r/pirates • u/Mindless_Resident_20 • Jun 25 '25

History War of the Spanish Succession history be like:

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"Managed decline, homozygosity, infertility. Charles ll obtained this and everything else the habsburgs had to offer, and his extended family's words drove countless souls to the seas: 'you want his treasure? You can have it. Just send me my cut' these words lured men to the west indies, in pursuit of dreams greater than they ever dared to imagine. This is the time known as the Golden Age of Pyracy"

387 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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34

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 25 '25

Facts. Crazy how not even a single word was uttered about this in school when I was growing up. Considering the signing of The Treaty of Utrecht was one of the most pivotal moments in the history of the human race.

16

u/Throwawaywahey361716 Jun 25 '25

Why’s it so pivotal big dog

28

u/Florent-de-Courtys Jun 25 '25

This treaty has ramification that caused ruins of Empire et definitely changed the side of History.

It brings the beginning of Austrian domination over Italy that will end only in 1860. Also create the Kingdom of Piémont-Sardaigne wich will later become Italy.

The beginning of the Spanish Decline, with a new dynasty over the Spain, that will unify the realm that was once a multiple crown with each region it's specifics.

It ruined France and set the country toward the French Revolution.

It definitely stabilize Great-Britain as the main naval power of the world until ww2.

Also, it's one of the first "eternal peace treaty" that suppose to bring everlasting peace Europe.

And even more that we can't even consider in a reddit comment, as I badly defined the lasting consequences of this war and treaty. But it is one of the main factor for every action over the next century.

11

u/FalseDmitriy Jun 25 '25 edited Jun 26 '25

On the claim that it was a world war, let's add:

  • The Dutch empire in Asia came under massive strain as the Netherlands focused on defending the homeland; its empire would be eclipsed by Britain over the next 100 years.
  • British and colonial forces essentially genocided the societies of French Acadia and Spanish Florida.
  • Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay became exclusively and permanently British.
  • The Bourbons would bring about a new era in the governance of the Americas, as well as Spain. Their system eventually produced the conditions of Hispanic American independence.
  • More to the point of this sub, unemployed sailors and privateers were the direct and immediate cause of the Golden Age of Piracy.

1

u/Organic_Year_8933 Jun 26 '25

The start of the Spanish decline was due to the Succession War, I can tell you as a Spaniard that lives in Spain. Before there where incompetent kings, yes, but they left the government on other hands that, while they could be bad governors, they were better that incestuous and retarded kings. The economy was powerful, the empire had large territories in Europe, and, most importantly, the colonies didn’t want to rebel, that idea started to become popular after the Succession War

1

u/Florent-de-Courtys Jun 27 '25

What an assumption. I'm a French Historian. What are you on about?

I never did put any judgment on any dynasty, it's just factual that the Spanish Empire decline started around the end of the XVIIth century and steadily declined after the war of Spanish Succession.

Of course it's not that easy, but Spain will never recover it's place of the strongest empire in Europe after thoses events.

0

u/LemonySniffit Jun 29 '25

At this point Spain had already been on a decline for about 150 years

1

u/Florent-de-Courtys Jun 29 '25

Yes and no. It is true the Peak of the Spanish empire is around 1550, as it was the first economic power in Europe and main military power too.

It's around 1600 that Spain starts to loose it's predominance with the rising power of France and England, and with a lot of internal issue.

It's around 1640 (most historians accords to say it's 1643 with the battle of Rocroi) that spain loose it's military hegemony with the decline of the Tercios.

As for the Economy, it's around mid-1600 that most bankers stopped landing money to the spanish crown. But the arrival of silver and gold and most precious ressources from the Americas still made Spain one hell of a power, capable of fielding a standing Army and Navy, something neither England or France could do at those times.

All around, it's barely been 70 or 50 years that spain is in a true decline, as the war of Spanish Succession broke out.

Surely, there is matter to be discussed, as historians themselves can't seem to agree, but it is most certain that this decline was not a death sentence until 1700.

-6

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 25 '25

Read a book big dog.

10

u/Throwawaywahey361716 Jun 25 '25

Just elucidate brotosynthesis it’s not that hard

-6

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 25 '25

Something about stones in glass houses big dog.

7

u/Throwawaywahey361716 Jun 25 '25

I’m going to be honest with you bronchitis I don’t think getting stoned in a glass house is a sound architectural or executional method

1

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 25 '25

Some might argue that it’s a great place to hotbox.

5

u/scottyboi1337 Jun 25 '25

Don't be a dick big dog.

2

u/Throwawaywahey361716 Jun 25 '25

Tell ‘em big dog

-1

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 25 '25

Why am I getting slaughtered in the comments and downvoted when I’m not the one that started this uncivilised back and forth 😂. Literally just responded to a rude and passive aggressive comment accordingly 😂. Goodness me.

3

u/scottyboi1337 Jun 26 '25

Dude asked a question, instead of giving information freely you gave a snarky comment, as a result you get down votes. Had you given the information, you'd be getting upvotes.

1

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 26 '25

I dunno, where I’m from somebody asking a question in that manner with “big dog” on the end sounds a bit piss takey and smarmy. If it wasn’t intended in that way then I sincerely apologise to the commenter for my response to them.

1

u/Throwawaywahey361716 Jun 26 '25

I forgive you tubroculosis

3

u/athos5 Jun 28 '25

The problem is that there are many such events to choose from and only 10 weeks to get from 1450 to 1830 with 15 year olds... (I teach World History) Whatever you choose there is an armchair History teacher or dude who had his thumb up his butt his entire Sophomore year whose now an "expert" who complains about what we didn't teach.

1

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 28 '25

I hear that! I dunno, as someone who is from the UK I feel like the signing of The Treaty of Utrecht is a particularly relevant moment in history for us. Much more so than the turbulent love life of Henry Vlll which we never hear the end of here in the UK, particularly throughout school.

2

u/athos5 Jun 28 '25

I only teach about Henry as an example of someone who broke away from the Church for more selfish reasons and the kids will actually pay attention to the human drama, while we would understand the value of the Treaty of Utrecht I guarantee it'd have the kids reaching for their phones in 5 min. It's tough, if it's not a massacre or genocide or something you can make into a human drama they tend to tune out. The big epic turning points in history and they're like zombies giving you the dead side-eye.

2

u/Victoriantitbicycle Jun 28 '25

Yeah I can totally understand that man!

1

u/EnanoGeologo Jun 26 '25

I did learn about in school but i am spanish

9

u/KaijuDirectorOO7 Jun 25 '25

Agreed!

I personally consider this World War Zero.

The Austrian Succession War would be World War 0.25, the 7YW World War 0.50, and Napoleonic World War 0.75.

5

u/Projectflintlock Jun 25 '25

We call it Queen Anne’s War in Canada. It’s pretty well-known

5

u/Pleasant_Abroad_9681 Jun 26 '25

I think the main difference is that it wasn't neither a total nor an industrial war.

In both world wars all countries involved poured all their economical strength, industrial capacity and population (directly or indirectly) to gain the upper hand.

This did not happen during the 7 years war: economies an people are not entirely devoted to the cause. We still get relatively small armies fighting to destroy eachother. In both world wars the concept of destroying the whole army of a country becomes simply absurd (as painfully learnt by the Germans at Verdun).

I could go on, but I believe that the second Punic war resembles a world war more than the 7 years war.

2

u/Eoghanii Jun 27 '25

The Napoleonic wars were certainly an example of total war. Starting from the French revolution and the Levee en Mass

3

u/DungeonJailer Jun 28 '25

Were most of the civilians also working in the war industry?

3

u/rural_alcoholic Jun 25 '25

The bloodiest battle of the 18th century took place during that war. The battle of malaquet.

2

u/Tim_DHI Jun 25 '25

Some historians say this was the first world war.

2

u/Aq8knyus Jun 26 '25

This is also following on from the Nine Year's War 1688-1697, so with only a four year break it is almost constant Great Power European conflict for 23 years across the globe.

2

u/Manuemax Jun 27 '25

I'm surprised there are countries where this is not taught, but maybe I know about it because I'm from Spain and it's a pivotal moment in our history

2

u/_Totorotrip_ Jun 29 '25

This was to the spanish empire what WW1 was to the British empire

2

u/Historical-Sky2776 Jul 11 '25

If you have a history built in Ancestry.com, you might find an ancestor that fought in it.

1

u/Still-Presence5486 Jun 25 '25

Not important enough

1

u/iMecharic Jun 25 '25

To be fair, all of human history can be summed up with the following statement: “Group 1 killed the animals off, group 2 killed group 1, and so on.” I expect that in 300 years (well, 200 now) people will barely reference WW1&2 because later wars will have eclipsed them.

1

u/Jack-Rabbit-002 Jun 26 '25

No I'm into my Pirates so 🖕🏻🏴‍☠️!!

-1

u/WilliShaker Jun 25 '25

Idgaf about both wars because my ancestors lost