The War of the Spanish Succession
* Charles II of Spain * Dying in 1700 * Choose French Philip V as his heir * England scared, what if there’s a union? * England wouldn’t be the biggest power anymore * Less naval power * England feels like there’s no choice but to go to war to stop Philip * The War of the Spanish Succession (1702 – 1713) * France and Spain vs. England and Portugal * Portugal gets a guarantee that they wont be taken over by Spain * England wins * Treaty of Utrecht (1713) * (Philip will still be king of France) * No union of Spain and France * Gibraltar and Minorca - Straits of Gibraltar (Spanish island) granted to Great Britain * Great access to Mediterranean, super powerful * Access to Spanish Colonial ports (Latin America) * Spain goes from number 1 to number 3 * Philip wants to fix everything before it gets worse * House of Bourbon * Colonies too autonomous * Other countries too comfortable with coming into their territories * Not strongest navy anymore * Problems * Achilles heel of Spain * Not industrialized! * Relied a lot on imports * Almost feudal, very agricultural * Spain did not keep their seas lanes open during war * Economically Spain sucked * No middle class * Capitalists, investors, financiers, bankers, factory owners * Cant keep promise to colonist to protect them because their navy is failing * So colonies start trading with other countries * Heavily trade with England * But also with Dutch and France * Spain tries to stop it * People want independence * Creoles vs. Peninsulars * Creoles *