Peace of Utrecht

Peace (Treaty) of Utrecht

First edition of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht between Great Britain and Spain in Spanish (left) and a later edition in Latin and English.
Context	End of the War of the Spanish Succession
Signed	1713–1715
Location	Utrecht, Dutch Republic
Signatories	Louis XIV of France Philip V of Spain Anne of Great Britain Emperor Charles VI Frederick William I of Prussia John V of Portugal States General of the Dutch Republic Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Languages	Dutch English French German Latin Portuguese Spanish
Full text at Wikisource
Peace and Friendship Treaty of Utrecht between Spain and Great Britain Peace and Friendship Treaty of Utrecht between France and Great Britain

The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of Spain, and involved much of Europe for over a decade. The main action saw France as the defender of Spain against a multinational coalition. The war was very expensive and bloody, and finally stalemated. Essentially, the treaties allowed Philip V (grandson of King Louis XIV of France) to keep the Spanish throne in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe.^[1]

The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. The treaties were concluded between the representatives of Louis XIV of France and of his grandson Philip on one hand, and representatives of Queen Anne of Great Britain, King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, King John V of Portugal and the United Provinces of the Netherlands on the other. Though the king of France ensured the Spanish crown for his dynasty, the treaties marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the continuous wars of Louis XIV, and paved the way to the European system based on the balance of power in international relations.^[2]

Another enduring result has been the creation of the Spanish Bourbons, which still is the Monarchy of Spain. The French branch of the House of Bourbon has since the July Revolution been dethroned.