Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/360

 336 SPAIN [HISTORY. France and concluded the Methuen treaty with England. This opened the Peninsula to the allied forces and necessitated a revision of the terms of the alliance. Pedro's support could only be purchased by the expulsion of the French from Spain, and the allies now determined to claim tho whole Spanish inheritance for the archduke Charles. In 1704 the archduke appeared in Portugal, and the English fleet, under Sir George Rooke, captured Gibraltar. As the assistance of the Portuguese was only half-hearted, it was decided in 1705 to seek a new open- ing in the east. Catalonia, always inclined to revolt against its rulers, and recently irritated by the conduct of Philip V., offered a convenient base of operations. The brilliant but eccentric earl of Peterborough succeeded in capturing Barcelona, and by the end of the year the arch- duke was acknowledged as Charles III. in Catalonia, Valencia, and Aragon. A great effort on the part of Philip to recover the lost provinces was repulsed, and a simultaneous advance of the allies from the east and from Portugal compelled him to evacuate Madrid, where Charles III. was formally proclaimed. But the provincial dis- union, which had so often hampered the Hapsburg kings, proved the salvation of their Bourbon successor. The Castilians refused to obey a king who was forced upon them from Aragon, and their religious instincts were offended by the alliance of Charles with the heretics of England and Holland. Disunion among the allies aided the revolt of Castile, and by the end of 1706 Charles III. found himself compelled to evacuate his recent conquests and to return to Barcelona. In 1707 the allies attempted another invasion of Castile, but they were routed by the duke of Berwick at Almanza, and Aragon and Valencia were forced to return to their allegiance to Philip V. For the next two years the war in the Peninsula languished. Charles III. received reinforcements from Austria under Stahremberg, but he was unable to do more than retain his hold upon Barcelona. In 1710 the cause of the allies received a new impulse from the arrival of Stanhope with supplies of men and money from England. Under the joint command of Stanhope and Stahremberg the army advanced westwards from Barcelona, defeated Philip V. at Almenara and Saragossa, and for the second time occupied Madrid. The disasters which the French had experienced in other parts of Europe had broken the pride of Louis XIV., and he was prepared to purchase peace by sacrificing his grandson. A treaty would have been concluded to this effect at Gertruydenburg, if the allies had not insisted that the French troops should be employed in forcing Philip V. to accept it. Louis XIV. refused to take arms against his own family, and a sudden change in the current of fortune saved him from the humiliation which his enemies wished to force upon him. Charles III. found it impossible to maintain Madrid in face of the enthusiasm of the Castilians for his rival. The capital of Spain was of no importance from a military point of view, and the allies determined on its evacuation. On their retreat they were followed by Vendome, whom Louis XIV. had sent to his grandson's assistance. Stan- hope, attacked at Brihuega, was compelled to capitulate with all his forces before Stahremberg could arrive to his assistance. The latter was defeated after an obstinate struggle at Villa Viciosa. Aragon and Valencia again submitted to Philip, and the archduke was once more confined to Catalonia. At this juncture two events occurred which completely altered the balance of the contending powers. The fall of the Whig ministry through a court intrigue gave the con- trol of English policy to the Tories, who had always been hostile to the war. The death of Joseph I. in April 1711 left the Austrian territories to his brother, the archduke Charles, who was soon afterwards elected emperor as Charles VI. To allow him to obtain the Spanish succes- sion would be to revive the empire of Charles V., and would be even more dangerous to the balance of power than the recognition of Philip V. with adequate securities against the union of France and Spain. The object for which the allies had been making such immense exertions was now a result to be averted at any cost. In these altered circumstances, Bolingbroke, the English Treaty ol minister, hurried on the negotiations with France which Utrecht, resulted in the treaty of Utrecht between England, France, Spain, and Holland. Philip V. was acknowledged as king of Spain, on condition that he should formalty renounce all eventual claims to the crown of France. But the partition of the Spanish monarchy was insisted upon by the allies. The Netherlands were to be handed over to Austria, on condition that the Dutch should garrison the barrier fortresses. Austria was also to receive the Italian provinces of Spain, with the exception of Sicily, which was given to the duke of Savoy with the title of king. England naturally obtained considerable advant- ages from a war in which she had borne so prominent a part. The acquisition of Gibraltar and Minorca gave her the control of the Mediterranean. The asiento conferred upon her the privilege of importing slaves into the Spanish colonies, and she also obtained the right of sending a single vessel into the South Seas. France had to recog- nize the Protestant succession, and to cede Newfoundland, Acadia (Nova Scotia), and Hudson's Bay. Charles VI. refused to accept the terms offered to him at Utrecht, but he found it impossible to carry on the war by himself, and in 1714 he made peace with France by the treaty of Rastatt. But he still retained the title of king of Spain, and showed no willingness to acknowledge Philip V. The great blot on the conduct of the allies in arranging the treaty of Utrecht was the desertion of the Catalans, who had rendered such loyal services during the war. They were left to the tender mercies of Philip V., who sent Berwick to reduce the rebellious province. Barcelona resisted for many months with the heroism of despair, and was well-nigh reduced to ashes before it could be taken (September 1714). With its fall all resistance came to an end. The three Aragonese provinces were deprived of the last remnants of their ancient privileges, and were henceforth ruled from Madrid under Castilian laws. With the final accession of a Bourbon king Spain entered upon a new period of history, in which it once more played a considerable part in European politics. The death of Louis XIV. (1715), and the acquisition of the regency in France by the duke of Orleans, destroyed the close connexion that had hitherto existed between France and Spain. Philip V. was hypochondriacal and bigoted, the slave of his wife and his confessor, but he had certain definite schemes to which he clung with the obstinacy of a weak character. In spite of his solemn renunciations and the guarantee of the European powers, he never relinquished the idea of ultimately succeeding to the French throne. In what was regarded as the probable event of Louis XV. 's death, he was determined to enforce his hereditary claim, even if he had to resign the crown of Spain. His interests were diametrically opposed to those of the duke of Orleans, who was, after Philip's family, the natural heir to Louis XV. Philip V. had one other guid- ing passion, enmity to Charles VI., who had robbed the Spanish monarchy of its fairest provinces in Italy. These provinces he set his heart upon regaining, and in this project he was encouraged by the two people who had most influence over him, his wife and his minister. Philip V.'s first wife, Maria Louisa of Savoy, had died in 1714, leaving him two sons, Louis and Ferdinand. A sue-