In the Franco-Dutch War, Louis XIV of France invaded the Dutch Republic, with England, Münster and Cologne as allies at the start, after the Dutch had resisted his expansionist policies in the Spanish Netherlands. The year 1672 became known in Dutch history as the Year of Disaster, when French armies overran several provinces, but the Dutch flooded the land in the defensive line known as the Dutch Water Line and stopped the advance. The grand pensionary Johan de Witt was lynched by a mob, and William III of Orange became stadtholder. The Dutch allied with Spain, Brandenburg and the Emperor, and their fleet under Michiel de Ruyter defeated the English and French at sea. The Treaties of Nijmegen gave France Franche-Comté, while the Dutch Republic lost no territory.
Before and after
- 1670Construction of avenue des Champs-Élysées
- 1671Construction of Badshahi Mosque
- 25 October 1671Discovery of Iapetus
- from 1672 to 1676Polish–Ottoman War of 1672–1676
- from 6 April 1672 to 17 September 1678Franco-Dutch War
- 30 May 1672Birth of Peter the Great
- from 18 August 1672 to 27 August 1672Siege of Kamenets
- 23 December 1672Discovery of Rhea
- from 1673 to 1681Revolt of the Three Feudatories
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 23 May 1568 to 30 January 1648Eighty Years' War
- from 25 April 1588 to 1 August 1588Spanish Armada
- 13 April 1598Edict of Nantes
- from 28 December 1688 to 1 January 1689Glorious Revolution
- from 22 February 1700 to 10 September 1721Great Northern War
- from 16 December 1740 to 18 October 1748War of the Austrian Succession
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.