<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> 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>
when did the war of spanish succession end
when did the war of spanish succession end
1714
1714