Principled Politics or Pragmatism?

Bourbon-Habsburg Duel over the Spanish Inheritance (1700–1725)

Abstract

The War of the Spanish Succession was formally a conflict between the Habsburgs and the Bourbons over the Spanish inheritance, but it was a struggle for economic supremacy in Europe. Although the treaties emphasised principles and values such as the security of Europe, the freedom of the Spanish and the rightful succession to the Spanish crown, the great powers acted primarily in accordance with their own interests. Although the Habsburgs lost the war and the Bourbons were able to defend the Spanish throne, Great Britain proved to be the real winner of the game.