The beginning of the end (Year 1707 -1708 )
England , the Dutch Republic and Portugal ceased effectively fighting France and Spain at the beginning of the year 1707 when the négociations began . Aragon , which had supported the Archduke's claim to the throne of Spain and the allies in 1705, had surrendered to the Bourbon army on 1706 following the siege of Barcelona , ending the presence of the allies in Spain. The battlefields on the Netherlands and England were in a better shape , but with the might of France , Spain and their colonial empires , it was only a matter of time before they were completely bled by the fighting . France had escaped the fate of having foreign armies on its soil , but had suffered heavily from the taxes which fianced the war .The problem was the Empire . Leopold I was a stubborn man , and didn't want to sign any treaty where he wasn't in a position of strenght . The fact that every ruler (included the Ottoman Empire ) had entered the diplomatic game was apparently lost upon him . On July 25 , Eugene of Savoy achieved a victory South of Budapest , but it was a Pyrrhic one : Eugene of Savoy himself and 17 000 men died to obtain that victory , which forced the Ottomans to retreat from fifty kilometers . Convinced now that a military victory was now impossible , Leopold I agreed to enter the talks .
In December , dozens of diplomats arrived to Versailles to reshape Europe .The Ottoman -Swedish - French-Spanish alliance had won the war , and expected to enjoy the gains they (in their minds at least ) deserved . It is said that when the first proposition was made , the Grand Alliance discussed openly the possibility to renew the conflict . In the end , Louis XIV , Philip V , Charles XII and Ahmed III were convinced to "moderate " their proposals by their senior diplomats . On February 7 1708 , the Peace of Versailles was signed .
Philip was recognized as King Philip V of Spain, but renounced his place in the French line of succession, thereby precluding the union of the French and Spanish crowns (although there was some sense in France that this renunciation was illegal , it was a proposal the Grand Alliance wouldn't budge on ). He retained the Spanish overseas empire, but ceded the Southern Netherlands to France , Naples to Austria , and Sicily to Savoy (as the price for their help , it was that or Milan ) . Sardignia was retained , as were the Balearic Islands (even if he had to pay a nice sum to Louis XIV for their return ) . Spain also kept the Asiento , a valuable monopoly slave -trading contract .
With regard to the political organization of their kingdoms, Philip issued the Nueva Planta decrees , following the centralizing approach of the Bourbons in France, ending the political autonomy of the kingdoms which had made up the Crown of Aragon ; territories in Spain that had supported the Archduke Charles and up to then had kept their institutions in a framework of loose dynastic union, separate from the rest of the Spanish realm. On the other hand, Navarre and the Basque provinces , having supported the king against the Habsburg pretender, did not lose their autonomy and retained their traditional differentiated institutions and laws .
Important changes were made to French territory in Europe. Grandiose royal desires to move the French expansion to the Rhine which had occurred since the middle decades of the seventeenth century were realized, as the French border pushed back in the Low Countries . France
gained the Spanish Netherlands , and a good part of the Rhineland .
In North America, England ceded to France all its claims to Newfoundland , Acadia , the Hudson's Bay company territories . The formerly partitioned island of Saint Kitts was also ceded in its entirety to France . England was required to recognize French suzerainty over the Wakanabi Confederacy and other tribes , and commerce with the Far Indians was to be open to traders of all nations. France retained its other pre-war North American possessions, including Île-Saint-Jean (OTL Prince Edward Island ) as well as Île Royale (OTL Cape Breton Island), on which it erected later the fortress of Louisbourg . A series of commercial treaties were also signed , like fishing rights for the English colonists in North America .
In England ,Louis XIV agreed to recognize Anne as the legitimate queen of Scotland , Ireland and Northern England . All the English colonies all over the world went to Anne .James III was recognized as the legitimate ruler of Southern England .Otherwise , it was statu quo ante bellum . However , this state of affairs satisfied no one , and diplomats began to bet how much time it would take for the two sides to kill each other again .
The Ottoman Empire managed to obtain Morea , a good part of Transylvania and Southern Hungary , and Russia agreed to cede them everything south of the Dniepr . It enraged Peter I and Leopold I , who feeled they had been stabbed in the back ( it was indeed the case ) .
Sweden obtained a part of Courtland and managed to retain all the territories it had before the war . It was a great victory for Charles XII , even if he had to cope with Russia , which was becoming a serious threat , and Augustus II , who was confirmed as King of Poland .
The territories in the East Indies went back to their former owners , back to the status quo ante bellum and Prussia and Savoy were recognized as kingdoms .
With the Peace of Versailles, the wars to prevent French hegemony that had dominated the latter part of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century were over for the time being , France having crushed all its major opponents . France had permanently broken the threat of encirclement by Habsburg powers and with France and Spain allied , a new war would be a disastrous one for the Grand Alliance . The treaty brought a short period of peace , but it wouldn't be long before a new conflict began .
Due to the lack of necessity for privateers and corsairs after the peace of Versailles , large numbers of unemployed sailors turned to piracy , thus launching a new phase of the Golden Age of Piracy .
England , the Dutch Republic and Portugal ceased effectively fighting France and Spain at the beginning of the year 1707 when the négociations began . Aragon , which had supported the Archduke's claim to the throne of Spain and the allies in 1705, had surrendered to the Bourbon army on 1706 following the siege of Barcelona , ending the presence of the allies in Spain. The battlefields on the Netherlands and England were in a better shape , but with the might of France , Spain and their colonial empires , it was only a matter of time before they were completely bled by the fighting . France had escaped the fate of having foreign armies on its soil , but had suffered heavily from the taxes which fianced the war .The problem was the Empire . Leopold I was a stubborn man , and didn't want to sign any treaty where he wasn't in a position of strenght . The fact that every ruler (included the Ottoman Empire ) had entered the diplomatic game was apparently lost upon him . On July 25 , Eugene of Savoy achieved a victory South of Budapest , but it was a Pyrrhic one : Eugene of Savoy himself and 17 000 men died to obtain that victory , which forced the Ottomans to retreat from fifty kilometers . Convinced now that a military victory was now impossible , Leopold I agreed to enter the talks .
In December , dozens of diplomats arrived to Versailles to reshape Europe .The Ottoman -Swedish - French-Spanish alliance had won the war , and expected to enjoy the gains they (in their minds at least ) deserved . It is said that when the first proposition was made , the Grand Alliance discussed openly the possibility to renew the conflict . In the end , Louis XIV , Philip V , Charles XII and Ahmed III were convinced to "moderate " their proposals by their senior diplomats . On February 7 1708 , the Peace of Versailles was signed .
Philip was recognized as King Philip V of Spain, but renounced his place in the French line of succession, thereby precluding the union of the French and Spanish crowns (although there was some sense in France that this renunciation was illegal , it was a proposal the Grand Alliance wouldn't budge on ). He retained the Spanish overseas empire, but ceded the Southern Netherlands to France , Naples to Austria , and Sicily to Savoy (as the price for their help , it was that or Milan ) . Sardignia was retained , as were the Balearic Islands (even if he had to pay a nice sum to Louis XIV for their return ) . Spain also kept the Asiento , a valuable monopoly slave -trading contract .
With regard to the political organization of their kingdoms, Philip issued the Nueva Planta decrees , following the centralizing approach of the Bourbons in France, ending the political autonomy of the kingdoms which had made up the Crown of Aragon ; territories in Spain that had supported the Archduke Charles and up to then had kept their institutions in a framework of loose dynastic union, separate from the rest of the Spanish realm. On the other hand, Navarre and the Basque provinces , having supported the king against the Habsburg pretender, did not lose their autonomy and retained their traditional differentiated institutions and laws .
Important changes were made to French territory in Europe. Grandiose royal desires to move the French expansion to the Rhine which had occurred since the middle decades of the seventeenth century were realized, as the French border pushed back in the Low Countries . France
gained the Spanish Netherlands , and a good part of the Rhineland .
In North America, England ceded to France all its claims to Newfoundland , Acadia , the Hudson's Bay company territories . The formerly partitioned island of Saint Kitts was also ceded in its entirety to France . England was required to recognize French suzerainty over the Wakanabi Confederacy and other tribes , and commerce with the Far Indians was to be open to traders of all nations. France retained its other pre-war North American possessions, including Île-Saint-Jean (OTL Prince Edward Island ) as well as Île Royale (OTL Cape Breton Island), on which it erected later the fortress of Louisbourg . A series of commercial treaties were also signed , like fishing rights for the English colonists in North America .
In England ,Louis XIV agreed to recognize Anne as the legitimate queen of Scotland , Ireland and Northern England . All the English colonies all over the world went to Anne .James III was recognized as the legitimate ruler of Southern England .Otherwise , it was statu quo ante bellum . However , this state of affairs satisfied no one , and diplomats began to bet how much time it would take for the two sides to kill each other again .
The Ottoman Empire managed to obtain Morea , a good part of Transylvania and Southern Hungary , and Russia agreed to cede them everything south of the Dniepr . It enraged Peter I and Leopold I , who feeled they had been stabbed in the back ( it was indeed the case ) .
Sweden obtained a part of Courtland and managed to retain all the territories it had before the war . It was a great victory for Charles XII , even if he had to cope with Russia , which was becoming a serious threat , and Augustus II , who was confirmed as King of Poland .
The territories in the East Indies went back to their former owners , back to the status quo ante bellum and Prussia and Savoy were recognized as kingdoms .
With the Peace of Versailles, the wars to prevent French hegemony that had dominated the latter part of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century were over for the time being , France having crushed all its major opponents . France had permanently broken the threat of encirclement by Habsburg powers and with France and Spain allied , a new war would be a disastrous one for the Grand Alliance . The treaty brought a short period of peace , but it wouldn't be long before a new conflict began .
Due to the lack of necessity for privateers and corsairs after the peace of Versailles , large numbers of unemployed sailors turned to piracy , thus launching a new phase of the Golden Age of Piracy .
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