The Treaties of Utrecht which were agreed between March and April 1713 in the Dutch city of that name brought a formal end to the War of Spanish Succession. The war had nominally been about whether the Austrian Hapsburg monarchy would be able to nominate the successor to King Charles II of Spain, a member of the collateral branch of the Hapsburg dynasty, or would allow the succession pass to Bourbon France. Behind this dynastic question, the war had really been about the European “balance of power” (a phrase first used around this time). The question was which parts of the declining Spanish empire would fall to Britain, France and Austria (also known as the Holy Roman Empire), and which parts would be left to Spain.
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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Treaty of Utrecht: end of the War of Spanish Succession". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 December 2008; last revised 22 October 2009. [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=2024, accessed 23 November 2024.]
