Treaty of The Hague (1701)

Europe in 1700, at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession

The wars of Louis XIV that began in 1667 led to a number of anti-French coalitions, the most significant being the so-called Grand Alliance formed on 20 December 1689 by England, the Dutch Republic and Emperor Leopold. This took part in the 1688-97 Nine Years' War with Spain joining in 1690 and Savoy in 1691. The 1697 Treaty of Ryswick ended the war but failed to resolve the issue of who would succeed Charles II of Spain.

In 1665, Charles became the last Habsburg King of Spain and despite marrying twice remained childless. Spain was no longer the dominant global power but the Spanish Empire was largely intact, still including territories in Italy, the Spanish Netherlands, the Philippines and large areas of the Americas.[1] Charles' closest heirs were either Austrian Habsburgs or French Bourbons, making his successor of great significance to the European balance of power.

Marlborough circa 1702

Despite being long-time opponents, Louis XIV and William III tried to resolve the issue by diplomacy. The result was the Partition Treaties of The Hague in 1698 and London in 1700 between Britain, the United Provinces and France.[2] When Charles died on 1 November 1700, his will named his heir as Louis' grandson, Philip of Anjou, Louis decided not to enforce the Treaty of London and he became Philip V of Spain on 16 November.

Despite the Partition Treaties, William remained sceptical given Louis' history of negotiating while simultaneously planning military action and his decision to keep the French army in being after the end of the Nine Years War.[lower-alpha 3][3] The proclamation of Philip V seemed to justify this but the Tory majority in Parliament would not go to war for the Spanish throne. Many also objected to the territorial splits envisaged by the Treaties, leading to an unsuccessful attempt to impeach the Whig leaders who approved them.[lower-alpha 4][4] This obliged William to recognise Philip but a foreign observer noted Tory opposition included the important qualifier 'so long as English commerce does not suffer.'[5]

A street-scene in The Hague c. 1650

Louis either failed to appreciate this or decided to ignore it. In early 1701, he registered Philip's claim to the French throne with the Paris Parlement, raising the possibility of union with Spain, contrary to Charles' will. In February, French troops occupied the Spanish-controlled Duchies of Milan and Mantua in Northern Italy and fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands previously held by the Dutch.[6] This threatened the Dutch monopoly over the Scheldt granted by the 1648 Peace of Münster and English mercantile interests, since control of Antwerp and Ostend would allow France to blockade the Channel at will. Combined with the imposition of French tariffs on English imports and Spain's award of the lucrative Asiento contract on 27 August to the French Guinea Company, Tory opposition to war was gradually eroded.[7]

Wratislaw von Mitrowitz, Leopold's envoy to the Hague talks.

In March, talks were held with Louis' representative the Comte d'Avaux, who made it clear he would neither comply with the 1700 Treaty or agree concessions.[8] Parliament now authorised the creation of an anti-French alliance and a force of 10,000 men to support the Dutch, led by Marlborough who was also appointed Envoy to the United Provinces.[9]

Negotiations were held between Marlborough, Anthonie Heinsius, Grand Pensionary of Holland and the Austrian envoy Wratislaw von Mitrowitz.[10] The main obstacle was Leopold's demand Austria receive all Spanish territories in Italy while William wanted to restrict this to Milan and the Spanish Netherlands. His experience and dual role as King and Stadtholder made William a powerful figure but his death was widely anticipated; aware much of their influence with Leopold would disappear with him, the Dutch accepted the Austrian position, forcing England to follow.[lower-alpha 5][11]

Anthonie Heinsius, Grand Pensionary of Holland

While the war was a dynastic struggle between the Habsburgs and Bourbons over the Spanish throne, allocation of territories and commercial interests were equally important; contemporaries viewed Dutch and English support for the Habsburg cause as primarily driven by a desire for access to the Spanish American markets.[12] Trade was often used as a weapon of policy; between 1690-1704, English import duties increased by 400%, while the 1651-1663 Navigation Acts had been a major factor in the Anglo-Dutch Wars. On 6 September, France banned the import of English manufactured goods like cloth and imposed prohibitive duties on a wide range of others.[13]

On 7 September 1701, Britain, the Emperor Leopold and the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of The Hague reconstituting the Grand Alliance. In addition to assigning Spanish territories in Italy and the Spanish Netherlands to Austria, its main provisions included securing the Dutch Barrier,[lower-alpha 6] the Protestant succession in England, commercial access for England and the Dutch Republic to the Spanish Empire but made no reference to placing Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne.[14]

Tapestry commemorating the Grand Alliance victory at Schellenberg in 1704.

When the Stuart exile James II died a few days later on 16 September, Louis reneged on his commitment at Ryswick to accept the result of the 1688 Glorious Revolution and proclaimed his Catholic son James Francis Edward King of England and Scotland. This ensured English support for war and after William's death on 19 March 1702, Queen Anne and his Dutch successors confirmed their agreement with his policies. The Grand Alliance declared war on France on 15 May 1702, followed on 30 September by the Imperial Diet.[15]

The provisions of the Treaty concealed several important issues; first, neither England nor the Dutch Republic could allow France to control the Spanish Netherlands but preferred to assign it to Austria who saw it as a burden, not an asset. Second, who sat on the Spanish throne concerned England and the Dutch because of the commercial implications, an issue less important to Leopold.[16] Differences over the relative importance assigned to Italy and Spain would lead to tensions between the Allies later in the war.

• Gregg, Edward; Queen Anne, (The English Monarchs Series) (Yale University Press, 2001);
• Holmes, Richard; Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius; (Harper, 2008);
• Jones, JR; Britain and the World, 1649-1815 (Fontana Press, 1980);
• Somerset, Anne; Queen Anne; the Politics of Passion; (Harper, 2012);
• Ward, William,, Leathes, Stanley (1912); The Cambridge Modern History (Nabu Press, 2010 ed.)

• Grand Alliance
• List of treaties
• War of the Spanish Succession