Peace of Utrecht

Peace of Utrecht, collective name for several treaties concluded at Utrecht in the Netherlands between 1713 and 1714 which ended the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) and established a balance of power in Europe. The settlement consisted of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) and the treaties of Rastatt and Baden (1714).

The Peace of Utrecht settled the War of the Spanish Succession by recognizing Philip, duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, as Philip V, king of Spain, under the condition that the Spanish and French kingdoms would not be united. France made peace with Britain, the Dutch Republic, Prussia, Savoy, and Portugal, all of which had fought in the war to prevent the French empire from gaining Spain. (The conflict between France and Britain had spread to their North American colonies in 1702, resulting in Queen Anne's War.) Louis XIV also recognized George I as king of Great Britain and Ireland and ceded the North American territories of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay to the British. He also agreed to the transfer of the Spanish Netherlands to Austria and granted a mutual most-favored-nation status to Britain and the Dutch Republic. On July 13, 1713, Spain concluded a treaty ceding Gibraltar to Britain and giving the British sole rights to the slave trade in the Spanish colonies in the Americas. In August Spain ceded Sicily to Savoy and made peace with the Dutch on June 26, 1714; the peace with Portugal was delayed until February 1715. Austria concluded peace with France at Rastatt, Germany, on March 7, 1714, but not until February 1720 with Spain. The Peace of Utrecht ended the period of French hegemony in Europe, increased British prestige, and temporarily relaxed strained Anglo-French relations.