The Perception of the French Policy of «Reunions» in the Second Half of the 17th Century by the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire

This article discusses the political position and perception of the Estates of the Holy Roman Empire regarding the French policy of «Reunions» of 1667–1697. The position of Brandenburg, Bavaria, Saxony, Braunschweig-Luneburg, Hesse-Kassel, Munster, Cologne, Trier, Mainz, Palatinate, Baden-Baden, BadenDurlach and Württemberg has been analyzed to varying degrees by the author. Some attention is paid to attempts to create an alliance among some of the Imperial Estates to resist the expansionist policy of the French king Louis XIV. However, the effectiveness of such alliances was insignificant as an attempt to create a combat-ready army. As a result of the study, the author can state that the policy of «Reunions» was generally perceived negatively by the Imperial Estates. A number of officials of the Empire – Brandenburg, Brunswick-Luneburg, Bavaria, Hesse-Kassel and some others had significant financial resources and sufficiently combat-ready military contingents. This gave them the opportunity not only to fear a French invasion of the Empire, but also to effectively resist it. Some of them could only temporarily use France to weaken the influence of the emperor. There was an understanding among the German princes that France was a strong absolutist state and being in its zone of influence meant the loss of territorial independence.