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The Dutch affair and the fall of the ancien régime, 1784–1787*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Munro Price
Munro Price
Affiliation:
University of Bradford
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Abstract

This article explores the domestic political aspects of the last great disaster of French foreign policy before the revolution: the unsuccessful intervention in Holland between 1784 and 1787. These have been largely ignored by historians, although much attention has been given both to the internal politics of the Dutch republic as well as to British involvement in her affairs during this period. The article argues that the increasing incoherence of French policy towards the United Provinces was caused by profound splits within the king's council. These culminated in a series of attacks on the diplomacy of the powerful foreign minister, the comte de Vergennes, by his ministerial opponents. The Dutch affair reveals the fragmentation of foreign policy during the last years of the ancien régime, and also paints a wider picture of a deeply divided royal government on the eve of the revolution.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 875 - 905
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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References

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