# Canonical recap data for Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659)
# Source: https://recap.at/1659/treaty-pyrenees
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: treaty-pyrenees
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1659/treaty-pyrenees"
title: Treaty of the Pyrenees
aliases:
- Traité des Pyrénées
- Peace of the Pyrenees
- Franco-Spanish Peace of 1659
subtitle: Treaty of the Pyrenees
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1659-11-07
datePrecision: day
year: 1659
decade: 1650
country:
name: Spain
slug: spain
summaryShort: The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635.
summaryLong: The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635.
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Traite-Pyrenees.jpg/1280px-Traite-Pyrenees.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Treaty of the Pyrenees"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Duration of Franco-Spanish War
  value: 24 years (1635–1659)
- label: Date of signature
  value: November 7, 1659
- label: Location of negotiations
  value: Isle of Pheasants (Île des Faisans), Pyrenees border
- label: Chief French negotiator
  value: Cardinal Jules Mazarin
- label: Chief Spanish negotiator
  value: Luis de Haro
- label: French territorial gains
  value: Roussillon, Artois, Gravelines, and smaller territories
- label: Marriage alliance
  value: Louis XIV wed Maria Theresa of Spain, Philip IV's daughter
- label: Year Spain ceded Roussillon
  value: "1659"
timeline:
- date: 1635-05-19
  title: Franco-Spanish War declared
  description: France formally entered the Thirty Years' War against Spain, initiating three decades of conflict that would drain both kingdoms.
- date: 1643-05-19
  title: Battle of Rocroi
  description: French forces under the Duke of Enghien defeated a Spanish army, marking the effective end of Spanish military supremacy in Europe.
- date: 1659-06-01
  title: Negotiations begin on Isle of Pheasants
  description: Cardinal Mazarin and Luis de Haro met on a neutral island in the Pyrenees to negotiate peace terms.
- date: 1659-11-07
  title: Treaty of the Pyrenees signed
  description: France and Spain formally ended the Franco-Spanish War. France gained Roussillon, Artois, and other territories; Spain retained significant power but ceded hegemony.
- date: 1660-06-09
  title: Louis XIV marries Maria Theresa
  description: The dynastic marriage between the French king and Philip IV's daughter sealed the peace and linked the French and Spanish thrones.
- date: 1697-09-20
  title: Treaty of Ryswick
  description: France confirmed many gains from 1659 in a later settlement, solidifying the territorial shifts initiated by the Pyrenees treaty.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees"
  title: Treaty of the Pyrenees
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- treaty_signing
- peace_accord
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
- governance
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
metaDescription: France and Spain signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees on November 7, 1659, ending a 24-year war and reshaping European power.
wikidataQid: Q221670
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Franco-Spanish border stability
  thenValue: Contested, with multiple wars since 1635
  thenYear: 1659
  nowValue: Stable EU internal border
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The treaty established the Pyrenees as the official border; Spain and France are now both EU members
- metric: Spanish territorial extent
  thenValue: Lost Roussillon and Cerdagne to France
  thenYear: 1659
  nowValue: No further territorial losses to France
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Approximately 3,000 square kilometers ceded under the treaty
- metric: European power balance
  thenValue: Spain declining, France ascendant under Louis XIV
  thenYear: 1659
  nowValue: Both roughly equal EU partners
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The treaty marked the beginning of Spanish decline and French dominance in Europe for the next century
consequences:
- title: Marriage alliance seals peace
  year: 1660
  description: 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
- title: France gains key territories
  year: 1659
  description: Spain ceded Roussillon, Cerdagne, Artois, and several fortifications in the Spanish Netherlands to France, shifting the European balance of power decisively westward
- title: Spanish decline accelerates
  year: 1680
  description: 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
- title: Pyrenees established as natural border
  year: 1659
  description: 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
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Lully's ballets and court music flourished
  artist: Jean-Baptiste Lully
  year: 1661
  note: Lully became maître de la musique de la chambre du roi in 1661, ushering in the French Baroque style that would dominate European courts
  referenceCard:
  status: ok
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T09:25:47.309Z"
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: 1659 Europe was absorbed in dynastic politics and military consolidation. The treaty embodied the shift from religious conflicts (Thirty Years' War context) to secular power struggles. Court culture in Paris, under the young Louis XIV, was beginning its ascendance as the model for European aristocracy, making the peace settlement as much a cultural statement as a political one.
relatedQueries:
- Treaty of the Pyrenees 1659
- Franco-Spanish War 1635-1659
- Louis XIV marriage Maria Theresa
- Pyrenees border Spain France history
- Spanish decline 17th century
- Peace treaty ending Thirty Years War related
- Roussillon Cerdagne French annexation
- Cardinal Mazarin peace negotiations
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Traite-Pyrenees.jpg/1280px-Traite-Pyrenees.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Traite-Pyrenees.jpg/800px-Traite-Pyrenees.jpg"
  caption: Treaty of the Pyrenees
  credit: Wikipedia · "Treaty of the Pyrenees"
  width: 330
  height: 225
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/C._1659-1660_Europe_%28treaty_adjustments%29.jpg/1280px-C._1659-1660_Europe_%28treaty_adjustments%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/C._1659-1660_Europe_%28treaty_adjustments%29.jpg/800px-C._1659-1660_Europe_%28treaty_adjustments%29.jpg"
  caption: C. 1659-1660 Europe (treaty adjustments)
  credit: William Robert Shepherd
  width: 803
  height: 791
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Trait%C3%A9_des_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es_1_sur_90_-_Archives_Nationales_-_AE-III-45-a.jpg/1280px-Trait%C3%A9_des_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es_1_sur_90_-_Archives_Nationales_-_AE-III-45-a.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Trait%C3%A9_des_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es_1_sur_90_-_Archives_Nationales_-_AE-III-45-a.jpg/800px-Trait%C3%A9_des_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es_1_sur_90_-_Archives_Nationales_-_AE-III-45-a.jpg"
  caption: Traité des Pyrénées 1 sur 90 - Archives Nationales - AE-III-45-a
  credit: Wikimedia Commons
  width: 1432
  height: 2020
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Allegory_Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees_Louvre.jpg/1280px-Allegory_Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees_Louvre.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Allegory_Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees_Louvre.jpg/800px-Allegory_Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees_Louvre.jpg"
  caption: Allegory Treaty of the Pyrenees Louvre
  credit: Livioandronico2013
  width: 3510
  height: 4365
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260530022603/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-30
  label: Treaty of the Pyrenees
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees"
relationships:
- targetSlug: american-civil-war-begins
  type: caused
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Treaty of the Pyrenees" references "American Civil War" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
- targetSlug: treaty-of-versailles
  type: caused
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Treaty of the Pyrenees" references "Treaty of Versailles" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
- targetSlug: july-revolution-france-1830
  type: caused
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Treaty of the Pyrenees" references "July Revolution in France" (2 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
