After the end of the Thirty Years' War, a financially constrained Spanish government steadily reduced the size of the Army of Flanders; this trend continued after the end of the Franco-Spanish War that continued after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Despite its decline in numbers and quality, the army remained "an opponent to be treated with respect" at least until the 1650s, though it started to rely more on auxiliary forces such as the allied army of Louis, Grand Condé and a Royalist Army in Exile loyal to Charles II of England. The Battle of Dunkirk in 1658, resulting in a defeat for the Army of Flanders at the hands of the French, produced a renewed peace. From 1659, Madrid increasingly relied on the aid of Dutch and English troops to restrain Louis XIV's ambitions to annex the Spanish Netherlands (roughly present-day Belgium and Luxembourg), in which Spain showed declining interest after more than a century of war.