CAUSES and CONSEQUENCES Spanish SUCCESSION war

Successions have been throughout history one of the great events in medieval and modern societies, since the fight to take the throne One nation has led to enormous wars whose consequences have changed a kingdom forever. To talk about the great succession event in the history of Spain, in this lesson from a Professor we must talk about the causes and consequences war of the Spanish succession.

Before starting to talk about the causes and consequences of the war, we must comment on what was this war, in order to know the great importance it had for history and understand its weight and context.

The war of spanish succession It was an international conflict that encompassed all the great European kingdoms during the 18th century, occurring between the years 1700 and 1713, and becoming a key event in European history due to the importance of owning the Spanish crown.

The war had its origin in the testament of Carlos II, King of Spain belonging to the House of Austria who died without a descendant, causing the absence of a direct heir to the Spanish crown. Before dying, Carlos II wrote in his testament that the successor of the Spanish crown would be

Felipe de Borbón, grandson of the French king Louis XIV.

But the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire of Habsburg origin, like Carlos II, they did not agree that the French could take so much power, and began a campaign to take the Spanish crown and give it to the Archduke Charles of Habsburg.

The situation of both dynasties, that of Bourbon and Habsburg by the Spanish crown, caused a European conflict, with Castile and France in favor of Felipe and Aragon, Portugal, Russia and the German regions in favor of Carlos.

The war ended in 1713, after a series of agreements, among which the one of Utrecht stands out, which led to the throne Philip V and, therefore, they transformed the Spanish crown into the property of the Bourbons.

No war starts just because and, to understand the origin of this conflict so important to the European history, in this lesson we must list the various causes of the war of the Spanish succession.

Death of Charles II without issue

The main reason that caused the start of the War of Spanish Succession was the death of Spanish King Charles II without descendants in 1700. This death caused a dispute to know who would occupy the throne of one of the great European kingdoms at the time.

The death of Charles II made the houses of Habsburg and that of Bourbon will face each other, being the fight to avoid the European dominance of one or another house for fear that one of the two will gain too much continental influence.

Interests from Holland and England

In this situation of dispute over European dominance, the figures of Holland and England, which did not want the French kings to have the Crown of Spain for fear that it would be an even more terrible enemy. This was the reason why both they supported the Habsburgs in the dispute, being what they thought would work best to maintain the European balance.

Although, in this sense, it was also important to mention that both the Netherlands and England had interests in Spanish areas and thought that Carlos would give them some land if they helped him win. In an attempt to settle the conflict, Archduke Carlos said that he would give Spanish territories to France if he ceased to be the king, but Austria disagreed with this, as they wanted all of Spain to be Habsburg.

The throne of Philip of Anjou

In this situation, Carlos II changed his will and gave the throne to Felipe de Anjou, who swore to renounce the French throne. The arrival to the Spanish throne of Felipe de Anjou made all the Hapsburg-like nations They will face him, starting the war of the Spanish succession.

To continue with this lesson on the causes and consequences of the Spanish Succession War, we must talk about the end of the conflict, which was won by the French, and the consequences that this brought for Spain and Europe.

The main consequences of the war of Spanish successionwere the following:

• Philip of Anjou he was named King of Spain with the name of Felipe V, establishing the Bourbon house Spanish.
• The Spanish Crown shifted to the absolutism own of France.
• The Aragonese Cortes were absorbed by Castile, since the Bourbon system was much more centralized than the Spanish.
• A period of peace in Europe that lasted for many years.
• The Salic Law, preventing a woman from being the ruler of Spain.
• Spain gave territories to other nations so that the war would end earlier, losing much power.
• The Spain's usual allies changed, for the union between the Spanish and the French.
• Was the end of Spain as a great world power and the end of the Habsburgs as the ruling royal house.