Treaty of Nonsuch

The Treaty of Nonsuch was signed by Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch Rebels fighting against Spanish rule; the first international treaty signed by what would become the Dutch Republic. It was signed on 10 August 1585 at Nonsuch Palace in Surrey.

The treaty was provoked by the signing of the Treaty of Joinville in 1584 between Philip II of Spain and the Catholic League in which Philip II promised to finance the League.

Elizabeth I agreed to supply 6,400 foot soldiers and 1,000 cavalry, initially intended as a way of lifting the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585), with an annual subsidy of 600,000 florins, about a quarter of the annual cost of the revolt. As a surety for this assistance, the Dutch were to hand over Brill and Flushing to England, which it would garrison at its own expense. These were known as the Cautionary Towns

The treaty granted Elizabeth the right to appoint two councillors to the council of state of the United Provinces.

The surety provoked the objection of Zeeland, which was to lose the most by this measure. Elizabeth rejected the title of Governor General of the Provinces offered to her in the treaty. When the head of the English troops in the Netherlands, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, accepted this title, Elizabeth was furious.

Philip viewed the treaty as a declaration of war against him by Elizabeth. Three years later, he launched the Spanish Armada in an attempt to invade and conquer England. The resources spent by Philip on the Armada (10 million ducats) undoubtedly diverted significant resources from fighting the Dutch revolt at the time. Around 110 million ducats were spent on the partially successful campaign against the resurgent revolt.

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