The War of the Spanish Succession, 1701 to 1714, was a European great power conflict, caused by the death of Charles II of Spain in November 1700 without children. This led to a succession crisis between Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, and Archduke Charles of Austria, backed by the Grand Alliance. Related conflicts include the Great Northern War and Queen Anne's War in North America.
Although weakened by decades of warfare, the Spanish Empire remained a prominent global power when Charles died in 1700. This meant its alignment with either France or Austria threatened the European balance of power, and Philip's proclamation as king on 16 November 1700 triggered war. However, who ruled Spain was arguably less important than the division of its territories, an issue that became increasingly prominent as the war progressed.
By 1709, although the Grand Alliance had forced France onto the defensive, Philip had secured his position in Spain. When Archduke Charles succeeded his brother as Holy Roman Emperor in 1711, the new British government began negotiating their withdrawal from the war. The loss of British military and financial support forced their allies to agree to the 1713 Peace of Utrecht, followed by the treaties of Rastatt and Baden in 1714.
Philip was confirmed as King of Spain but renounced his rights in the French royal line of succession. Most Spanish possessions in Italy were ceded to Savoy or to Austria, the latter also acquiring the Austrian Netherlands. Britain retained the key ports of Gibraltar and Menorca and now replaced the Dutch Republic as the leading European naval and commercial power, the latter thereafter declining as a major force. Although France was left financially exhausted, the installation of a Bourbon on the Spanish throne achieved its long-envisioned goal of breaking the Habsburg monarchy's encirclement of its borders.
Background Charles II of Spain succeeded his father in 1665 at the age of four, but poor health meant his heir was a long-standing diplomatic issue between the European great powers. In 1670, Charles II of England agreed to support the rights of Louis XIV of France, while the 1689 Grand Alliance committed England and the Dutch Republic to back those of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.
When Charles II died in 1700, the Spanish Empire was no longer dominant in Europe, but remained a global entity, whose territories included much of Italy, the Americas, the Spanish Netherlands, and the Philippines. Since the acquisition of all of these by either Austria or France was unacceptable, negotiations between Louis and Emperor Leopold focused on their division. The Spanish, who were not consulted, refused to allow this, ultimately leading to a war that involved most of Europe. The 1700–1721 Great Northern War is considered a connected conflict since it affected the involvement of states such as Sweden, Saxony, Denmark–Norway and Russia.
Armies in the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War frequently numbered over 100,000, requiring expenditure unsustainable for pre-industrial economies. The 1690s also marked the low point of the Little Ice Age, a period of cold and wet weather that drastically reduced crop yields across Europe. The Great Famine of 1695–1697 killed an estimated 15–25% of the population in present-day Scotland, Scandinavia and the Baltic states, plus another two million in France and Northern Italy.
This combination of financial exhaustion and famine led to the October 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, a compromise that left the succession unresolved. Since it now seemed clear Charles would die without children, Leopold signed only with extreme reluctance, and all sides viewed Ryswick as only a temporary suspension of hostilities.
Partition treaties Unlike France or Austria, the Spanish throne could be inherited through the female line. This allowed Charles' sisters Maria Theresa and Margaret Theresa to pass their rights onto the children of their respective marriages with Louis XIV and Emperor Leopold. Louis sought to secure his "rights" by ignoring the Spanish and negotiating directly with William III of England, main co-ordinator of the Grand Alliance.
Leopold and Margaret had a daughter Maria Antonia, who married Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria in 1685, and in 1692, they had a son, Joseph Ferdinand. In October 1698, France, Britain and the Dutch Republic designated Joseph as heir to Charles II, in return for which France and Austria would be compensated with Spanish territories. Charles published another will specifying Joseph would inherit an undivided Spanish monarchy, but the latter's death from smallpox in February 1699 undid these arrangements.
In 1685, Maria Antonia passed her claim to the Spanish throne onto Leopold's sons, Joseph and Archduke Charles. Her right to do so was doubtful, but Louis and William agreed the 1700 Treaty of London, making Leopold's son Archduke Charles the new heir. Its terms included territorial concessions to France, Savoy and Austria, but neither Leopold nor Charles agreed, rendering the treaty largely pointless. By early October 1700, Charles was dying. His final will left the throne to Louis XIV's grandson Philip of Anjou, and if he refused, the offer would pass to his younger brother the Duke of Berry, followed by Archduke Charles.
Charles died on 1 November 1700, and Spanish ambassadors formally offered the throne to Philip eight days later. Louis briefly considered refusing, since although it meant the succession of Archduke Charles, insisting William help him enforce the Treaty of London meant his territorial aims might be achieved peacefully. However, French diplomats argued Austria would fight regardless, while neither the British nor Dutch would go to war for a settlement intended to avoid war. Louis therefore accepted on behalf of his grandson, who was proclaimed Philip V of Spain on 16 November 1700.
Prelude to war With most of his objectives achieved by diplomacy, Louis XIV now made a series of moves that combined to make war inevitable. The Tory majority in the Parliament of England objected to the French acquisition of Sicily, an important base for the highly profitable Levant Company trade. A foreign diplomat observed their reluctance to become involved in a European land war was only true "so long as English commerce does not suffer". Louis either failed to appreciate or decided to ignore this exception, and his actions gradually eroded Tory opposition.
In early 1701, Louis XIV registered Philip's claim to the French throne with the Parlement of Paris, raising the possibility of union with Spain, contrary to Charles' will, though Philip was only third in the French succession. In February, the Spanish-controlled Duchy of Milan and allied Duchy of Mantua in Northern Italy announced their support for Philip and accepted French troops. Leopold could not ignore these moves, especially when combined with French diplomatic efforts to build alliances with Imperial circles in Swabia and Franconia.
Over the course of 1701, Maximilian II Emanuel, the pro-French Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, allowed their troops to replace Dutch garrisons in the 'Barrier' fortresses granted at Ryswick. This threatened Dutch control of the Scheldt, a primary gain from the 1648 Peace of Münster, while access to Antwerp and Ostend would allow France to blockade the English Channel at will. Combined with other actions that threatened English trade, this produced a clear majority for war in Parliament, which in May 1701 urged William to negotiate an anti-French alliance.
On 7 September, Leopold, the Dutch Republic and Britain signed the Treaty of The Hague renewing the 1689 Grand Alliance. Its provisions included securing the Dutch Barrier in the Spanish Netherlands, the Protestant succession in England and Scotland and an independent Spain, but did not refer to placing Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne. When the exiled James II of England died on 16 September 1701, Louis XIV reneged on his recognition of William III at Ryswick in 1697, and supported the claim of James Francis Edward Stuart to the British throne. When William died in March 1702, his successor Queen Anne confirmed her support for the Treaty of the Hague. Despite French hopes domestic political conflicts would prevent this, the Dutch Republic declared war on 8 May. This was followed by Britain and Leopold on 15th, and the Imperial Diet on 30 September.
General strategic drivers
Contemporaries viewed Dutch and English support for the Habsburg candidate as primarily driven by economics, seeking access to Spanish markets in the Americas. The then dominant economic theory of mercantilism viewed global trade as relatively static. This meant increasing market share required taking it from someone else, with states often facilitating this by attacking their opponents' shipping and trading posts.
This expanded the war to North America, India, and other parts of Asia, with tariffs used as a policy weapon. The 1651–1663 Navigation Acts were a major factor in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, while between 1690 and 1704, English import duties on foreign goods increased by 400%. On 6 September 1700, France banned the import of English manufactured goods such as cloth and imposed prohibitive duties on a wide range of others.
Economics also dictated the size of the armies employed. Between 1702 and 1707, those used in the Netherlands varied from 60,000 to 80,000 men, rising to over 120,000 after 1708, which placed immense strain on pre-industrial economies. Their dependence on water-borne transport for supplies meant campaigning often focused on rivers like the Rhine or Danube, while their relative absence limited operations in areas like Northern Spain. Better logistics, unified command, and simpler internal lines of communication gave French and Spanish troops an advantage over their opponents.
Strategic objectives by participant
Spain
In 1700, Spain remained a great power in terms of territory control, while imports of bullion from the Americas reached their highest level between 1670 and 1700. However, this concealed the reality that the vast majority of these imports went straight to pay off debt or foreign merchants. When the new Bourbon administration took over in 1701, they found the empire bankrupt and effectively defenceless, with fewer than 15,000 troops in Spain itself and a navy consisting of 20 ships.
Almost constant warfare during the 17th century made the Spanish economy subject to long periods of low productivity and depression, and largely reliant upon others for its prosperity. In many ways, the continued existence of the empire was not due to Spanish strength but to maintain a balance between the powers competing for a share of its markets. Despite fighting a series of wars against Spain from 1667 to 1697, France was also its most significant economic partner, supplying labour and controlling a large proportion of its foreign trade. This consideration was an important factor in the Charles' decision to name Philip his heir. Its dependence on others was illustrated in 1703; despite the presence of an invading Allied army, the French ambassador urged Louis to allow Dutch and English merchants to purchase wool from Spanish farmers, "otherwise the flocks cannot be maintained".