The War of the Spanish Succession (15 May 1702-11 July 1715) was a major European conflict fought between the League of Augsburg - whose principal members were England/Scotland/Great Britain, Austria, and the United Provinces - and the Bourbon kingdoms of France and Spain. The war was caused by the death of King Carlos II of Spain in 1700, ending the House of Habsburg's rule over the country. King Louis XIV of France decided to install his nephew Philip, Duke of Anjou on the Spanish throne, as Carlos II had named Philip as his successor. Emperor Leopold I of Austria did not want to see a Western Europe dominated by the French House of Bourbon, and he instead sought to install his son Archduke Charles as the next Habsburg ruler of Spain. In May 1702, the English, Dutch, and Austrians declared war on France to enforce their claim on the thronee, and Spain underwent a miniature civil war, with the main government being controlled by King Philip. The war was mostly fought in Western Europe, while its North American theater became known as "Queen Anne's War", named for the British monarch Queen Anne. In 1704, the Allied forces knocked Bavaria out of the war, and the Allies also emerged victorious in Italy and the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium). However, the Alliance failed to coordinate their operations with the Habsburg rebels in Spain, and the allied unity began to crumble. The Tory Party came to power in Britain in 1710 and aimed to pull out of the war, and the Allies began to suffer heavy losses. In 1712, Britain ceased combat operations during the war, and the Dutch, Austrians, and their German allies were defeated by the French general Claude de Villars. Through Anglo-French mediation, the Treaty of Utrecht was agreed upon in 1713, followed by the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714. The Spanish Empire was partitioned, with Austria gaining the "Austrian Netherlands" from Spain and taking over Spain's possessions in Italy; in exchange, King Philip was allowed to continue ruling Spain, although he had to give up all claims to the French throne to prevent France and Spain from becoming a united country. The war left as many as 700,000 people dead, including up to 52,000 Dutchmen, 40,000 Austrians, 30,000 British, 140,000 French, 12,000 Spanish, and 5,000 Bavarians.
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