Treaty Turned Down: Archduke - Shock!
Antwerp 1587
After hours of negotiation about the vassalship of Flanders, the treaty drawn up by Austria has been turned down by the King of France after agreeing to it only a few hours before.
The new republic of Flanders, released during the war with France due to large rebellions against the heavy taxes on the Protestants of the Lowlands, is yet another point of tension between Austria and France. The tensions go back to the Wars of Division, when Austria's very exsistance was underthreat. France, having unjustly taken the Rhineland, offered Austria a Non Aggression Pact for 30 years and a gift: the Province of Schwyz.
This seemed to be the turning point in the tensions, but the world was wrong on this, when Austria honouring her alliance with Brandenburg invaded France protecting England. This war brought back Alsace into the Empire along with Bern, the other half of Swizterland. France outraged at this, but powerless to stop it, vowed revenge which came a few years later.
The War of the Lowlands came at a bad time for Austria, although signs of the war were read correctly, the Imperial Army was not up to full strengh at the time of Declaration of War and many loans were taken out to push the French back into the rivers they crossed. During this war Flanders declared indepence and France having just signed peace declared war on the new republic, ignoring the warnings coming from Vienna. France did leave the war though and Flanders was brought back into the Realm, even though not fully.
After all these injustices on both sides, the Archduke personally wrote up a treaty for the French king offering the Republic for a high price, which was lowered to pay for the injust conquest of Alsace. The French king accepted the treaty at first and wished a new future for the two countries. But this hope of friendship was crushed when a few hours later the Archduke heard of the French king refusing to sign the treaty. Unfortunatly the Archduke was too shocked for words and as yet no official statement has come from Vienna.