France viewed possession of the Spanish Netherlands as essential for its security and trade and occupied much of it in the 1667 to 1668 War of Devolution. Having won their independence in 1648, the Dutch Republic preferred a weakened Spain as a neighbour, rather than an aggressive and expansionist France. As a result, the Dutch-led Triple Alliance forced Louis XIV of France to return most of his gains in the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Thereafter, Louis decided the best way to force concessions from the Dutch was by first defeating them.