Bourbon dynasty: from1700
Charles II dies in November 1700, leaving the entire Spanish inheritance to a member of the Bourbon dynasty
- Philip, a younger grandson of Louis XIV. The resulting European war
takes place largely in the Netherlands, Germany and northern Italy.
Within Spain itself, where the 18-year-old king arrives in 1701 as
Philip V, there is at first relative calm. Philip wins immediate support
in the central regions of the kingdom.
But from 1704 the allies (those fighting for the Habsburgs against the Bourbons in this dynastic war) begin to make inroads on the peripheral areas of Spain.
Gibraltar
is captured in 1704. In the following year the regions of the north and
east (Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia) declare themselves for the Habsburg
cause and are occupied by imperial troops - who even advance far enough
to seize Madrid for two months during the summer of 1706.
Thereafter
the Bourbon forces steadily regain control, starting with a major
victory at Almansa in 1707. A succesful campaign in 1710 leaves Philip V
in control of the whole of the Spanish kingdom except Catalonia - a region long inclined to independence and doing its best to seize this opportunity.
The eventual terms of the peace, agreed at Utrecht
in 1713, confirm Philip V's tenure of the Spanish throne and his rule
also over Spanish America (but the Spanish possessions in the
Netherlands and northern Italy go to the Habsburgs).
The
immediate effect of the change of dynasty in Spain is that the court and
government become dominated by French advisers, sent south by Louis XIV
to secure his grandson's rule. In many ways this represents an
improvement, since French bureaucracy is superior to that of Spain.
Moreover the support of outlying regions for the Habsburg cause provides
a welcome pretext for centralization, removing the traditional
liberties still enjoyed by these medieval Spanish kingdoms.
In other respects the arrival of Philip makes relatively little
difference to Spain. Exceptionally religious by nature, he is at ease
among the rigours of Spain's Catholicism. During his reign the Inquisition conducts as many as 728 autos-da-fé, imposing on heretics some 14,000 sentences of varying degrees of severity.
In imperial and commercial concerns Philip also follows the policy of his predecessors. Trade with the Spanish colonies is still reserved for Spanish ships, prompting massive smuggling by other maritime powers and frequent skirmishes in the Caribbean - as in the case of Jenkins' Ear, which leads to war with Britain.
Read more: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=1764&HistoryID=ab50>rack=pthc#ixzz3GJ1xuZER
