Devolution, War

Devolution, War of

(1667–68) Conflict between France and Spain over possession of the Spanish Netherlands. Louis XIV began the war on the pretext that the custom of devolution, whereby daughters of a first marriage were preferred to sons of subsequent marriages regarding property inheritance, should apply to sovereign territories also. That would mean that his wife, Marie-Thérèse (1638–1683), should succeed her father, Philip IV, in the Spanish Netherlands. The French army advanced into Flanders in May 1667 and easily secured its objectives. A peace was reached at Aix-la-Chapelle, whereby France gave up Franche-Comté but retained conquered towns in Flanders.