When Henri IV declared war on Spain on 17 January 1595, the kingdom of France was battered and exhausted in the wake of the endless Wars of Religion. Declaring war was a risky move, but it showed Henri's political skills as well as his daring. It was daring because the Spanish infantry formations, the renowned tercios, had long proven their effectiveness on the battlefields of Europe, and they constituted a real danger for Henri's armies. It was a politically savvy move, however, because in declaring war on Spain, Henri IV was killing two birds with one stone – he brought together Frenchmen who had been divided by civil strife to fight a common enemy, and he was able to make the Leaguers who had not rallied to him look like traitors.
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