Although by 1701Spain was no longer the predominant power inEurope, theSpanish Empire remained a global power, whose territory included theSpanish Netherlands, large parts ofItaly, and theAmericas. Its union with either France or Austria threatened theEuropean balance of power, and the proclamation of Philip as king of Spain on 16 November 1700 led to war. Although by 1709 the Allies had forced France onto the defensive, Philip had confirmed his position in Spain, the ostensible cause of the war.
WhenEmperor Joseph I died in 1711, Archduke Charles succeeded him asHoly Roman Emperor. Union with Austria was as unwelcome as that with France, while mounting costs led the newBritish government to withdraw from the war. The remaining Allies fought on, but were forced to make peace due to the loss of British military and financial support. This led to the 1713Peace of Utrecht, followed by the treaties ofRastatt andBaden in 1714.
Philip was confirmed as King of Spain, but in compensation he renounced his place in the French line of succession and ceded much of Spain's Italian territories toSavoy and Austria, which also acquired theAustrian Netherlands. Britain receivedGibraltar andMenorca, along with trade concessions in the Americas, and was established as the leading European commercial entity. For the Dutch, despite securing and expanding theirbarrier fortresses and gaining part ofUpper Guelders, the war marked the beginning of their decline as a major European power, while France was left financially exhausted but had succeeded in the long envisioned goal of breaking the encirclement of its borders by theHabsburg monarchy.
When Charles died in 1700, theSpanish Empire was no longer the dominantgreat power, but still included much of Italy and theAmericas, theSpanish Netherlands, and colonies such as thePhilippines.[21] Negotiations between Louis and Emperor Leopold centered on dividing these territories, which the Spanish refused to allow. Since the acquisition of an undivided empire by either Austria or France would make them too powerful, its inheritance led to a war that involved most of Europe. The 1700–1721Great Northern War is considered a connected conflict since it affected the involvement of states such asSweden,Saxony,Denmark–Norway andRussia.[22]
Armies in the 1688 to 1697Nine Years' War frequently numbered over 100,000, requiring expenditure unsustainable for pre-industrial economies.[23] The 1690s also marked the low point of theLittle Ice Age, a period of cold and wet weather that drastically reduced crop yields across Europe.[24] TheGreat Famine of 1695–1697 killed an estimated 15–25% of the population in present-dayScotland,Scandinavia and theBaltic states, plus another two million in France andNorthern Italy.[25]
This combination of financial exhaustion and famine led to the October 1697Treaty 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.[26]
Charles II, 1665–1700, last Habsburg King of Spain
Unlike the crowns ofFrance orAustria, that of Spain could be inherited through the female line. This allowed Charles' sistersMaria Theresa andMargaret Theresa to pass their rights onto the children of their respective marriages with Louis XIV and Emperor Leopold. Louis sought to avoid conflict over the issue through direct negotiation with his main opponentWilliam III of England while excluding the Spanish.[27]
Leopold and Margaret's daughterMaria Antonia marriedMaximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria in 1685, and on 28 October 1692, they had a son,Joseph Ferdinand. Under the October 1698Treaty of the Hague between France, Britain and the Dutch Republic, five-year-old Joseph was designated heir to Charles II; in return, France and Austria would receive parts of Spain's European territories.[28] Charles refused to accept this; on 14 November 1698, he published a will leaving an undivided Spanish monarchy to Joseph Ferdinand. However, the latter's death from smallpox in February 1699 undid these arrangements.[29]
In 1685, Maria Antonia passed her claim to the Spanish throne onto Leopold's sons,Joseph and Archduke Charles.[30] Her right to do so was doubtful, but Louis and William used this to devise the 1700Treaty of London. Archduke Charles became the new heir, while France,Savoy and Austria received territorial compensation; however, since neither Leopold nor Charles agreed, the treaty was largely pointless.[31] By early October 1700, Charles was dying; his final will left the throne to Louis XIV's grandsonPhilip, Duke of Anjou; if he refused, the offer would pass to his younger brother theDuke of Berry, followed by Archduke Charles.[32]
Charles died on 1 November 1700, and on the 9th, Spanish ambassadors formally offered the throne to Philip. Louis briefly considered refusing; although it meant the succession of Archduke Charles, insisting William help him enforce the Treaty of London meant he might achieve his territorial aims without fighting. However, his son theDauphin rejected the idea; French diplomats also advised 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.[32]
Proclamation of Philip of Anjou asPhilip V of Spain, Versailles, 16 November 1700
With most of his objectives achieved by diplomacy, Louis now made a series of moves that combined to make war inevitable.[33] TheTory majority in the EnglishParliament objected to the Partition Treaties, chiefly the French acquisition ofSicily, an important link in the lucrativeLevant trade.[34] However, a foreign diplomat observed their refusal to become involved in a European war was true "only so long as English commerce does not suffer".[35] Louis either failed to appreciate this or decided to ignore it and his actions gradually eroded Tory opposition.[36]
In early 1701, Louis registered Philip's claim to the French throne with theParlement 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-controlledDuchy of Milan and alliedDuchy of Mantua in Northern Italy announced their support for Philip and accepted French troops. Combined with efforts to build an alliance between France and Imperial German states inSwabia andFranconia, these were challenges Leopold could not ignore.[37]
Helped by the governor,Max Emanuel of Bavaria, French troops replaced Dutch garrisons in the 'Barrier' fortresses in theSpanish Netherlands, granted at Ryswick. It also threatened the Dutch monopoly over theScheldt granted by the 1648Peace of Münster, while French control ofAntwerp andOstend would allow them to blockade theEnglish Channel at will.[38] Combined with other French actions that threatened English trade, this produced a clear majority for war and in May 1701, Parliament urged William to negotiate an anti-French alliance.[39]
On 7 September, Leopold, the Dutch Republic and Britain[n] signed theTreaty of The Hague renewing the 1689Grand 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.[40] When the exiledJames II of England died on 16 September 1701, Louis reneged on his recognition of the ProtestantWilliam III as king of England and Scotland and supported the claim of James' son,James Francis Edward Stuart. War became inevitable and when William himself died in March 1702, his successorQueen Anne confirmed her support for the Treaty of the Hague.[41] The Dutch now led byGrand PensionaryAnthonie Heinsius did the same, despite French hopes that without aStadtholder the republic would be torn apart internally.[42] On 8 May the Dutch Republic declared war on France, followed by the British and the Emperor on 15 May and theImperial Diet on 30 September.[41]
France's central position required the Grand Alliance to attack on exterior lines.
The importance of trade and economic interests to the participants is often underestimated; contemporaries viewed Dutch and English support for the Habsburg cause as primarily driven by a desire for access to Spanish markets in the Americas.[43] While modern economists generally assume a constantly growing market, the then dominant theory ofmercantilism viewed it as relatively static. This meant increasing one's own share of a market required taking it from someone else, with the state facilitating this by attacking opponents' merchant ships and colonies.[44]
As a result, the war quickly expanded toNorth America,India, and other parts of Asia, with tariffs used as a policy weapon. The 1651–1663Navigation Acts were a major factor in theAnglo-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.[45]
The field armies that operated in the Southern Netherlands during the Nine Years' War had sometimes reached 100,000 men. The size of armies continued to grow during the War of the Spanish Succession. Between 1702 and 1707, the field armies in the Southern Netherlands had a strength of 60,000 to 80,000 men, and from 1708 onwards, over 120,000 men.[46] These extensive armies placed immense strain on pre-industrial economies.[46][47] Armies were restricted by their dependence on water-borne transport for supplies, so campaigns focused on rivers like theRhine,Scheldt andAdda, while their absence limited operations in areas like Northern Spain. Better logistics, unified command, and simpler internal lines of communication gave Bourbon armies an advantage over their opponents.[48]
In 1700, Spain remained a great power in terms of territory control; recent research moreover shows that imports of bullion from the Americas reached their highest level between 1670 and 1700.[49] However, this concealed major structural weaknesses; the vast majority of these imports were used to fund debt or pay 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 in total.[50]
Almost constant warfare during the 17th century made the 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.[49] 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".[50]
Enacting political or economic reform was extremely complex, sinceHabsburg Spain was a personal union between the Crowns ofCastile andAragon, each with very different political cultures,[o] while links with the former Spanish strongholds inthe Netherlands andItaly were frayed. Most ofPhilip's support came from the Castilian elite,[51] who sawcomprehensive reforms as necessary to preserve an independent Spanish Empire. As these reforms included the elimination of the privileges, orFueros, held by the Aragonese states,support for the Hapsburgs wasstrongest in areas that were part of the Crown of Aragon, includingCatalonia andValencia.[52]
UnderLouis XIV, France was the most powerful state in Europe, with revenue-generating capacities that far exceeded those of its rivals. Its army was the largest in Europe and France's geographical position provided enormous tactical flexibility; unlike Austria, it hada navy, and as the campaigns of 1708–1710 proved, even under severe pressure it could defend its borders. TheNine Years' War had shown France could not impose its objectives without support, and its new alliance with Spain and Bavaria made a successful outcome more likely.[citation needed] However, the previous wars had left France with severe economic problems. This was recognized by theMarquis de Chamlay, who advised Louis to not take on a purely offensive strategy. He 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 andRhineland 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.[53] Apart from denying an undivided Spanish monarchy to others, Louis's objectives were to secure his borders with the Holy Roman Empire, weaken his rival Austria, and increase French commercial strength through access to trade with the Americas.[citation needed]
Francis Rákóczi, leader of the 1703–1711 Hungarian revolt; funded by France, this was a major distraction for Austria
The Imperial Diet formally declaredReichskrieg against France in November 1702.[54]
Despite being the dominant power within the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian and Imperial interests did not always coincide. The Habsburgs wanted to putArchduke Charles on the throne of an undivided Spanish monarchy, while their Allies were fighting to prevent either the Bourbons or the Habsburgs from doing so. This divergence and Austria's financial collapse in 1703 meant the campaign in Spain was reliant on Anglo-Dutch naval support and after 1706, British funding. Particularly during the reign ofJoseph I, the priority for the Habsburgs was to secure their southern borders from French intervention in northern Italy and suppressRákóczi's War of Independence in Hungary.[55]
Much of the Spanish nobility resented what they considered to be the arrogance of the Austrians, a key factor in the selection of Philip as their preferred candidate in 1700. In return for British support, Charles agreed to major commercial concessions within the empire, as well as accepting British control ofGibraltar andMenorca. These made him widely unpopular at all levels of Spanish society, and he was never able to sustain himself outside the coastal regions, which could be supplied by the Anglo-Dutch navies.[56]
The majority of the Empire sided with the Emperor, including not only his own lands of theAustrian monarchy but eventually alsoSavoy,Brandenburg-Prussia,Hanover,the Palatinate, and many minor states such asHessen-Kassel andSalzburg. TheWittelsbach-controlled states ofBavaria,Liège, andCologne allied with France, as didMilan, theSpanish Netherlands (both territories of Spain) andMantua. Other states stayed neutral due to concerns about their lack of relative military strength (e.g. theTuscany), being busy with other conflicts (e.g. Saxony), a lack of interest, or some combination thereof (e.g. many of the small states of southwest Germany). Despite several major states siding with France, the Habsburgs were largely successful at mustering the rest of the Empire for war. Of the average Imperial strength of 260,090 soldiers, 126,000 were in theKaiserliche Armee and 134,090 in theReichsarmee (some states, such as Savoy, did not contribute troops to the Imperial Army and instead marched alongside the Emperor but under their own princes). Total expenditure for the Imperial war effort was 650 million florins across 1701–14, including the cost of the official contingents and additional auxiliaries provided by the Imperial states, as well as their other directly incurred war expenditures. About 90 million of this (14% of the total) was covered by subsidies from the Empire's British and Dutch allies. The remainder was divided roughly one-third for the Habsburgs (187 million, 29% of the total) and two-thirds for the remaining imperial estates (373 million, 57% of the total).[57]
Like Bavaria, the larger entities pursued their own policies; his claim to thePolish crown meantAugustus of Saxony focused on theGreat Northern War, whileFrederick I made his support dependent on Leopold recognisingPrussia as a kingdom and making it an equal member of the Grand Alliance. SinceGeorge, Elector of Hanover, was also heir to the British throne, his support was more reliable, but the suspicion remained that the interests ofHanover came first.[58]
Participants in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1703: Pro-Habsburg (orange) and Pro-Bourbon (lavender)
British foreign policy was based on three general principles, which remained largely consistent from the 16th through the 20th centuries. The first, overriding all others, was to preserve a balance of power in Europe, an objective threatened by French expansion under Louis XIV. The second was to prevent theLow Countries from being controlled by a hostile power or one stronger than Britain; this included both the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, whose deep harbours and prevailing winds made her a natural embarkation point for an attack on England, asdemonstrated in 1688. The third was to maintain a navy strong enough to protect British trade, control her waters and launch attacks on her enemies' commercial routes and coastal areas.[59]
Alignment on reducing the power of France and securing the Protestant succession for the British throne masked differences on how to achieve them. In general, theTories favoured a mercantilist strategy of using theRoyal Navy to attack French and Spanish trade while protecting and expanding their own; land commitments were viewed as expensive and primarily of benefit to others.[60] TheWhigs argued France could not be defeated by seapower alone, making a Continental strategy essential, while Britain's financial strength made it the only member of the Alliance able to operate on all fronts against France.[61]
The Dutch Republic had been thecornerstone of European resistance against French expansionism since the outbreak of theFranco-Dutch War in 1672, when it was nearly overrun.[62] In addition to concerns over the balance of power, they viewed the Spanish Netherlands as a key strategic buffer against French aggression.[63] Since recent experience showed the Spanish could not defend them, the 1697Treaty of Ryswick allowed the Dutch to place garrisons in eight key cities, providingstrategic depth sufficient to protect their commercial and demographic heartlands against attack from the south. However, with the help of Maximilian of Bavaria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, by 1701 these garrisons had been nullified and replaced by French troops. At the request of theElector of Cologne andPrince-bishop of Liège,Joseph Clemens of Bavaria, French troops also moved into his territories in theRhineland and were thus directly threatening the Dutch border from both the south and the east. Dutch priorities were to secure their borders,re-establish and strengthen the Barrier fortresses, retain control of the economically vital Scheldt estuary, and gain access to trade in the Spanish Empire.[64]
At the outset of the war, theDutch States Army was the best prepared army of the Grand Alliance, being similar in size to that of the Austrians, but of significantly higher quality.[65] AlthoughMarlborough was appointed commander of Allied forces in theLow Countries, it was the Dutch who provided the bulk of the troops and supplies, as well as covering the expenses for thesiege train. This made strategy in this theatre subject to the approval of theirfield deputies and generals.[p] When Dutch forces operated outside the Low Countries, it was generally seen as a concession.[67]
Throughout the 17th century,Savoy sought to replace Spain as the dominant power inNorthern Italy. Savoy consisted of two main geographic segments;Piedmont, which contained the capitalTurin, and theDuchy of Aosta on the Italian side of theAlps, with theDuchy of Savoy andCounty of Nice in Transalpine France. The latter were almost impossible to defend and combined with the anti-Habsburg policy pursued by Louis XIV and his predecessors, this meant Savoy generally sided with France. However, Piedmont provided foreign powers access to the restive southern French provinces of theDauphiné andVaunage, formerHuguenot strongholds with a long history of rebellion. This providedVictor Amadeus II with a degree of leverage, allowing him to manoeuvre between opposing parties to expand his territories.[68]
During the Nine Years' War in 1690, Savoy joined the Grand Alliance before agreeing to aseparate peace with France in 1696. The accession of Philip V in 1701 led to a reversal of long-standing strategic policy, with France now supporting the Spanish position in Lombardy, rather than seeking to weaken it, and Austria doing the opposite. While Victor Amadeus initially allied Savoy with France, his long-term goal was the acquisition of theDuchy of Milan, which neither Bourbons nor Habsburgs would relinquish voluntarily. As discussed elsewhere in this article, securing his borders in Italy was of greater concern to Emperor Leopold than Spain itself. This meant Britain was the only power inclined to help Victor Amadeus achieve this objective and he changed sides in 1703 after the Anglo-Dutch navies won control of the Western Mediterranean.[69]
Northern Italy; Milan, Savoy, and Mantua were the primary areas of conflict
The war in Italy primarily involved the Spanish-ruledDuchy of Milan and the French-alliedDuchy of Mantua, considered essential to the security of Austria's southern borders. In 1701, French troops occupied both cities andVictor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, allied with France, his daughterMaria Luisa marrying Philip V.[70] In May 1701, an Imperial army underPrince Eugene of Savoy moved into Northern Italy; by February 1702, victories atCarpi,Chiari andCremona forced the French behind theAdda river.[71]
Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, one of the best French generals, took command and was substantially reinforced; Prince Eugene managed a draw at theBattle of Luzzara but the French recovered most of the territory that it had lost to Prince Eugene the year before.[72] In October 1703, Victor Amadeus declared war on France; by May 1706, the French held most of Savoy exceptTurin while victories atCassano andCalcinato forced the Imperialists into theTrentino valley.[73]
In July 1706 Vendôme and all the forces that could be spared were sent to reinforce France's northern frontier after the defeat atRamillies. Reinforced by German auxiliaries led byLeopold of Anhalt-Dessau, Prince Eugene broke thesiege of Turin in September; despite a minor French victory atCastiglione, the war in Italy was over. To the fury of his allies, the 1707Convention of Milan Emperor Joseph gave French troops in Lombardy free passage to Southern France.[74]
A combined Savoyard-Imperial attack on the French base ofToulon planned for April was postponed when Imperial troops were diverted to seize the Spanish BourbonKingdom of Naples. By the time theybesieged Toulon in August, the French were too strong, and they were forced to withdraw. By the end of 1707, fighting in Italy ceased, apart from minor attempts by Victor Amadeus to recover Nice and Savoy.[75]
The first objective for the Grand Alliance in this theatre was to secure the Dutch frontiers, threatened by the alliance between France, Bavaria, andJoseph Clemens of Bavaria, ruler ofLiège andCologne. During 1702, the Grand Alliance repelled anassault on Nijmegen,captured Kaiserswerth, a strong town on the eastern side of the Dutch Republic, and tookVenlo,Roermond,Stevensweert andLiège along theMeuse.[76] The 1703 campaign was marred by Allied conflicts over strategy. Despite capturingBonn, they failed to takeAntwerp, while a Dutch contingent narrowly escaped disaster atEkeren in June.[77]
On theUpper Rhine, Imperial forces underLouis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden remained on the defensive, although they tookLandau in 1702. Supported by the Bavarians, during the 1703 campaign French forces retook Landau, won victories atFriedlingen,Höchstädt andSpeyerbach, then capturedKehl andBreisach. With Austrian resources absorbed byRákóczi's War of Independence in Hungary, the Franco-Bavarian plan for 1704 was to march on Vienna.[78] To relieve the pressure, Marlborough marched up the Rhine, joined forces with Louis of Baden and Prince Eugene, and crossed the Danube on 2 July. Allied victory atBlenheim on 13 August forced Bavaria out of the war and theTreaty of Ilbersheim placed it under Austrian rule.[79]
Allied efforts to exploittheir victory at Eliksem in 1705 floundered on poor coordination, tactical disputes, and command rivalries.[80] A diplomatic crisis between the Dutch Republic and England was only averted by the dismissal of GeneralSlangenburg,[81] while the imposition of Austrian rule in Bavaria caused a brief but viciouspeasant revolt.[80] In May 1706, the French were comprehensively defeated atRamillies by an Allied army under Marlborough, which then occupied much of the Spanish Netherlands in under two weeks.[82] France assumed a largely defensive posture for the rest of the war.[83]
The 1707 campaign was without any significant events, as both parties focussed on other fronts. The French, now under Marshal Vendôme, avoided battle and Marlborough did little to force one upon them. By 1708, the focus of both sides was again almost entirely on the fighting in the Low Countries. The allies once more set their sights on breaking French fortification belts, while the French themselves planned acounteroffensive. The French operation had early success when the French surprised the Allied garrisons atGhent andBruges, it failed after the Allies defeated them at theBattle of Oudenaarde.[q] In its aftermath the Allies managed tocapture Lille, the strongest fortress of the French fortress belts, while aFrench assault on Brussels was repelled andGhent and Bruges recaptured.[85][84] Despite losses like Lille and other strongpoints, the French prevented the Allies from making an irreparable breach in their frontiers.[83]
British involvement was primarily driven by the need to protect their trade routes in the Mediterranean. By putting Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne, they also hoped to gain commercial privileges within the Spanish Empire. Despite their dynastic claim, the Austrian Habsburgs viewed securing Northern Italy and suppressing the Hungarian revolt as higher priorities. With the Dutch focusing on Flanders post-1704, this theatre was largely dependent on British naval and military support.[86]
Spain at the time was apersonal union between the Crowns ofCastile andAragon. The latter was further divided into the separate entities ofCatalonia,Aragon,Valencia,Majorca,Sicily,Naples, andSardinia. In 1701, Majorca, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia declared for Philip, while a mixture of anti-Castilian and anti-French sentiment meant the others supported Archduke Charles, the most important being Catalonia. Allied victory atVigo Bay in October 1702 persuadedPeter II of Portugal to switch sides, giving them an operational base in this area.[87]
Archduke Charles landed atLisbon in March 1704 to begin a land campaign, while the Anglo-Dutchcapture of Gibraltar was a significant blow to Bourbon prestige. An attempt to retake it was defeatedin August, with aland siege being abandoned in April 1705.[88] The 1705Pact of Genoa between Catalan representatives and Britain opened a second front in the north-east; the loss ofBarcelona and Valencia leftToulon as the only major port available to the Bourbons in the Western Mediterranean. Philiptried to retake Barcelona in May 1706 but was repulsed, while his absence allowed an Allied force from Portugal to enter Madrid andZaragoza.[89]
However, lack of popular support and logistical issues meant the Allies could not hold territory away from the coastline, and by November, Philip controlled Castile,Murcia, and parts of Valencia. Allied efforts to regain the initiative ended with defeat atAlmansa in April 1707, followed by an unsuccessfulsiege of Toulon in August. Despite these failures, control of Gibraltar and thecapture of Menorca in 1708 allowed theRoyal Navy to dominate the Western Mediterranean. Since many British politicians considered this their primary objective, they became reluctant to approve further expensive land campaigns in this theatre.[86]
TheFrench West Indies; the huge profits associated with sugar production made this area highly significant.
The close links between war and trade meant conflict extended beyond Europe, particularly in North America, where it is known asQueen Anne's War, and theWest Indies, whichproduced sugar, then a hugely profitable commodity. Also, there were minor trade conflicts in South America, India, and Asia; the financial strains of war particularly affected theDutch East India Company, as it was a huge drain on scarce naval resources. The war in Europe alsocoincided with Dutch involvement in theWar of Javanese Succession.
Related conflicts includeRákóczi's War of Independence inHungary, which was funded by France and a serious concern for the Habsburgs throughout the war. In South-Eastern France, Britain funded theHuguenot 1704–1710Camisard rebellion; one objective of the 1707 campaign in Northern Italy and Southern France was to support this revolt, one of a series that began in the 1620s.
By the end of 1708, the French had withdrawn from Northern Italy, while the maritime powers controlled the Spanish Netherlands, and secured the borders of the Dutch Republic; in the Mediterranean, the maritime powers had achieved naval supremacy, and Britain acquired permanent bases in Gibraltar and Menorca. However, as Marlborough himself pointed out, the French frontiers remained largely intact, their army showed no signs of being defeated, while Philip proved far more popular with the Spanish than his rival. Many of the objectives set out by the Grand Alliance in 1701 had been achieved, but success in 1708 made them overconfident.[90]
French diplomats focused on the Dutch, whom they considered more likely to favour peace, since victory at Ramillies had removed any direct military threat to the Republic, while highlighting differences with Britain on the Spanish Netherlands. Peace talks had broken down in late 1708 because the Allies could not agree joint terms.[91] TheGreat Frost of 1709 caused widespread famine in France and Spain, forcing Louis to re-open negotiations, who now hinted at his willingness to cede French fortresses to the Dutch Republic.[92][93]
In May 1709 the Allies presented him with the preliminaries of the Hague. Britain and Austria still insisted on an undivided Spanish monarchy for Archduke Charles. The Allies demanded that Philip was given two months to cede his throne to Charles, while France was required to remove him by force if he did not comply, besides having to cede the strongholds,Thionville,Cambrai andValenciennes as collateral.[92] Although Spain was of less importance to them, the Dutch negotiators, led by Heinsius, considered these strict conditions necessary to ensure that peace conditions were honoured, as they doubted Louis' sincerity. They were concerned the Allies might exhaust themselves in Spain, while allowing France to recover, and potentially back Phillip once again.[94][95]
Battle of Malplaquet, 1709: an Allied victory, the losses shocked Europe and increased the desire for peace.
Many Allied statesmen, including Marlborough, felt the terms assumed Philip would abdicate on request, and seriously underestimated France's ability to continue the war. They also required the Spanish to accept Archduke Charles as king in his place, which they were certainly unwilling to do, as demonstrated by the failure of Allied campaigns to hold territory outside Catalonia.[96] Although Louis seemed willing to abandon his ambitions in Spain, making war on his grandson was unacceptable, a stipulation so offensive that the French resolved to fight on when it was made public.[97]
Following the capture ofTournai, Marlborough's 1709 offensive in northern France culminated in theBattle of Malplaquet on 11 September, a hard-fought Allied victory with heavy casualties on both sides.[98] Although the battle did not improve the French strategic position, it showed their fighting abilities were intact and increased war-weariness in both Britain and the Dutch Republic. The impact was magnified by Franco-Spanish victories atAlicante in April, andLa Gudina in May 1709, which made prospects of an Allied victory in Spain increasingly remote.[99]
Shortly after, the Dutch discovered they had been excluded from a commercial agreement signed by Archduke Charles giving Britain exclusive trading rights in Spanish America. This deepened divisions between the Allies while increasing Spanish opposition to having the Archduke as their king.[99] TheWhig government in London was afraid to push the Dutch into the hands of the French and went back on their commercial agreement with Archduke Charles. In exchange for a Dutch guarantee to support the Hanoverian succession, Britain agreed to share trading rights in Spanish America and the Mediterranean. The Whigs promised the Dutch a significantly expanded barrier in the Spanish Netherlands, including fortress towns such as Lille, Valenciennes,Condé andMaubeuge. The Dutch now seemed to obtain all they had ever wanted from the war, in the Low Countries, the Mediterranean and America.[100] This treaty sparked resentment from Emperor Joseph, who was offended by the heavy burden it imposed on his brother's sovereignty over the Southern Netherlands, while they were also opposed by the Tory opposition in Britain who saw them as detrimental to British commerce.[101][99]
The Whigs had won the1708 British general election by arguing military victory was the quickest road to peace, but failure in France was mirrored in Spain. Archduke Charles re-entered Madrid in 1710 after victories atAlmenar andSaragossa, but the Allies could not hold the interior and were forced to retreat. 3,500 British troops surrendered atBrihuega on 8 December, while theBattle of Villaviciosa on 10 December confirmed Bourbon control of Spain.[102] At the same time, costs continued to rise; the Dutch were close to bankruptcy while Austrian troops were almost entirely funded by Britain. In 1709,Parliament approved expenditures of £6.4 million was up from £5.0 million in 1706; by the end of 1710, these had doubled to £12.9 million, despite minimal gains.[103]
Battle of Denain, July 1712; defeat ended Austrian and Dutch hopes of improving their negotiating position.
When talks resumed atGeertruidenberg in March 1710, Louis now even showed a willingness to assist the Allies in removing his grandson from Spain. The Dutch proposed compensating Philip with Sicily and Sardinia, but neither the Austrians or British would agree, and negotiations broke down again.[104] However, it was clear to the French the mood in Britain had changed. This was confirmed when the pro-peace Tories won a landslide victory in the October1710 British election, although they confirmed their commitment to the war to prevent a credit crisis. Despite the capture ofBouchain in September, a decisive victory in northern France continued to elude the Allies, while anattack on Quebec ended in disaster.[105]
When Emperor Joseph died in April 1711, his brother Archduke Charles waselected emperor. For the Dutch and British, his accession undermined a key reason for continuing the war, since a union of Spain with Austria was as unwelcome as one with France. The British secretly negotiated peace terms directly with France, leading to the signing of the Preliminary Articles of London on 8 October 1711.[r] These included French acceptance of theAct of Settlement 1701 and a guarantee the French and Spanish crowns would remain separate. In addition, France undertook to ensure Spain ceded Gibraltar and Menorca, while giving Britain a thirty-year monopoly on theAsiento de Negros, the right to import slaves into Spanish American colonies.[106] Despite their resentment at being excluded from these talks, the Dutch were financially exhausted by the war, and could not continue without British support. Charles VI initially rejected the idea of a peace conference, only agreeing once the Dutch decided to support it, but continued to oppose the treaty.[107]
Western Europe in 1714, after the Treaties ofUtrecht andRastatt
Within weeks of the conference opening, events threatened the basis of the peace agreed between Britain and France. First, the French presented proposals awarding the Spanish Netherlands to Max Emmanuel of Bavaria and a minimal Barrier, leaving the Dutch with little to show for their huge investment of money and men. Second, a series of deaths left Louis XIV's two-year-old great-grandson, the futureLouis XV as heir, making Philip next in line and his immediate renunciation imperative.[108]
The Dutch and Austrians fought on, hoping to improve their negotiating position but the new British government ordered Marlborough's replacement,James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, not to participate in offensive operations against the French.[109] These orders caused fury then and later, with Whigs urging Hanoverian military intervention. Those considered responsible, including Ormonde and the Tory statesmanHenry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, were driven into exile when George I succeeded Queen Anne in 1714, and became prominentJacobites.[110]
A combined Austro-Dutch army under Prince Eugene capturedLe Quesnoy in June, before besiegingLandrecies, a key stronghold in France's final defensive line. However, they were defeated atDenain on 24 July, thenwent on to recapture Le Quesnoy, Marchines, Douai, and Bouchain. This demonstrated the continued ability of the French army, while the Dutch had finally reached the end of their willingness and ability to continue the war.[111]
On 6 June, Philip confirmed his renunciation of the French throne, and the British offered the Dutch a revisedBarrier Treaty, replacing that of 1709 which they rejected as overly generous. Although subject to Austrian approval, it was still a significant improvement on that agreed in 1697, and was sufficient for the Dutch to agree.[112] Despite this, negotiations dragged on until 1715, as the Austrians were reluctant to pay for Dutch garrisons stationed in their territory, although British pressure meant the issue was ultimately concluded in favour of the Dutch.[113]
Emperor Charles withdrew from negotiations when France insisted he guarantee not to acquire Mantua orMirandola. He was supported in this by the future George I, who wanted France to withdraw backing for the Stuart heirJames Francis. As a result, neither Austria nor the Emperor signed thePeace of Utrecht of 11 April 1713 between France and the other Allies; Spain made peace with the Dutch in June, then Savoy and Britain on 13 July 1713.[114]
Fighting continued on the Rhine, but Austria was financially exhausted and after the loss ofLandau andFreiburg in November 1713, Charles finally made peace on 7 March 1714. In theTreaty of Rastatt, theHabsburg monarchy acceded to the terms of Utrecht, which confirmed their gains in Southern Italy, returnedBreisach,Kehl, and Freiburg, ended French support for the Hungarian revolt and agreed on terms for the Dutch Barrier fortresses. Charles abandoned his claim to Strasbourg andAlsace and agreed to the restoration of the Wittelsbach electors of Bavaria and Cologne, Max Emmanuel and Joseph Clemens, lifting theImperial ban on them. Article XIX of the treaty transferred sovereignty over the Spanish Netherlands to Austria. On 7 September, the Holy Roman Empire joined the agreement by theTreaty of Baden; although Catalonia and Majorca were not finally subdued by the Bourbons until June 1715, the war was over.[115]
The Royal Navy destroys a Spanish fleet off Sicily,Cape Passaro, August 1718
Article II of the Peace of Utrecht included the stipulation "because of the great danger which threatened the liberty and safety of all Europe, from the too-close conjunction of the kingdoms of Spain and France, ... the same person should never become King of both kingdoms." Some historians view this as a key point in the evolution of the modern nation-state;Randall Lesaffer argues it marks a significant milestone in the concept of collective security.[116]
Philip was confirmed as king of Spain, which retained its independence and the majority of its empire, in return for ceding the Spanish Netherlands, most of its Italian possessions, as well as Gibraltar and Menorca. TheNaples andSicily were regained in 1735 and Menorca in 1782. The 1707Nueva Planta decrees centralised power in Madrid, and abolished regional political structures including theCrown of Aragon, although Catalonia and Majorca remained outside the system until 1767.[117] Their economy recovered remarkably quickly, and the House of Bourbon (save for brief interruptions) has held the Spanish throne ever since.[118]
Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715, and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson Louis XV; on his deathbed, he is alleged to have admitted, "I have loved war too well".[119] True or not, the final settlement was far more favourable than the Allied terms of 1709. France retainedLandau and was awarded thePrincipality of Orange andUbaye Valley. More importantly, by placing a Bourbon on the Spanish throne, Louis XIV ended roughly two centuries of Habsburg encirclement around the borders of his kingdom.[120] From 1666 onward French policies assumed economic superiority over their rivals, but this was no longer the case by 1714 when Britain appeared to have overtaken France on this front. The continued widening of this gap as British trade expanded post-Utrecht was viewed by Louis's successors as a permanent threat to the Europeanbalance of power. Seeking to reduce this was a major factor in France entering the 1740–1748War of the Austrian Succession.[121]
Despite failure in Spain, Austria secured its position in Italy and Hungary and acquired the bulk of the former Spanish Netherlands. Even after reimbursing the Dutch for their Barrier garrisons, increased revenues from theAustrian Netherlands funded a significant expansion of theAustrian army.[122] With the acquisition of Milan, Mantua, Naples and Sardinia, Austria gained a dominant position in Italy that largely continued until1859. Victory in theAustro-Turkish War of 1716–1718 accentuated the shift of Habsburg focus into Southern Europe and away from Germany, where they were increasingly challenged by Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, and Saxony. In 1742,Charles of Bavaria became the first non-Habsburg Emperor in over 300 years.[123]
Britain emerged as the leading European naval and commercial power with the acquisition of the strategic Mediterranean ports of Gibraltar and Menorca, as well as trading rights in Spanish America.[124] France accepted the Protestant succession, ensuring a smooth inheritance by George I in August 1714, while agreeing to end support for the Stuarts in the1716 Anglo-French Treaty.[125] Although the war left all participants with unprecedented levels of government debt, Britain was able to finance it efficiently, providing a relative advantage over its competitors.[126]
The Barrier fortresses as agreed in 1715, corresponding to the modern borders of Belgium
The Dutch had recovered and expanded their positions in the Southern Netherlands, and their troops were central to the alliance which halted French territorial expansion in Europe until a new cycle began in1792.[85] But the war left them bankrupt, and inflicted permanent damage on the Dutch merchant navy; while they remained the dominant economic power in theFar East, Britain took over as the pre-eminent global commercial and maritime power.[127] The exhaustion of theDutch admiralties had also allowed thepirates fromAlgiers to capture numerous Dutch merchant vessels, which the Dutch were only able to stop after along conflict. The Barrier Treaty fortresses became the central driver of Dutch foreign policy in the decades after 1713 and were put to the test during theWar of the Austrian Succession.[s]
Wider implications include the rise of Prussia and Savoy while many of the participants were involved in the 1700–1721Great Northern War, with Russia becoming a major European power for the first time as a result. Finally, while colonial conflicts were relatively minor and largely confined to the North American theatre, the so-calledQueen Anne's War, they were to become a key element in future wars.[120] Meanwhile, maritimeunemployment brought on by the war's end led to the third stage of theGolden Age of Piracy, as many sailors formerly employed in the navies of the warring powers turned topiracy for survival.[133]
^In addition the French possessed the only significant siege engineering corps of the Bourbon Alliance.[3]
^The Spanish Army consisted of three separate forces; Spain (20,000), Spanish Netherlands (35,000) and Italy (15,000). These are authorised numbers and actual were almost certainly lower.[4]
^This number is from 1700, one year before the outbreak of the war
^Annual average, 1701–1713. The Austrian army made up nearly half this force. Wilson estimates Imperial strength peaked at 343,000 in 1710.[9]
^Ostwald estimates Dutch strength peaked at 137,000.[11]
^In addition the Dutch possessed the only significant siege engineering corps of the Grand Alliance.[12]
^Although the Portuguese promised to provide 28,000 men, their effective strength in 1704 barely reached 15,000 men[14]
^Although judged favourably by contemporaries,[128] modern historians still argue about the true effectiveness of the barrier fortresses, since they were conquered by France during the War of the Austrian Succession.[129][130] Advocates instead emphasise that it took 3 years of campaigning for the French to conquer all barrier fortresses and that the purpose of the barrier was to give the Dutch enough time to mobilize and fortify their borders. According to them, nobody in the Dutch Republic was under the illusion that the barrier would stop French armies.[131][132]
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