Attempts of the emperor Charles VI at the congress of Utrecht, 1712

Abstract

During the congress of peace in Utrecht in 1712, emperor Charles VI strived to acquire the whole Spanish monarchy. Since his election as emperor and the death of his elder brother Joseph I, England and the Netherlands, who aided this Habsburg ruler during the War of Succession, abandoned him, and tried to reach a rapid agreement with France, his historical enemy up till that time. In order to maintain his claims to the Spanish crown, Charles left his wife in Barcelona as regent before his return to Vienna. However, as they had no children, in the summer of 1712, the Viennese diplomacy wanted the archduchess Mary Elizabeth, one of the King’s s sisters, to succeed the empress. But this plan was not carried out, because meanwhile England had agreed to that the rival of Charles VI, Philip V (Bourbon) could obtain the Spanish crown lands.