The War of the Spanish Succession, 1701 to 1714, was a European great power conflict. The death of Charles II of Spain in November 1700 without children led to a succession crisis between Philip of Anjou, whose claim was supported by his grandfather, 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 no longer dominant in Europe, the Spanish Empire remained a global power when Charles died in 1700. This meant its acquisition by 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 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 became king in 1665 at the age of four, and a combination of poor health and lack of children meant who succeeded him was a long-standing European diplomatic issue. As early as 1670, Charles II of England agreed to support the claim of Louis XIV of France, while the 1689 Grand Alliance committed England and the Dutch Republic to back 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
The Spanish empire remained a global power in 1701, supported by large imports of silver bullion from mines in the Americas. However, most of this income was already committed to holders of government debt or foreign merchants, often years in advance. When the Bourbons took over, they found the empire bankrupt and effectively defenceless, with fewer than 15,000 troops in Spain itself and a navy consisting of 20 ships.
Depopulation and multiple financial crises over the course of the 17th century left the economy reliant upon outsiders. Spanish agriculture depended on Louis' willingness to allow the import of seasonal French labourers, an important consideration in the decision to name Philip as Charles' successor. Their dependence on Dutch and English merchants was illustrated two years after the war began in 1703, when the French ambassador urged Louis to allow them to continue purchasing Spanish wool, "otherwise the flocks cannot be maintained".
Essential reforms were constantly delayed because Habsburg Spain was a personal union between the Crowns of Castile and Aragon, each with very different political cultures. Support for the Bourbons came primarily from the Castilian elite, who saw the Nueva Planta decrees as essential to preserve their power. As these reforms included the elimination of traditional Aragonese legal systems, Austracista support for the Hapsburgs was strongest in Catalonia and Valencia.
France
Broadly speaking, French objectives were to prevent others acquiring an undivided Spanish monarchy, to secure their borders with the Holy Roman Empire while weakening Austria, and to establish exclusive access to trade with Spanish America. At the outbreak of war, France was perhaps the most powerful state in Europe. Its army, along with the associated logistical and financial support base, was more powerful than any of its rivals individually. Its geographical position provided enormous tactical flexibility, while the concentration of power under Louis XIV meant a relatively unified strategy, unlike their opponents. Although the Nine Years' War had shown France could not impose its objectives unilaterally, the new alliance with Spain and Bavaria made a successful outcome more likely.
However, France had still not recovered from the financial effects of the previous wars, leading some statesmen to advise against a purely offensive strategy. They argued that the combined might of the Grand Alliance forces made it highly improbable for France to launch a successful attack. The Dutch and Imperial fortresses were located far from convenient Franco-Spanish bases, and the Netherlands and Rhineland lacked easily navigable rivers for the Bourbon armies. Furthermore, besieging a major Dutch fortress demanded the commitment of two full armies. The French would thus pursue a strategy described as a "mixed war" in Europe. In this strategy, the Franco-Spanish forces would primarily assume a defensive posture to safeguard the vital fortresses they needed to retain. Offensive actions, on the other hand, were characterized by assertive posturing and strategic positioning, with an emphasis on sustaining their forces by living off enemy territory whenever feasible, while blocking enemy thrusts, and trying to engage them in battle where possible.