Luis XIV; Países Bajos; guerra; Francia; siglo XVII; rey sol; invasión; Rijksmuseum; siglo XVII; van der Meulen - History Lab https://historylab.es Wed, 18 May 2022 15:27:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://historylab.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-icono-historylab-32x32.jpg Luis XIV; Países Bajos; guerra; Francia; siglo XVII; rey sol; invasión; Rijksmuseum; siglo XVII; van der Meulen - History Lab https://historylab.es 32 32 Louis XIV crossing the Netherlands https://historylab.es/luis-xiv-crossing-the-netherlands/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=luis-xiv-crossing-the-netherlands Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:53 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/luis-xiv-cruzando-los-paises-bajos/ Van der Meulen shows Louis XIV at the forefront of the battle against the Low Countries, although in reality his role had nothing to do with the Flemish painter's depiction

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]]> Leading an army of 120,000 troops, the French King Louis XIV invaded the Low Countries on 12 June 1672, in the context of the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678). This conflict pitted the United Provinces (joined by Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia) against France (together with England, Sweden, Münster and Cologne), culminating in a French victory that made France the leading military and commercial power after the Treaty of Nimea (1678). The French offensive broke through the Rhine positions on 4 May in one of the most impressive displays of military power in the 17th century, the French first occupied Tongeren, Maaseik and Valkenburg. Leaving 10,000 men behind, the French army advanced along the Rhine, capturing Rheinber and Orsoy without resistance. Wesel, however, was the most important fortress. In his composition, the Flemish painter van der Meulen recorded some licences such as portraying the king in a glorious manner on a grey horse when he actually stayed in a nearby monastery.

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