Peace of Utrecht
Also known as Treaties of Utrecht, Tratado de Spain, United States and Países Bajos
series of peace treaties ending the War of the Spanish Succession
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The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed in the early 1700s that ended the War of the Spanish Succession, a major European conflict over who would inherit the Spanish throne. It matters because it reshaped the map of Europe, transferred significant territories between nations, and established a new balance of power that influenced European politics for decades to come.
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- Treaty of Utrecht
- point in time
- 1713-00-00
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Article
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of Spain, and had involved much of Europe for over a decade. Essentially, the treaties allowed Philip V (grandson of King Louis XIV of France) to keep the Spanish throne in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe.
The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. The treaties were concluded between the representatives of Louis XIV of France and of his grandson Philip on one hand, and representatives of Queen Anne of Great Britain, King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, King John V of Portugal and the United Provinces of the Netherlands on the other. Though the king of France ensured the Spanish crown for his dynasty, the treaties marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the continuous wars of Louis XIV, and paved the way to the European system based on the balance of power.