stuart Pretender in his fight against the newly established German King. The Great Alliance gave way to the Quadruple Alliance of 1718-1720 in which Austria, France, Great Britain, and the United Provinces joined their forces to resolve the next European conflict. The fate of Europe remained on the political agenda until 1721, with the other half of Europe fighting the Great Northern War. The conflict about Sweden's and Russia's future power had begun in 1700 and involved northern and eastern Europe from Stockholm to Constantinople. It ended in 1721 and brought the European period of 1689-1721 to a silent end.