The Treaty of Ryswick came about as the concluding chapter to the European ‘War of Grand Alliance’. The war pitted France on one hand to a grand alliance of four powers, namely England, Spain, The Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces of Netherlands. The war was fought over territories held by the belligerents both in Europe and in the colonies owned by these European powers. The relevance of this European treaty to the later day history of Hispaniola is that the treaty formally recognized the presence of France on the island of Ayti; and the outcome of the treaty was the de jure splitting of Hispaniola island, a once unified administrative unit, into two colonies; the western part to France and the eastern part to Spain. Ayti became the proverbial sacrificial lamb and a peace offering to the gods of European internecine conflict.

Negotiations leading to Treaty of Ryswick

Apparently unable to defeat each other in war, and being weighed down with the huge financial and human costs of the long drawn out conflict; the European powers decided to end the war by sharing the territories being fought over between themselves. All parties to the War of Grand Alliance gathered in the year 1697 AD, in what is today known as Holland or the Dutch Republic, to sort out their differences. The French who were then the most powerful military presence in Europe, quartered their representatives in the Hague, while the four allied powers had their base in Delft. In between the two towns hosting the protagonists was the city of Ryswick, where the negotiating conference took place at the Huis ter Nieuwburg.

Negotiations started on an ad-hoc basis. When mutual acrimonious debates did not allow the warring parties to reach any sort of meaningful agreement for several weeks, it was tentatively decided that a smaller negotiating team made up of one principal member from each camp should meet and work out a compromise. The four warlords in this conflict were: King William of Orange, King Louis the Fourteenth of France, King Charles the Second of Spain, and Emperor Leonard the First of the Holy Roman Empire. The two major protagonists in this war were King William of Orange who was at this time battling to reclaim the throne of England from King James the Second; and King Louis the fourteen who was giving support to King Charles the Second of England.

King William of Orange chose William Bentinck, Earl of Portland, to represent the Grand Alliance; while King Louis IV picked Marshal Boufflers to represent France. Both men met and after private negotiations, drew up terms of agreement for sharing the territories being fought over between the two warring parties. King Louis IV of France, and King William of Orange endorsed these agreements. However, both Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire, and King Charles II of Spain budged, and would not endorse the agreements reached between France and England. After much persuasion by their war ally England, the recalcitrant Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the King of Spain, were brought round to put their signatures on the treaty document.

Terms of the Treaty of Ryswick

In war just as in real life, you lose some and you gain some. All parties to the Treaty of Ryswick, which was signed by all the warring parties in September 1697, had to surrender some of the territories they held or had won during the conflict. In exchange for what they gave up, they were rewarded with other territories, to compensate them for their loses. France on its part gave up part of the territories it was holding in Europe. The territories surrendered by France were formerly parts of Spain, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, as covered by an earlier peace treaty between the warring parties at Nijmegen in 1679.

France surrendered to the Holy Roman Empire, the following cities and towns: Freiburg, Breisach and Philippsburg. In exchange France recovered Pondicherry and Nova Scotia in what is now Canada. She was further awarded the western part of Santo Domingo, which she promptly renamed Saint-Domingue. Saint-Domingue later metamorphosed into Haiti, after it won its independence from France. In exchange for giving France the western one third of Hispaniola, Spain got back from France the following territories: Catalonia, Mons, Luxembourg and Kortrijk. As for King William of Orange, his labors in fighting France to a stand-still were not in vain. France was forced by the Treaty of Ryswick, to recognize him as King William III of England; and thus King Louis XIV of France was barred from giving any further assistance to James II as king, in the tussle between him and William of Orange, for the coveted crown of the English throne.

Consequences of the Treaty of Ryswick

The consequences of the Treaty of Ryswick extended and resonated far beyond Europe and the warring parties, to the newly established European colonies, particularly in the Americas, Asia and Africa. The Treaty of Ryswick marks the beginning of balkanization of whole peoples and compact ethnic entities into arbitrary geographical units, to suit the whims and caprices of European colonizing powers. This is well illustrated by what became of the people of Hispaniola. By the Treaty of Ryswick, the indigenous peoples of Ayti who had lived together as neighbors for centuries; became separated into two distinct geographical creations.

The western one third of Hispaniola Island became Saint Dominique under the rule of France, while the eastern two thirds remained under the suzerainty of Spain with the name Santo Domingo. This Treaty of Ryswick was signed in order to make peace between two warring parties, France and Spain; in a dispute which the indigenous peoples, knew nothing about. As the old adage goes, when two elephants fight, the grass under them suffers. This was the fate of Taino people. They became separated into two colonies. A compact ethnic unit with identical customs and traditions now became strangers. Extended family members had to carry traveling papers and passports in order to visit their kith and kin living across an arbitrary boarder.