Defensive Warfare, Prevention and Hegemony. The Justifications for the Franco-Spanish War of 1635 (Part I)

Abstract

In the weeks after the French herald Gratiollet had formally declared war upon the Cardinal-Infante, the French government released two lengthy justifications for its actions. On June 6, 1635, Louis XIII had the Declaration du Roy, sur l’ouverture de la guerre contre le Roy d’Espagne issued, which was registered by the Parliament of Paris, the highest court of the realm, on 18 June.143 Around the same date, a second te�t was promulgated: the Manifeste du Roy Contenant les justes causes que sa Majeste a eues de declarer la guerre au Roy d’Espagne.144 The Declaration was co-signed and edited, if not written, by Abel de Servien (15931659), a jurist by training and Secretary of State for War. It had been written while the drafting process of the Manifeste was already well underway, and it was partly based on it. The Manifeste was based on an original draft by Father Joseph (1577-1638), one of Richelieu’s main advisers on foreign policy.145 It had later been revised by Claude le Bouthillier (1581-1652), a jurist too and Secretary of State for Finance, and by Richelieu.146