---
title: "Treaty of the Pyrenees"
year: 1659
country: "Spain"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1659/treaty-pyrenees"
slug: "treaty-pyrenees"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1659-11-07"
---

# Treaty of the Pyrenees

> Treaty of the Pyrenees

France and Spain ended 24 years of war on November 7, 1659, when representatives signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees in a small Spanish town. The agreement redrew the map of Western Europe, ceding Spanish territory to France and cementing France's rise as the continent's dominant power.

## Summary

The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635.

## Key facts

- **Duration of Franco-Spanish War**: 24 years (1635–1659)
- **Date of signature**: November 7, 1659
- **Location of negotiations**: Isle of Pheasants (Île des Faisans), Pyrenees border
- **Chief French negotiator**: Cardinal Jules Mazarin
- **Chief Spanish negotiator**: Luis de Haro
- **French territorial gains**: Roussillon, Artois, Gravelines, and smaller territories
- **Marriage alliance**: Louis XIV wed Maria Theresa of Spain, Philip IV's daughter
- **Year Spain ceded Roussillon**: 1659

## Timeline

- **1635-05-19** - Franco-Spanish War declared
  France formally entered the Thirty Years' War against Spain, initiating three decades of conflict that would drain both kingdoms.
- **1643-05-19** - Battle of Rocroi
  French forces under the Duke of Enghien defeated a Spanish army, marking the effective end of Spanish military supremacy in Europe.
- **1659-06-01** - Negotiations begin on Isle of Pheasants
  Cardinal Mazarin and Luis de Haro met on a neutral island in the Pyrenees to negotiate peace terms.
- **1659-11-07** - Treaty of the Pyrenees signed
  France and Spain formally ended the Franco-Spanish War. France gained Roussillon, Artois, and other territories; Spain retained significant power but ceded hegemony.
- **1660-06-09** - Louis XIV marries Maria Theresa
  The dynastic marriage between the French king and Philip IV's daughter sealed the peace and linked the French and Spanish thrones.
- **1697-09-20** - Treaty of Ryswick
  France confirmed many gains from 1659 in a later settlement, solidifying the territorial shifts initiated by the Pyrenees treaty.

## Relationships

- **caused**: american-civil-war-begins - Timeline of "Treaty of the Pyrenees" references "American Civil War" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
- **caused**: treaty-of-versailles - Timeline of "Treaty of the Pyrenees" references "Treaty of Versailles" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
- **caused**: july-revolution-france-1830 - Timeline of "Treaty of the Pyrenees" references "July Revolution in France" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).

## Consequences

- **1660 - Marriage alliance seals peace**: Louis XIV married Maria Theresa of Spain, daughter of Philip IV, on 9 June 1660, cementing the treaty's political settlement and uniting the dynasties
- **1659 - France gains key territories**: Spain ceded Roussillon, Cerdagne, Artois, and several fortifications in the Spanish Netherlands to France, shifting the European balance of power decisively westward
- **1680 - Spanish decline accelerates**: By the end of Louis XIV's reign, Spanish power had contracted further, with the treaty marking the symbolic end of Spanish hegemony in Europe-a decline confirmed by the War of Spanish Succession starting in 1701
- **1659 - Pyrenees established as natural border**: The treaty established the Pyrenees Mountains as the formal boundary between France and Spain, a geographic and political division that has remained stable for 365 years

## Then vs now

- **Franco-Spanish border stability**: 1659: Contested, with multiple wars since 1635 → 2024: Stable EU internal border - The treaty established the Pyrenees as the official border; Spain and France are now both EU members
- **Spanish territorial extent**: 1659: Lost Roussillon and Cerdagne to France → 2024: No further territorial losses to France - Approximately 3,000 square kilometers ceded under the treaty
- **European power balance**: 1659: Spain declining, France ascendant under Louis XIV → 2024: Both roughly equal EU partners - The treaty marked the beginning of Spanish decline and French dominance in Europe for the next century

## Impact

The Treaty of the Pyrenees marked the definitive end of Spanish hegemony in Europe. France absorbed Roussillon, Artois, and other strategic territories, while Spain's decline accelerated-a shift that would shape continental politics for the next two centuries. The treaty also established a diplomatic precedent for resolving major wars through negotiated settlement rather than exhaustion.

## Sources

- [Treaty of the Pyrenees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1659/treaty-pyrenees