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[[File:Europe c. 1700.png|thumbnail|350px|left|Figure 1. Europe at the time of the War of the Spanish Succession.]]

====Summary====

At first, the Spanish Succession War appeared to be similar to other wars that dominated Europe in the late 17th century. However, the long-term nature of the conflict and lack of clear resolution for many years led to it being costly for some countries, particularly the Dutch and Spain, while others greatly benefited, such as Britain. This helped shape global affairs that developed in the next few centuries, as Britain came to dominate global trade and world affairs. In the long-term, however, European monarchies failed to easily resolve an issue such as succession without launching major wars that helped to weaken the influence of monarchies throughout Europe. This process had started in Britain earlier, during the English Civil War, but the War of the Spanish Succession and later Seven Years War helped to hasten the French monarchy's demise. The rise of the French Republic would be another critical step in Europe to removing the influence of monarchies, but the War of the Spanish Succession shaped this process in many ways. Some of Western Europe's last remaining territorial conflicts, such as the debate regarding Gibraltar, is also a legacy from this war.

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