<Li> 1793--1802 </Li> <Li> 1803--14 </Li> <P> The War of the Spanish Succession (1701--1714) was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II . Charles II had ruled over a vast global empire, and the question of who would succeed him had long troubled the governments of Europe . Attempts to solve the problem by peacefully partitioning the empire among the eligible candidates from the royal houses of France (Bourbon), Austria (Habsburg), and Bavaria (Wittelsbach) ultimately failed, and on his deathbed Charles II fixed the entire Spanish inheritance on his grandnephew Philip, Duke of Anjou, the second eldest grandson of King Louis XIV of France . With Philip ruling in Spain, Louis XIV would secure great advantages for his dynasty, but some statesmen regarded a dominant House of Bourbon as a threat to European stability, jeopardising the balance of power . </P> <P> To counter Louis XIV's growing dominance, England, the Dutch Republic, and Austria--together with their allies in the Holy Roman Empire--re-formed the 1680s Grand Alliance (1701) and supported the claim of Emperor Leopold I to the whole Spanish inheritance for his second son, Archduke Charles . </P>

When did the war of spanish succession end