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The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II. He had ruled over a large active empire which spanned the globe, and the question of who would succeed him had long troubled ministers in capitals throughout Europe. Attempts to solve the problem by partitioning the empire between the eligible candidates from the royal Houses of France (Bourbon), Austria (Habsburg), and Bavaria (Wittelsbach) ultimately failed, and on his deathbed Charles II fixed the entire Spanish inheritance on Philip, Duke of Anjou, the second-eldest grandson of King Louis XIV of France. With Philip ruling in Spain, Louis XIV would secure great advantages for his dynasty, but some statesmen regarded a dominant House of Bourbon as a threat to European stability, jeopardising the balance of power. Louis XIV had good reasons for accepting his grandson on the Spanish thrones, but he subsequently made a series of controversial moves: he sent troops to secure the Spanish Netherlands (the buffer zone between France and the Dutch Republic); he sought to dominate the Spanish American trade at the expense of English and Dutch merchants; and he refused to remove Philip from the French line of succession, thereby opening the possibility of France and Spain uniting under a single powerful monarch at a future date. To counter Louis XIV's growing dominance, England,〔The Acts of Union of 1707 united England and Scotland into the political union of Great Britain.〕 the Dutch Republic, and Austria – together with their allies in the Holy Roman Empire – re-formed the Grand Alliance (1701) and supported Emperor Leopold I's claim to the whole Spanish inheritance for his second son, Archduke Charles. By backing the Habsburg candidate (known to his supporters as King Charles III of Spain) each member of the coalition sought to reduce the power of France, ensure their own territorial and dynastic security, and restore and improve the trade opportunities they had enjoyed under Charles II. The Russians, who were expected to help their Austrian allies, were fighting another great war with Sweden that embroiled in Eastern Europe. The English, the Dutch and the Austrians formally declared war in May 1702. By 1708 the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy had secured victory in the Spanish Netherlands and in Italy, and had defeated Louis XIV's ally, Bavaria. France faced invasion and ruin, but Allied unity broke first. With the Grand Alliance defeated in Spain, and with its casualties mounting and aims diverging, the Tories came to power in Great Britain in 1710 and resolved to end the war. French and British ministers prepared the groundwork for a peace conference and in 1712 Britain ceased combat operations. The Dutch, Austrians, and German states fought on to strengthen their own negotiating position, but defeated by Marshal Villars they were soon compelled to accept Anglo-French mediation. By the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and of the Treaty of Rastatt (1714) the Spanish empire was partitioned between the major and minor powers. The Austrians received most of Spain's former European realms, but the Duke of Anjou retained peninsular Spain and Spanish America, where, after renouncing his claim to the French succession, he reigned as King Philip V. The European balance of power was assured. A small number of historians, in retrospect, consider the War of the Spanish Succession to have been the first true world war in human history, having taken place over two centuries before what is commonly named World War I. ==Background== In the late 1690s the declining health of King Charles II of Spain brought to a head the problem of his succession, a problem which had underlain much of European diplomacy for several decades. By the late 17th century Spain was no longer a hegemonic power in Europe, but the Spanish Empire – essentially a vast confederation that covered the globe, which Spaniards usually referred to as a 'Monarchy' – remained resilient.〔Storrs: ''Spanish Monarchy'', 7, 231; Kamen: ''Philip V'', 15〕 Besides Spain, Charles II's other European realms comprised the Balearic Islands, the Spanish Netherlands, Milan, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Finale and the State of Presidi on the Tuscan coast; overseas realms included the Philippines, the Spanish West Indies, Florida, and much of North and South America and several North African cities. The empire was in decline, but remained the largest of the European overseas empires, and was still active and influential on the European and global stage.〔Storrs: ''Spanish Monarchy,'' 15–6〕 Charles II had become king following the death of his father, Philip IV, in 1665, but he was physically weak and incapable of having children; he was the last male Spanish Habsburg and he had survived longer than anyone had expected. When the Treaty of Ryswick (Rijswijk) brought an end to the Nine Years' War (1688–97), European statesmen turned their attention to solve the problem of the Spanish Succession before the death of Charles II should actually take place. Ultimately, the main rivals for the Spanish inheritance were the heirs and descendants of the Bourbon King Louis XIV of France, and the Austrian Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, both of whom were sons-in-law to Philip IV of Spain and grandsons of Philip III, and both firmly believed in their claims. However, the inheritance was so vast that its transference would dramatically increase either French or Austrian power which, due to the implied threat of European hegemony, was of the utmost importance to Europe as a whole.〔McKay and Scott: ''The Rise of the Great Powers'', 54; Ingrao: ''The Habsburg Monarchy'', 105〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「War of the Spanish Succession」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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