In the War of the Spanish Succession, several European powers combine to stop French succession to the Spanish throne and the resulting shift in the European balance of power.

It is a major European conflict and includes Queen Anne's War in North America.

The war is marked by the military leadership of notable generals like the duc de Villars, the Duke of Berwick, the Duke of Marlborough, and Prince Eugene of Savoy.In 1700, Charles II had died and bequeathed all of his possessions to Philip, duc d'Anjou — a grandson of the French King Louis XIV — who thereby became Philip V of Spain.

The war begins slowly, as the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg fights to protect his own dynasty's claim to the Spanish inheritance.

As Louis XIV begins to expand his territories more aggressively, however, other European nations (chiefly England, Portugal, and the Dutch Republic) ente on the Holy Roman Empire's side to check French expansion.

Spain itself is divided as Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia rise up in support of the Habsburg pretender.

Other states join the coalition opposing France and Spain in an attempt to acquire new territories, or to protect existing dominions.

The war is fought not only in Europe, but also in North America, where the conflict becomes known to the English colonists as Queen Anne's War, and by corsairs and privateers along the Spanish Main.

Over the course of the fighting, some 400,000 people are killed.

The war is concluded by the treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714).

As a result, Philip V remains King of Spain but is removed from the French line of succession, thereby averting a union of the two kingdoms.

The Austrians gain most of the Spanish territories in Italy and the Netherlands.

As a consequence, France's hegemony over continental Europe is ended, and the idea of a balance of power becomes a part of the international order due to its mention in the Treaty of Utrecht.