Aix-la-Chapelle, TREATIES OF. The first was concluded May 2, 1668, between Louis XIV of France and the Triple Alliance, including England, Sweden and Holland. Louis, after the death of Philip IV, laid claim to a large portion of the Spanish Netherlands. He had already seized several fortresses, and Holland in alarm concluded the Triple Alliance. Louis, fearing this strong combination, accepted terms by which France retained possession of the fortresses of Charlerois and Lille and gave back Franche Comte to Spain. The second treaty was concluded in 1748, at the close of the War of the Austrian Succession (See SUCCESSION WARS). The cause of the war was the dispute of the claim of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria. All the great powers of Europe were engaged in this war, and by the terms of the treaty the different states held nearly the same possessions as before.