League of Augsburg, War of the

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League of Augsburg, War of the

LEAGUE OF AUGSBURG, WAR OF THE. William of Orange, stadtholder of The Netherlands, deposed his father-in-law, James II, as king of England in 1688, and became William III. The new king was the leader of a coalition intended to curb the ambition of France's Louis XIV to dominate Europe. The North American extension of the war to restore the European balance of power was called in the British colonies "King William's War" (1689–1697).

SEE ALSO Colonial Wars.

                       revised by Harold E. Selesky