Treaty of Rastatt


The Treaty of Rastatt was a peace treaty between France and Austria, concluded on 7 March 1714 in the Baden city of Rastatt, to put an end to state of war between them from the War of the Spanish Succession. The treaty followed the earlier Treaty of Utrecht of 11 April 1713, which ended hostilities between France and Spain, on the one hand, and Britain and the Dutch Republic, on the other hand. A third treaty at Baden, Switzerland was required to end the hostilities between France and the Holy Roman Empire.
By 1713, all parties to the War of the Spanish Succession were militarily depleted and it was unlikely that the continuation of the conflict would bring about any results in the foreseeable future. The First Congress of Rastatt opened in November 1713, between France and Austria, with the negotiations culminating in the Treaty of Rastatt on 7 March 1714, formally ending hostilities and complementing the Treaty of Utrecht, which had been signed the previous year.
The Treaty of Rastatt was negotiated by Marshal of France, Claude Louis Hector de Villars and the Austrian prince, Prince Eugene of Savoy.
The Rastatt Treaty is associated with changes in European politics, associated with the shift to the balance of power politics.

Background

Austria began to negotiate the treaty with France after it had been abandoned by its allies, particularly Great Britain, during negotiations for the Treaty of Utrecht. Great Britain feared a possible connection of Austria and Spain in the person of the Emperor Charles VI, who became emperor in 1711 and claimed the Spanish throne, as it would shift the balance of power politics in Europe to Habsburg Austria.
In June 1713, France launched the Rhine campaign against the Holy Roman Empire, conquering Kaiserslautern, Landau and Breisgau. After these defeats, Emperor Charles VI accepted the offer of King Louis XIV of France to reopen negotiations.

Territorial changes

Under the treaty, Austria received the following from Spain: the Spanish territories in Italy of Naples, Milan, Sardinia and the Southern Netherlands. Austria received from France Freiburg and several other small areas at its eastern borders, but France retained Landau.
As a result of the treaty, the Austrian Habsburg Empire reached the largest territorial extent in its history. It became a major power in Western and southern Europe, in addition to its already dominant influence in Central Europe. Moreover, bargaining in Rastatt gained for Austria much more than it was offered at Utrecht, at which it had originally also participated. However, Emperor Charles VI was outraged at the loss of Spain and considered it an unacceptable failure.
For France, the Utrecht and Rastatt Treaties confirmed the throne of Spain for the House of Bourbon, but also denied France the additional territorial gains it had sought, and affirmed that the thrones of France and Spain could not be united.