far more popular with the Spanish than his rival. Many of the objectives set out by the Grand Alliance in 1701 had been achieved, but success in 1708 made them overconfident. Diplomacy French diplomats focused on the Dutch, whom they considered were more likely to favour peace than their allies since victory at Ramillies removed any direct military threat to the Republic, while highlighting differences with Britain on the Spanish Netherlands. Peace talks broke down in late 1708 because the Allies had agreed not to negotiate a separate peace but could not agree on the terms. The Great Frost of 1709 caused widespread famine in France and Spain, forcing Louis to re-open negotiations and in May 1709 the Allies presented him with the Preliminaries of the Hague. Philip was given two months to cede his throne to Archduke Charles, while France was required to remove him by force if he did not comply. Many Allied statesmen, including Marlborough, felt the terms seriously underestimated France's ability to continue the war and assumed Philip would abdicate on request. They also required the Spanish to accept Archduke Charles as king in his place, which they were clearly unwilling to do, as demonstrated by the failure of Allied campaigns to hold territory outside Catalonia. Although Louis was willing to abandon his ambitions in Spain, making war on his grandson was unacceptable, a stipulation so offensive that when made public the French resolved to fight on. Marlborough's 1709 offensive in Northern France culminated in the Battle of Malplaquet on 11 September; a narrow Allied victory, total casualties were around 24,500 out of 86,000, the Dutch losing 8,500 out of 18,000. Although the French strategic position continued to deteriorate, it showed their fighting abilities remained intact and increased war-weariness in both Britain and the Dutch Republic. More significant were Franco-Spanish victories at Alicante in April, and La Gudina in May 1709, which meant a successful military solution now appeared remote. Shortly after, the Dutch discovered they had been excluded from a commercial agreement signed by Archduke Charles which granted Britain exclusive trading rights in Spanish America. This deepened divisions between the Allies, while increasing Spanish opposition to having the Archduke as their king. When the Whig government in London tried to compensate the Dutch by agreeing concessions in the Spanish Netherlands, they were opposed by their Tory opponents as detrimental to British commerce. The Whigs had