Succession Wars

These wars were of frequent occurrence in Europe, between the middle of the 17th and the middle of the 18th centuries, on the occasion of the failure of a sovereign house. The most important of these was that of the Orleans succe ion to the Palatinate (1686-97), closed by the peace of Ryswick; of the Spanish succe ion (1700-13), which was distinguished by the achievements of the Duke of Marl borough and the Earl of Peter borough, and their unprofitable results, arose on the question whether an Austrian prince or a French prince should succeed to the throne of Spain; of the Polish succe ion (1733-38), closed by the peace of Vienna; of the Austrian succe ion (1740-48); and of the Bavarian succe ion (1777-79), called, in ridicule, the Potato war. Of these, the second and fourth were by far the most important.