An unpublished text by Lisola concerning the Affair of Lorraine (1670)

A copy of this text is now in the Library Eggenberg in Český Krumlov and was the property of the princess Marie-Ernestine d'Eggenberg. It is an anonymous work, but it seems to be written by Francis Paul, Baron de Lisola (1613-1675), who took part at the most important negotiations between 1650 and 1675.
He was born in Besançon (Franche-Comté) in a family of Italian origin. His father belonged to the magistrate of Besançon and the young Francis studied laws at the University of Dôle. He became soon a diplomat at the service of Emperor Ferdinand III, of whom he was the representative in England during the Civil Wars. He played an important part at the negotiations during the first Northern War and was the imperial resident at Berlin. After some missions in Spain, he was sent to Holland, near the General Estates, where he managed an anti-French politics. He was with Sir William Temple the inventor of the famous Triple Liga of la Haye which included England, Holland and Sweden, with the hope to associate the Emperor Leopold the First.
But at that time Leopold was not yet an enemy of Louis XIV and he put an end to the Devolution War (1667-1668) with a treaty of partition of the Spanish succession after the death of King Charles II of Spain (the so-called Treaty Gremonville in January 1668). The privy conference would not fight against France because the armies of Louis XIV were considered as to strong against the forces of the Emperor and of the Spaniards. And Leopold has no money enough to sustain his soldiers. Lisola sustained nevertheless the point of view of the Spanish party at the Viennese Court and was against any appeasement. That is the reason why he began to write numerous pamphlets (in French or Latin language) against French imperialism.
The Conférence infructueuse de Windisgrätz ou violence de la France à retenir la Lorraine deals with the French aggression of Louis XIV against the duke of Lorraine. Since the peace of Münster, the duchy of Lorraine was definitively divided into the ducal territories with Nancy as residency of the duke ant the third bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, who belonged to the kingdom of France. Charles IV was considered as a dangerous neighbour by French government, and after numerous crises Louis XIV gave order to Field-Marshall duke of Créqui to occupy the duchy.
Leopold the first sent an ambassador Count Windischgraetz to Paris, who offered to be the mediator between Lorraine and France. Windischgraetz was a member of the supreme imperial court at Vienna (German Reichshofrat), a good diplomat but the result of his embassy was negative: Louis XIV argued, the invasion of Lorraine concerned only France and it remained a purely interior problem.
Lisola was shocked by the French attitude and tried to demonstrate, that Louis XIV was dangerous for the peace of Europe and the balance of power. He was so conscious of the French imperialism at that time, that he announced already in 1671 the French aggression against Holland who took place the following year (1672).

Keywords: Lisola; Affair of Lorraine; Eggenberg Library; Český Krumlov