and Austria, intent on maintaining their influence within Poland, recognised Augustus as king. On October 10, France declared war on Austria and Saxony. Louis XV was later joined by his uncle, King Philip V of Spain, who hoped to secure territories in Italy for his sons by his second marriage to Elizabeth Farnese. Specifically, he hoped to secure Mantua for the elder son, Don Carlos, who was already Duke of Parma and had the expectation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily for the younger son, Don Felipe. The two Bourbon monarchs were also joined by Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, who hoped to secure gains from the Austrian Duchies of Milan and Mantua. Austrian isolation When hostilities finally broke out, the Austrians had hoped for aid from the maritime powers, Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. They were disappointed in this, since both the Dutch and the British chose to pursue a policy of neutrality. The British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole justified Britain's non-intervention by insisting that the Anglo-Austrian Alliance agreed at the 1731 Treaty of Vienna was a purely defensive agreement, while Austria was in this instance the aggressor. This position was attacked by English Austrophiles who wanted to aid the Austrians against France, but Walpole's dominant position ensured that Britain stayed out of the conflict. The Dutch under the leadership of Grand Pensionary Simon van Slingelandt mediated between the parties, but were anxious themselves to not have war on their doorstep again. The heavy toll of the previous wars against France on the Dutch economy was still in fresh memory. The threat of war still forced the Dutch Republic to increase the size of its army, just at a time the Dutch had hoped to be able to reduce it appreciably. The French however wished not to provoke Britain and the Dutch Republic and carefully chose not to campaign in the Austrian Netherlands and parts of the Holy Roman Empire that might draw either power into the conflict. On Austria's southern border, France in November 1733 negotiated the secret Treaty of Turin with Charles Emmanuel and prepared for military operations in northern Italy. It concluded the (also secret) Treaty of the Escorial with Spain, which included promises of French assistance in the Spanish conquest of Naples and Sicily. France also made diplomatic overtures to Sweden and the Ottoman Empire in a