Triple Alliance (1788)
Encyclopedia
The Triple Alliance of 1788 was a military alliance between Great Britain
, Prussia
and the United Provinces
, formed to prevent France
from becoming a superpower
in Europe
by taking over the Dutch colonies, fleet and wharfs.
The Triple Alliance was also aimed at restraining the Russian Empire
, and there were expectations of a war between the Alliance and Russia around 1791, but due to efforts of Russian diplomacy, particularly in fostering parliamentary dissent in Great Britain, the Alliance fell apart. The end of the alliance was cemented by the British-Netherlands-Prussian-Russian treaty of 26 July 1791. Within two years all the signatories of the alliance were at war with France following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War.
Britain and Prussia had previously been allies with the Anglo-Prussian Alliance
.
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, formed to prevent France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from becoming a superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by taking over the Dutch colonies, fleet and wharfs.
The Triple Alliance was also aimed at restraining the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and there were expectations of a war between the Alliance and Russia around 1791, but due to efforts of Russian diplomacy, particularly in fostering parliamentary dissent in Great Britain, the Alliance fell apart. The end of the alliance was cemented by the British-Netherlands-Prussian-Russian treaty of 26 July 1791. Within two years all the signatories of the alliance were at war with France following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War.
Britain and Prussia had previously been allies with the Anglo-Prussian Alliance
Anglo-Prussian Alliance
The Anglo-Prussian Alliance was a military alliance created by the Westminster Convention between Great Britain and Prussia which lasted formally between 1756 and 1762 during the Seven Years' War. It allowed Britain to concentrate the majority of its efforts against the colonial possessions of the...
.