Spain’s childless king Charles II died, triggering a major dispute over who would inherit the Spanish monarchy and its extensive European and overseas possessions—setting the stage for the War of the Spanish Succession.
Philip of Anjou was proclaimed Philip V of Spain, aligning Spain with Bourbon France and intensifying European fears of a Bourbon-dominated balance of power.
Open war broke out among the Bourbon powers (France and Bourbon Spain) and the Grand Alliance of rival European states, with major fighting in the Spanish Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, and maritime/colonial theaters.
An Anglo-Dutch expedition attempted to seize Cádiz to disrupt Spain’s Atlantic trade and gain a Mediterranean base, but the operation ended in failure, highlighting early-war difficulties in the Iberian theater.
At Vigo Bay, Anglo-Dutch forces destroyed or captured much of a Franco-Spanish fleet sheltering a returning treasure convoy, dealing a major blow to Bourbon naval logistics and finances.
The decisive Allied victory at Blenheim halted a Franco-Bavarian advance and became a turning point in the wider war, demonstrating that Louis XIV’s armies could be decisively defeated.
The Grand Alliance took Barcelona, giving the pro-Habsburg cause a key stronghold in Catalonia and anchoring the Iberian front for Archduke Charles’ claim to the Spanish crown.
Marlborough’s victory at Ramillies opened much of the Spanish Netherlands to Allied occupation, sharply reducing Bourbon control in this critical theater.
The relief of Turin and Allied victory in the campaign undermined French strategic positions in northern Italy and strengthened the Grand Alliance in the Italian theater.
The Bourbon victory at Almansa reversed many Allied gains in Spain, enabling Philip V’s supporters to recover much of eastern Spain and weakening the Habsburg position on the peninsula.
The Allied victory at Oudenaarde checked a French offensive in Flanders and set conditions for subsequent Allied recoveries in the region.
At Malplaquet, the Grand Alliance won a costly victory. The extreme casualties intensified war-weariness and affected later diplomatic bargaining positions.
The French victory at Denain broke the Grand Alliance’s operational position in Flanders and helped France negotiate from a stronger footing in the final peace process.
A major set of agreements at Utrecht began with France concluding peace treaties with multiple powers, starting a negotiated end to the wider conflict and reshaping imperial and colonial claims.
Spain and Great Britain concluded a principal treaty at Utrecht, part of the settlement that redistributed strategic territories and commercial advantages as the war drew to a close.
The Treaty of Rastatt ended war between France and the Holy Roman Emperor (Habsburg Austria), complementing Utrecht and clarifying control of former Spanish possessions in Europe.
The Treaty of Baden extended the Rastatt terms to the Holy Roman Empire’s states and is commonly treated as the final agreement completing the Utrecht peace settlement framework.
War of the Spanish Succession and Colonial Theaters (1701–1714)
