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 the issue of who would inherit the Spanish throne and proposed that Duke Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria be the heir. Moreover, the agreement proposed that Louis, le Grand Dauphin, would get Naples, Sicily, and Tuscany and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI would get Low Countries. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, would take Milan, which in turn ceded Lorraine and Bar to the Dauphin.

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' 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 was begun in 1701.