Financial exhaustion ended the previous war in 1697 without removing Louis XIV's ambitions or the approaching Spanish succession crisis. English politicians nevertheless disbanded most of the army and viewed foreign affairs mainly through domestic disputes. Commercial interests still sent Anglo-Dutch fleets into the Baltic, where they acted with Sweden and bombarded Copenhagen, while illegal trade and the Darien colony poisoned relations with Spain in the Caribbean. The Act of Settlement then required parliamentary consent for European war, barred foreign-born officeholders, and constrained the monarch's travel. Overseas commitments continued to demand naval action while Parliament restricted William III's freedom of action.
Notable Point · 2:19:23-2:21:29
How domestic politics narrowed English strategy before 1701
After the Peace of Ryswick, English domestic politics constrained William III even as Caribbean, Baltic, and Spanish succession problems kept demanding maritime attention.