GUERRE DI SUCCESIONE. – The name g. di s. refers to the three wars concerning Spain, Poland, and Austria that took place in the first half of the eighteenth century and concluded with the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.
Charles II, king of Spain, on the eve of his death reacted to the partition plans formulated by the Powers by naming Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV, as his heir. The latter, who had seen his hegemonic designs frustrated by the Peace of Rijswick and was watching for an opportunity to recover lost ground, accepted the testament; and since he assured England and Holland that the new sovereign would never unite the two crowns in his own person, Philip V was able to ascend the throne without opposition (1701). But when, shortly thereafter, Louis XIV confirmed Philip’s right to the French succession and recognized James Stuart as Prince of Wales (heir to the English crown), William III renewed the League of Augsburg, and Charles, the Emperor’s son, was set against Philip and even succeeded, for a short time, in establishing himself in Madrid. Clement XI had offered his mediation and, taking up a plan of Innocent XII, had unsuccessfully proposed the formation of a league of the Italian States to defend their neutrality. When these attempts failed, he sought to delay matters, but his position was extremely difficult, because the Kingdom of Naples, a Spanish possession, was a fief of the Church. Moreover, Clement XI was at odds with the Emperor, partly because the latter had granted the royal title to Frederick of Brandenburg. The conflict became more acute when the Pope declared himself for France, while his recognition of the Stuart pretender aggravated the difficulties of English Catholics. The papal initiatives for a compromise, including those undertaken with Joseph I, who had succeeded Leopold in 1705, had no positive outcome. In 1706, following the defeats of the Franco-Spanish armies and after the English fleet, having entered the Mediterranean, seized Gibraltar and Minorca, the Emperor adopted an even more hostile attitude toward the Holy See: his troops entered the Papal territory and demanded free passage in order to move against Naples; in 1708 they occupied Comacchio and its saltworks. In response to the Pope’s protests, Joseph replied with war; and since no help came to him from France, the Pope was compelled to make peace and undertook to disarm and, in a secret article, to recognize Charles III as king of Spain. The defeats that placed France’s fortunes in extreme danger induced him to publish this recognition. But a vigorous French recovery restored the military balance, and Philip V, victorious in Spain, consolidated himself on the throne. The situation underwent a decisive change with the death of Joseph I (1711). When Charles (Charles VI) was elected to succeed him, the Powers preferred to conclude peace, so as not to favor the union of the imperial and Spanish crowns in the same person. By the Peaces of Utrecht and Rastatt, Philip V was recognized, but Austria obtained the Netherlands, Milan, Naples, and Sardinia, while Sicily was given to Victor Amadeus II. England obtained Hudson Bay and Newfoundland, Gibraltar, and Minorca. France was obliged to recognize the Protestant English dynasty. The Holy See’s rights of sovereignty over Naples were entirely disregarded. The Pope succeeded only in securing the preservation of the Rijswick clause, which protected Catholics in the ceded territories. Even after Alberoni’s unsuccessful attempt at revanche, the assignment of Parma to Charles of Bourbon and the cession of Sardinia to Piedmont, in exchange for Sicily, which was given to Austria, took place without the Pope even being consulted. With the Spanish g. di s., the Habsburgs replaced France in continental supremacy; France retained the acquisitions of Richelieu and Mazarin (Franche-Comté, Alsace, and French Flanders), but emerged from the conflict weakened and saw its hegemonic aspirations definitively collapse, while England expanded its colonial dominions and gained a foothold in the Mediterranean.
The emergence of Habsburg supremacy determined a reaction in the subsequent Polish g. di s. In 1733, when Augustus II of Poland died, Austria and Russia supported the rights of Augustus III, while France and Sweden backed Stanislaus Leszczyński, father-in-law of Louis XV. The Austro-Russians prevailed in Poland, but the French prevailed in the west: their ally Charles Emmanuel III occupied Lombardy, while Charles of Bourbon conquered Naples. England, absorbed by internal questions, did not intervene, but left the French fleet in the Mediterranean complete freedom of action. Clement XII had initially recommended Augustus III, but later, yielding to French pressure, declared himself for Stanislaus. In 1734 Vienna, in order to secure Protestant support, allowed the Rijswick clause to lapse. By the Peace of Vienna (1738), Augustus III was recognized. Stanislaus received Lorraine, Francis Stephen of Lorraine received Tuscany, and Charles of Bourbon received Naples and Sicily. Austria found compensation in the restoration of Lombardy, imposed on Charles Emmanuel III, and in the cession of Parma. The Pope granted Charles of Bourbon the investiture of the Kingdom of Naples.
The weakening of Austria naturally corresponded to a resurgence of Bourbon power. And when, in 1740, upon the death of Charles VI, France, Spain, and the Bourbon courts of Italy, contesting Maria Theresa’s succession, went to war against Austria, supported by Frederick II, who aspired to Silesia, England entered the conflict in support of Austria, together with Charles Emmanuel III, who had not forgiven France for abandoning him during the negotiations for the Peace of Vienna. Austria was invaded by Charles Albert of Bavaria, who was proclaimed emperor (Charles VII), but it resisted, and by ceding Silesia to Frederick II freed itself from one adversary. In Italy the Franco-Spanish forces were defeated. In 1744 Frederick II reopened hostilities, while in Italy Charles Emmanuel III was forced to withdraw into Piedmont to defend his territory, which had been invaded. But the coalition began to disintegrate. In 1735 Charles VII died and Francis Stephen was elected, whom Frederick II recognized. In 1746 Philip V died and his successor withdrew from the struggle. In 1747 the French were defeated by the Piedmontese at Assietta. They nevertheless prevailed in the Netherlands, but when England succeeded in obtaining Russia’s intervention, the government of Paris was induced to make peace. Benedict XIV had maintained an attitude of strict neutrality: when Austria was invaded, he had proposed his mediation, but by refusing to place himself at the head of an Italian federation against France and Spain, he aroused Vienna’s resentment. When Charles VII was elected, he recognized him, but the latter showed the Pope no consideration, and the Papal States once again became a battlefield between the Spaniards and the Imperial forces. After the death of Charles VII, Benedict recognized Francis Stephen.
The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) sanctioned Maria Theresa’s succession and Francis’s election. Austria ceded Parma to Philip of Bourbon: this provoked an energetic protest from the Pope, who unsuccessfully requested that his right of investiture be recognized, and could obtain only that imperial investiture not be used for the duchy.
From the wars of succession, France and Spain derived no advantage. Austria asserted its predominance in Italy. England, having prevented the formation of a continental hegemony, consolidated its maritime power. These wars had grave consequences for the Holy See and for Catholics. Compelled by the lack of adequate forces to adopt a neutrality that displeased both sides, the Pope found no support in the Catholic courts, which were concerned only with their dynastic interests. And while the Protestant dynasty in England was consolidating itself and Prussia, likewise Protestant, was growing stronger, the Church had to prepare to face jurisdictional disputes and the attacks of Enlightenment rationalism.