The death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 ends the Spanish Habsburg line.

Spain's steady decline throughout the seventeenth century has already led to minor armed conflicts aimed at a realignment of power among European countries, and these rivalries blossoms into the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14).

Both Leopold I and King Louis XIV of France, Charles's two nearest relatives, hope to establish a junior branch of his own dynasty in Spain, but neither is willing to rule out the possibility that a single heir might someday inherit the lands of both the principal line and its Spanish offshoot.

The strong central government and political institutions of France make the possible union of Spain and France a far greater threat to other European countries than the possible union of Spain and the Habsburg lands in Central Europe.

Thus, when the dying Spanish king names as his heir Louis's grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, England and a number of other European countries rally to the Habsburg cause.