Grand Alliance: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Grand Alliance (known, prior to 1689, as the League of Augsburg) was a European coalition, consisting (at various times) of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, the Palatinate, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, and the United Provinces. The organization, which was founded in 1686, was known as the "Grand Alliance" after England joined the League (in 1689).

The League was officially formed by Emperor Leopold I, acting upon the advice of William III of Orange. The primary reason, for the League's creation, was to defend the Palatinate from France. This organization fought the War of the Grand Alliance, against France, from 1688 to 1697.