Spanish Succession

By taylor04

  • Louis XIV sought a peaceful solution to the succession controversy and reached an agreement with King William III of England

  • The unexpected death of Joseph Ferdinand

  • Second Partition Treaty

  • Louis XIV's successor

    After the death of the Spanish Habsburg King Charles II on 1 November 1700, his last will designated Louis XIV’s second grandson Philip Duc d’Anjou as his successor.
  • Period: to

    Cause of the War

    England and Holland, although willing to recognize Philip as king of Spain, were antagonized by France's growing commercial competition. The French commercial threat, the reservation of Philip's right of succession to the French crown, and the French occupation of border fortresses between the Dutch and the Spanish Netherlands led to an anti-French alliance among England, Leopold, and the Dutch.

  • The successes of the French in Alsace enabled them to menace Vienna

  • Portugal and Savoy had changed sides

  • Marlborough succeeded in moving his troops from the Netherlands into Bavaria, where he joined Eugene and won the great victory of Blenheim over the French under the count of Tallard,and the French lost Bavaria.

  • English captured Gibraltar

  • Course of the War

    Marlborough made little progress in the north and Eugene's expedition into Provence resulted in the loss of 10,000 men; but in the following year Marlborough and Eugene won another great victory at Oudenarde, took Lille, and drove the French within their borders.

  • Peace negotiations failed, and the allies won another success, though a costly one, at Malplaquet.

  • Preliminary negotiations between England and France were pressed forward and a peace conference was opened

  • Charles VI continued the war, although Eugene had been defeated at Denain

  • France, England, and Holland signed the Peace of Utrecht

  • the emperor finally consented to the treaties of Rastatt and of Baden, which complemented the general settlement