The War of the Spanish Succession was a major European armed conflict that arose in 1701 after the death of the last Spanish Habsburg king, Charles II. The war proceeded for over a decade, and was marked by the military leadership of notable generals such as the Duc de Villars and the Duke of Berwick for France, the Duke of Marlborough for England, and Prince Eugene of Savoy for the Austrians. The war was concluded by the treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714). As a result, Philip V remained King of Spain, but was removed from the French line of succession, thereby averting a union of France and Spain. The Austrians gained most of the Spanish territories in Italy and the Netherlands. As a result, France's hegemony over continental Europe was ended, and the idea of a balance of power became a part of the international order due to its mention in the Treaty of Utrecht. Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1471: Wars of the Roses: Yorkist Edward IV defeated a Lancastrian army in the Battle of Tewkesbury. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tewkesbury) 1855: William Walker and group of mercenaries sailed from San Francisco to conquer Nicaragua. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_%28soldier%29) 1919: The May Fourth Movement began with large-scale student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in Peking, China against the Paris Peace Conference and Japan's Twenty-one demands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Fourth_Movement) 1953: Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea) _____________________ Wikiquote of the day: "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." -- Horace Mann (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace_Mann)