Another secret treaty was made, between England, France, and
Holland, and signed on the 13th March, 1700, at the Hague. By this
treaty it was agreed that France was to receive Naples, Sicily,
Guipuscoa, and Lorraine; the Archduke Charles Spain, the Low
Countries, and the Indies; and the Spanish colonies were to be
divided between Holland and England. As both England and Holland
were at the time in alliance with Spain, it must be admitted that
their secret arrangement for the partition of her territories was
of a very infamous character.
Louis of France, while apparently acting with the other powers,
secretly communicated the contents of the treaty to Charles II. The
Spanish king was naturally dismayed at the great conspiracy to
divide his kingdom at his death, and he convened his council of
state and submitted the matter to them. It was apparent that
France, by far the most powerful of the other continental states,
could alone avert the division, and the states general therefore
determined to unite the interests of France and Spain by appointing
the Duc d'Anjou, grandson of the King of France, sole heir to the
vast empire of Spain.
The news that Spain and France were henceforth to be united caused
the greatest consternation to the rest of the States, and all
Europe began to arm. Very shortly after signing the bequest, the
old King of Spain died, and the Duc d'Anjou ascended the throne.
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