War of Spanish Succession

After the Treaty of Ryswick (today: Rijswijk) was signed in 1697 the question of the Spanish succession was at its height. France, England, Holland and Spain, the most powerful states of the time, were the protagonists of this diplomatic conflict. The issue demanded a political solution. Whoever became the successor of Carlos II of Spain would change the political balance in Europe. While Spain acted just passive the big powers of Europe tried to install themselves as successors of the Habsburgs. The French and the Austrians insisted on their dynastic relation with the Spanish empire. But England and Holland did not wish France or Austria to get the full succession and tried to divide the power. But after the death of the principal heir of Bavaria in 1699 Carlos decided in his testament the indivisibilty of his empire and selected Philipp of Anjou to succeed him. Philipp was a grandson of Louis XIV and his Spanish wife Maria Teresa. With this decision Carlos II excluded Austria and helped France to become predominant in Europe. That was the beginning of a big international conflict.

In 1700 Philipp became King Philipp V of Spain. Louis XIV then saw the chance to unite France and Spain and to gain more power at sea. Philipp V transfered the profitable trading privileges for Middle and South America to Louis and opened Spanish harbours in Europe and overseas. Those decisions were extremely against the interests of England and Holland. To restore the political balance in Europe William III united the two sea powers with Austria in an alliance against France.

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) involved nearly whole Middle, West and South Europe. Under the reign of Queen Anne, John Churchill (Duke of Marlborough) continued the statesmanlike manner of William III who died in 1702. France became too weak to defend its union with Spain and in 1709/1710 it offered peace twice. Louis XIV would also sacrifice the Spanish succession and Alsace. But the negotiations failed because the Allies demanded too much. This changed with the downfall of the Whigs in 1710 and the death of Joseph I and resulted in the acceptance of France`s offerings. The Tories were not interested in war anymore and started negotiations with France in 1711 to furthermore avoid the union of Spain and Austria. The result was the Peace of Utrecht in 1713/1714.

Sources

• Elze, R./ Repgen, K..Studienbuch Geschichte. Stuttgart: Klett, 1974. pp. 590-592.
• Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Bonn: Reclam, 2007. pp. 233-241.