SUCCESSION WARS 



5609 



SUCCESSION WARS 



The cost of construction is very high, the New 

 York system requiring an outlay of an average 

 of $2,000,000 per mile, sometimes reaching as 

 high as $5,000,000 per mile, exclusive of equip- 

 ment. The two-track subways in Paris cost 

 $850,000 per mile, while the London "tubes" 

 cost about $1,500,000 per mile, exclusive of 

 equipment. 



The fare in American subways is the same as 

 that on most surface cars, which is five cents. 

 In London, the fare varies with the distance, 

 the minimum being two pence (four cents). 

 In Berlin the charge is from ten pfennige, or 

 two cents, to thirty-five pfennige, or seven 

 cents, depending on the class of ticket and the 

 distance. 



New York City Subways. Rapid transit in 

 the United States reaches its highest develop- 

 ment in its most congested district, New York 

 City. The total number of passengers carried 

 on all New York subways is about 1,000,000,000 

 a year, an average of 3,000,000 a day. For de- 

 tails of the New York subways, see NEW YORK, 

 subhead Transportation. W.F.Z. 



SUCCESSION, suksesh'un, WARS, those 

 wars that were caused by rival claims to the 

 inheritance of a throne. Four important wars 

 in modern European history are known by this 

 name, the War of the Spanish Succession, the 

 War of the Polish Succession, the War of the 

 Austrian Succession and the War of the Ba- 

 varian Succession. 



The War of the Spanish Succession. This 

 struggle began in 1701 and lasted until 1714. 

 It is also known in American history as Queen 

 Anne's War. 



Charles II, king of Spain, was childless, and 

 the question as to who would be his successor 

 was of vital importance to Europe. Family 

 alliances among related sovereigns were very 

 common in those days, and if a foreign-born 

 prince ascended the throne of Spain as nearest 

 heir, which seemed inevitable, an entirely new 

 alignment of the European powers was apt to 

 be the result. The laws governing the succes- 

 sion were so involved and the claims of the 

 different heirs were so conflicting that it is 

 almost impossible, even at the present day, to 

 know who rightfully should have worn the 

 Spanish crown. Suffice it to say, the valid 

 claims soon were narrowed down to three heirs, 

 the French prince Philip, duke of Anjou and 

 grandson of Louis XIV, Joseph Ferdinand, the 

 young electoral prince of Bavaria, and the Arch- 

 duke Charles of Austria, son of Emperor Leo- 

 pold I. 



The leading powers of Europe joined in a 

 treaty in 1698, according to which Joseph Ferdi- 

 nand was to become king of Spain, and France 

 and Austria were to be compensated with ter- 

 ritories from the extensive Spanish possessions 

 in Italy and other parts of Europe. Unfortu- 

 nately, the electoral prince died, and the matter 

 was unsettled again. A second treaty, in 1699, 

 arranged that the Archduke Charles was to re- 

 ceive the Spanish crown, and the French royal 

 family would be indemnified by additional 

 Spanish territory. Everything seemed to be 

 arranged in order to guarantee the peace of 

 Europe when King Charles II died in Spain on 

 November 1, 1700, leaving a will by which he 

 bequeathed the crown to the French prince, 

 Philip of Anjou. Louis XIV then broke his 

 solemn word given when he signed the treaty, 

 proclaimed his grandson to be king of Spain 

 and declared that "the Pyrenees were no more." 

 All Europe stood aghast at the prospect of the 

 virtual annexation of the Spanish empire to 

 the preponderant power of France, and Louis 

 further angered the English by recognizing the 

 son of the dethroned James II as the rightful 

 king of England. 



Almost immediately the Grand Alliance was 

 formed between England, the Holy Roman 

 Empire, the Netherlands, Prussia and Hesse in 

 order to prevent Philip of Anjou from becom- 

 ing king of Spain and to aid the Archduke 

 Charles to ascend that throne in his place. 

 The allied forces were placed under the com- 

 mand of two great generals, the English Duke 

 of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, 

 under whose leadership the French were de- 

 feated decisively during the years 1704 to 1709 

 in the well-known battles of Blenheim, Ra- 

 millies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet. The fight- 

 ing was for the most part in Germany and the 

 Netherlands, although there were several cam- 

 paigns in Spain which finally degenerated into 

 guerilla warfare. These ended with the estab- 

 lishment of Philip as king and the extension of 

 his rule over. most of Spain. 



The allies possibly might have overthrown 

 Louis XIV and seized Paris had not dissen- 

 sions broken out among them, and in addition 

 party politics in England caused the Tory gov- 

 ernment of that country to desire peace in 

 order to discredit the victorious Marlborough, 

 who was a prominent Whig. Louis XIV, al- 

 though badly defeated and his country ex- 

 hausted, took heart and by skilful diplomacy 

 brought about the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, 

 by which he obtained fairly favorable terms, 



