The Spanish Succession 1700-13

In modern European history wars have arisen from the claims for possession of the crown on the occasion of a sovereign dying without undisputed legal heirs. Shortly before the death of Charles II. of Spain, without issue or collateral male heirs, several competitors laid claim to the throne, the two principal being the dauphin of France, son of Charles's eldest sister, and the Emperor Leopold of Austria, who claimed, in right of his mother, Mary Ann, daughter of Philip III. of Spain. The other powers were greatly interested in this question, since the union of either France or Austria with Spain would have endangered the balance of power in Europe. After much negotiation Philip of Anjou was put forward by Louis XIV. to represent the French claim, and Leopold nominated his second son Charles as his substitute, both parties declaring that Spain should never be incorporated with their respective dominions. The king of Spain eventually recognized Philip as his heir, and on the king's death in Nov. 1700 Philip was proclaimed at Madrid. He was recognized by most of the European powers except Austria, which in 1701 began a war against France; and the arrogant and aggressive behaviour of Louis, and his recognition of the son of James II. as king of England, caused England, Holland, and Austria to combine against him and Philip in 1702. Prince Eugene of Austria had already opened the contest in 1701, and had defeated the French at Carpi (July) and at Chiari (Sept). In 1702-3 Marlborough, at the head of an allied Anglo-Dutch-German army, reduced the French strongholds along the Meuse and in the Low Countries. In 1704 Marlborough and Eugene joined their forces and defeated the Franco-Bavarian army at Blenheim (Aug. 13). Barcelona was captured by an English force in 1705, and the Earl of Peterborough gained some brilliant successes in this quarter. On May 23d, 1706, the French were defeated by Marlborough at Ramilies, and again at Turin by the Austrians in September. In April, 1707, a Franca-Spanish force under the Duke of Berwick routed an Anglo-Portuguese army at Almanza, Spain. In the following year Marlborough and Eugene reunited their forces and severely defeated the French at Oudenarde (July 11). The resources of France were now almost crippled, and Louis made overtures of peace which were rejected. The struggle was renewed with great vigour; Villars, with a French army of nearly 100,000 men, proceeded against Marlborough and Eugene, but he was defeated by the allies at Malplaquet on Sept. 11, 1709. In Spain the French had entirely gained the upper hand by next year. The war dragged on until the accession in 1711 of the Archduke Charles to the Austrian throne changed the whole aspect of affairs, and the war, so far as Britain, France, and Holland were concerned, was brought to an end by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. Peace between Britain and Spain soon followed, Britain gaining Gibraltar (taken in 1704 by Admiral Rooke) and Minorca. Latterly the Emperor Charles, forsaken by his allies, was reluctantly compelled to sign a treaty at Baden on Sept. 7th, 1714, recognizing Philip V. as the king of Spain.

The war of the Austrian succession arose on the extinction of the male line of the house of Hapsburg, by the death of the emperor Charles VI., 20th October, 1740. .By diplomatic negotiations before his death, and by means of the settlement called the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles had endeavoured to secure the Austrian succession for his daughter Maria Theresa. But there were several other claimants for the Austrian possessions, which included Bohemia, Hungary, Northern Italy, part of the Netherlands, and Austria proper. Besides Maria Theresa, the other claimants of importance were Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, and Philip V. of Spain; while the chief European powers which took an interest in the succession were France, Prussia, and England. The first movement in the general scramble was made by Frederick II. of Prussia, who, in Dec. 1740, marched his army into Silesia, and secured the four duchies in that province as his share of the spoil. In the following year an agreement was entered into between France, Spain, Bavaria, Prussia, Saxony, Sardinia, and Naples, in terms of which a French-Bavarian army entered Upper Austria, another French army invaded the Austrian possessions in the Netherlands, and the forces of Spain and Naples occupied the Austrian territory in Northern Italy. This having been done, the coalition arranged that Charles Albert should be crowned (January 1742) as Emperor of Germany under the title of Charles VII., and this was accomplished at Frankfort.

Meanwhile Maria Theresa appealed for help to the Hungarian diet at Presburg with such effect that the Magyar horsemen promptly invaded Bavaria and captured the city of Munich. She also formed an alliance with England, in accordance with which the English government furnished her with money, sent a fleet to Naples to demand the withdrawal of Neapolitan troops from Austrian territory, and supplied a portion of the army which, under George II, defeated the French forces at Dettingen (1743). After this event negotiations for peace were begun, but with so little success that another league was formed including England, Holland, Austria, Saxony, and Sardinia, and a general European war broke out Among the more important events of this general conflict were the second Silesian war, begun by Frederick II.; an attempted invasion of England by France in favour of the Pretender; and the brilliant campaign in the Netherlands conducted by Marshal Saxe, and terminating (May 1745) in the victory of Fontenoy, where the English and allies under the Duke of Cumberland were defeated. In 1745, however, the Emperor Charles VII. died, and his son, Maximilian Joseph, gave up all claim to the Austrian throne, and concluded peace with that country; and in the same year the husband of Maria Theresa was elected emperor under the name of Francis I.

War was still continued against Austria by Frederick II. of Prussia and the French forces under Marshal Saxe, but ultimately a definite treaty of peace between all the powers was signed in 1748 at Aix-la-Chapelle.