Treaty of Paris (1657)

The English agreed to join France in its war against Spain in Flanders. France would contribute an army of 20,000 men. England would contribute both 6,000 troops and its fleet in a campaign against the Flemish coastal fortresses of Gravelines, Dunkirk and Mardyck. Gravelines would be ceded to France and Dunkirk and Mardyck to England. Dunkirk, in particular, was on the Commonwealth's mind mainly because of the privateers that were causing damage to the mercantile fleet. For Cromwell and the Commonwealth, the question of possession of Dunkirk thus passed from a diplomatic possibility in the region to urgent political necessity. ==References==