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Louis XIV and the Origins of the War of the Spanish Succession
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 February 2009
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On 16 November 1700, Louis XIV publicly announced that his second grandson, Philip, duke of Anjou, was to succeed Charles II of Spain as the ruler of all the latter's dominions. On 15 May 1702, England, the Dutch re-public, and the emperor all declared war on France; England and the Dutch republic then also declared war on Spain, although they had recognized Philip as king; the emperor, however, who had not done so, declared war, not on Spain, but on the duke of Anjou and his adherents. If, then, Louis's action in November 1700 made war inevitable, it is curious that these declarations were so long in coming.
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References
page 111 note 1 All dates are according to the New Style.
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page 127 note 1 Add. MSS. 20268, fo. 340r. In his despatch to the pope of 16 September 1701, Gualtieri again stated that Louis had been moved by religious considerations alone; see Add. MSS. 20242, fos. 13–4.
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