The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between supporters of the French Bourbons and the Austrian Habsburgs.

[40] 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.

[45][46] Armies were restricted by their dependence on water-borne transport for supplies, so campaigns focused on rivers like the Rhine, Scheldt and Adda, while their absence limited operations in areas like Northern Spain.

[48] 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".

It was widely, if reluctantly, accepted in Madrid that preserving an independent Spanish Empire required comprehensive reforms, including the elimination of the privileges or Fueros held by the Aragonese states.

[52] 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] Like Bavaria, the larger entities pursued their own policies; his claim to the Polish crown meant Augustus of Saxony focused on the Great Northern War, while Frederick I made his support dependent on Leopold recognising Prussia as a kingdom and making it an equal member of the Grand Alliance.

The second was to prevent the Low 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, as demonstrated in 1688.

In general, the Tories favoured a mercantilist strategy of using the Royal 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.

Dutch priorities were to re-establish and strengthen the Barrier fortresses, retain control of the economically vital Scheldt estuary, and gain access to trade in the Spanish Empire.

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.

[67] In October 1703, Victor Amadeus declared war on France; by May 1706, the French held most of Savoy except Turin while victories at Cassano and Calcinato forced the Imperialists into the Trentino valley.

Reinforced by German auxiliaries led by Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, Prince Eugene broke the siege of Turin in September; despite a minor French victory at Castiglione, the war in Italy was over.

[69] A combined Savoyard-Imperial attack on the French base of Toulon planned for April was postponed when Imperial troops were diverted to seize the Spanish Bourbon Kingdom of Naples.

During 1702, the Grand Alliance repelled an assault on Nijmegen, captured Kaiserswerth, a strong town on the eastern side of the Dutch Republic, and took Venlo, Roermond, Stevensweert and Liège along the Meuse.

[75] A diplomatic crisis between the Dutch Republic and England was only averted by the dismissal of General Slangenburg,[76] while the imposition of Austrian rule in Bavaria caused a brief but vicious peasant revolt.

[83] The 1705 Pact of Genoa between Catalan representatives and Britain opened a second front in the north-east; the loss of Barcelona and Valencia left Toulon as the only major port available to the Bourbons in the Western Mediterranean.

[84] 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.

[85] French diplomats focused on the Dutch, whom they considered were more likely to favour peace than their allies, for victory at Ramillies removed any direct military threat to the Republic, while highlighting differences with Britain on the Spanish Netherlands.

[86] The Great Frost of 1709 caused widespread famine in France and Spain, forcing Louis to re-open negotiations and he hinted at his willingness to cede French fortresses to the Dutch Republic.

[91] Following success in the Siege of Tournai, Marlborough's 1709 offensive in northern France culminated in the Battle of Malplaquet on 11 September; a nominal Allied victory, but one in which their total casualties numbered 22,000 out of 86,000 soldiers, the Dutch infantry losing 8,500 out of 18,000.

Additionally, the Whigs promised the Dutch a significantly expanded barrier in the Spanish Netherlands, including key fortress towns such as Lille, Valenciennes, Condé and Maubeuge.

In addition, France undertook to ensure Spain ceded Gibraltar and Menorca, while giving Britain a thirty-year monopoly on the Asiento de Negros, the right to import slaves into Spanish American colonies.

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.

[102] 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.

Those considered responsible, including Ormonde and the Tory statesman Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, were driven into exile when George I succeeded Queen Anne in 1714, and became prominent Jacobites.

Charles abandoned his claim to Strasbourg and Alsace and agreed to the restoration of the Wittelsbach electors of Bavaria and Cologne, Max Emmanuel and Joseph Clemens, lifting the Imperial ban on them.

The 1707 Nueva Planta decrees centralised power in Madrid, and abolished regional political structures including the Crown of Aragon, although Catalonia and Majorca remained outside the system until 1767.

[120] The Dutch had successfully 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 in 1792.

[o] Wider implications include the rise of Prussia and Savoy while many of the participants were involved in the 1700–1721 Great Northern War, with Russia becoming a major European power for the first time as a result.