Chronology

The Principal Events of the War of the Spanish Succession

1700
7 October	King Carlos II of Spain signs a new will, naming Philippe, Duc d’Anjou, as his successor
1 November	Death of Carlos II in Madrid
8 November	News of the late king’s will reaches the French court
16 November	Louis XIV recognises his second grandson as Philip V of Spain
	Emperor Leopold I recognises the Elector of Brandenburg as King in Prussia
4 December	Philip V leaves Versailles for Madrid
1701
6 February	French troops begin to occupy the Barrier Towns in the Spanish Netherlands
18 February	Philip V enters Madrid
April	King William III, and the Dutch States-General, recognise Philip V as king of Spain
20 May	Prince Eugene of Savoy takes command of imperial troops in northern Italy
18 June	King Pedro II of Portugal concludes treaty with France and Spain
9 July	Prince Eugene forces Marshal Catinat’s position at Carpi
1 September	Eugene defeats the French and Savoyards at the battle of Chiari
7 September	Treaty of Grand Alliance agreed between Austria, Holland and England
11 September	Philip V marries Marie-Louise of Savoy
16 September	Death of exiled James II: Louis XIV acknowledges James Stuart as King of England
1702
31 January	French defeat at Cremona, Marshal Villeroi captured
18 March	Death of King William III. Queen Anne succeeds to the throne in London
12 May	Negotiations open to bring Portugal into the Grand Alliance
15 May	Grand Alliance declares war on France and her allies
1 July	Marlborough assumes command of the Anglo-Dutch army
18 August	Benbow’s naval action against Ducasse off Santa Maria
26 August	Allied landings near to Cadiz
1 September	French defeated at battle of Chiari
September	Electors of Bavaria and Liège ally themselves to France
26 September	Allied expedition to take Cadiz abandoned
22 October	Spanish treasure fleet captured or sunk in Vigo Bay
26 October	Allies capture Liège
December	Anglo-Dutch treaty with Portugal agreed.
1703
4 March	Imperial army defeated at battle of Heyzempirne
9 May	French capture Kehl
15 May	Allies capture Bonn
16 May	Anglo-Dutch-Portuguese treaty signed
30 June	Dutch defeated at Eckeren near Antwerp
26 August	Allies take Huy
13 September	Archduke Charles of Austria proclaimed as King Carlos III of Spain
19 September	Austrian army under Count Styrum defeated at Höchstädt
25 October	Duke of Savoy declares for the Grand Alliance
15 November	French victory at battle of Speyerbach
	French re-take Landau
27 December	Portugal joins the Grand Alliance
1704
7 March	Archduke Charles arrives in Lisbon
May	Allied advance from Portugal into Spain
19 May	Marlborough begins march up the Rhine from Holland
30 May	Allied attempt to take Barcelona fails
2 July	The battle of the Schellenberg on the Danube
4 August	Gibraltar captured by Anglo-Dutch forces
11 August	Margrave of Baden begins siege of Ingolstadt
13 August	Franco-Bavarian army defeated at Blenheim
24 August	Naval battle off Málaga
7 October	Inconclusive battle on the Agueda river in Spain
29 October	Marlborough occupies Trier on the Moselle river
11 November	Franco-Spanish attempt to recapture Gibraltar begins
15 November	Admiral Leake relieves Gibraltar
28 November	Allies capture Landau
20 December	Allies take Trarbach
1705
20 March	Second relief of Gibraltar by Leake
5 May	Death of Emperor Leopold I of Austria. Emperor Joseph I succeeds his father
10 June	French capture Huy
11 July	Allies re-take Huy
18 July	French defeated in battle at Elixheim
18 August	Abortive allied attempt to attack the French at the Yssche stream
22 August	Allied forces land in eastern Spain
6 September	Allies capture Leau
14 October	Barcelona captured by allies. Carlos III proclaimed.
December	Allies occupy Valencia
1706
6 January	French capture Nice
3 April	French besiege Barcelona
22 May	Barcelona relieved of French siege by a naval squadron
23 May	French defeated at battle of Ramillies
28 May	French abandon Brussels
17 June	Antwerp taken by allies
23 June	Allies occupy Cartagena
27 June	Anglo-Portuguese army enters Madrid
9 July	Ostend captured by allies.
	Peace proposal tentatively made by Louis XIV
4 August	Allies evacuate Madrid
22 August	Menin captured by allies
7 September	French defeated at the battle of Turin
8 September	Alicante captured by allies
13 September	Majorca and Ibiza occupied by Anglo-Dutch forces
24 September	Charles XII of Sweden invades Saxony
11 November	Franco-Spanish forces re-take Cartagena
1707
1 January	King Pedro II of Portugal dies, succeeded by John V
13 February	France and Austria agree to de-militarise northern Italy
25 April	Allies defeated at Almanza in Spain
22 May	Lines of Stollhofen on the Rhine stormed by the French.
	Marshal Villars raids southern Germany
July	Imperial troops occupy Naples
22 August	Allied attempt to take Toulon fails
4 October	Ciudad Rodrigo captured from Portuguese
14 November	Lerida captured by French and Spanish forces
1708
16 April	Allies surrender Alicante
30 April	Imperial troops under von Starhemberg arrive in Catalonia
May	Jacobite invasion of Scotland fails
5 July	French capture Bruges
7 July	French seize Ghent
11 July	French defeated at the battle of Oudenarde
August	Confidential peace negotiations opened
11 August	Sardinia occupied by the allies
29 August	Minorca captured by the allies
August–
December	Allied siege of Lille
28 September	French defeat at battle of Wynendael
18 November	Denia capitulates to French forces
9 December	Citadel of Lille captured by allies
1709
2 January	Allies recapture Ghent and Bruges
February	Charles XII attacks Russia
9 April	Louis XIV declares intention to remove troops from Spain
7 May	Allies defeated at battle of Caya/Val Gudina in Portugal
May	Louis XIV agrees allied terms for peace, apart from one clause
July	Charles XII defeated at Poltava in Russia
3 September	Tournai captured by allies
11 September	Battle of Malplaquet
20 October	Mons taken by the allies
29 October	First Anglo-Dutch Barrier Treaty agreed
1710
25 June	Allies capture Douai
27 July	Allied victory at battle of Almenara
20 August	Allied victory at battle of Saragossa
28 August	Bethune captured by the allies
September	Carlos III enters Madrid
29 September	Allies capture St Venant
8 November	Aire taken by the allies
9 December	British army defeated at Brihuega.
	Philip V re-enters Madrid
10 December	Franco-Spanish success at battle of Villaviciosa
1711
25 January	Gerona captured by Franco-Spanish forces
14 April	Death of the Dauphin of France
17 April	Death of Emperor Joseph, succeeded by his brother Archduke Charles (Carlos III/Charles VI)
7 August	Lines of Non Plus Ultra breached by Marlborough
14 September	Capture of Bouchain by the allies
22 September	Archduke Charles leaves Barcelona – elected as Emperor Charles VI
8 October	Preliminary Articles for Peace agreed between France and Great Britain
31 December
O.S.)	Marlborough dismissed by Queen Anne
1712
12 January	Congress for a peace opened at Utrecht
8 February	Death of the Duc de Bourgogne
21 May	Restraining Orders issued to the Duke of Ormonde
4 July	Le Quesnoy captured by the allies
16 July	British troops removed from active operations
24 July	Allied troops defeated at Denain by the French
30 July	French capture Marchiennes
2 August	Allies fail to capture Landrecies
8 September	French re-capture Douai
2 October	Hostilities suspended in Spain
3 October	Le Quesnoy re-taken by the French
19 October	French re-capture Bouchain
2 November	Philip V renounces any claim to the French throne
3 November	Hostilities suspended in Portugal
1713
30 January	Second Anglo-Dutch Barrier Treaty agreed
11 April	Treaty of Utrecht agreed between France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia and Savoy
May	French re-capture Landau
26 June	Holland concludes Treaty of Utrecht
9 July	Barcelona declares support for King Carlos III
13 July	Anglo-Spanish Treaty agreed
1714
6 March	Treaty of Rastadt agreed between France and Austria
26 June	Treaty agreed between Holland and Spain
1 August	Death of Queen Anne, accession of King George I
18 September	Treaty of Baden agreed between France and the Austrian Empire.
	Barcelona taken by Franco-Spanish forces under Berwick
1715
6 February	Treaty agreed between Spain and Portugal
1 September	Death of Louis XIV, succeeded by his great-grandson Louis XV (as a minor)
15 November	Barrier Treaty agreed between Holland, France and Austria

Map 1: Spain in the early eighteenth century.