Treaty of The Hague (1698)

The Treaty of Den Haag (also known as the Treaty of The Hague or the First Partition Treaty) was signed on October 11, 1698 between England and France. The accord attempted to resolve who would inherit the Spanish throne, proposing that Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria be the heir. Moreover, the agreement proposed that Louis, le Grand Dauphin, would receive Naples, Sicily, Finale, and the ports in Tuscany while Archduke Charles, the younger son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I would receive the Spanish Netherlands. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, would take Milan, which in turn ceded Lorraine and Bar to the Dauphin.

The First Partition Treaty was invalidated when Joseph of Bavaria died. A Second Partition Treaty was attempted in 1699, which Archduke Charles refused because it did not give Italy to Austria.

King Charles II of Spain refused this arrangement, as it would divide the Spanish Empire and, by his will, left all his possessions to the dauphin's second son, Philip, the duke of Anjou. On Charles's death, King Louis XIV of France renounced the treaty, the will was contested (by force), and a long and costly war involving all of Europe, the War of the Spanish Succession, began in 1701.