War of the Quadruple Alliance
The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718-1720) was a conflict primarily involving Spain against a coalition of Austria, Britain, and France, formed in response to Spain's aggressive actions in Italy and the Mediterranean. Following the War of the Spanish Succession, Spain, under King Philip V, sought to regain lost territories and enhance its influence in Italy, particularly through the ambitions of his wife, Elizabeth Farnese, and his minister, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. The war began when Spain occupied Sardinia in 1717, prompting the coalition to react and eventually engage in military actions.
A series of battles ensued, including significant naval confrontations, most notably the defeat of the Spanish fleet at Cape Passaro. Despite initial successes, Spanish forces struggled against the combined might of the alliance, which included landings and occupations of strategic locations such as Sicily and parts of northern Spain. By early 1720, Philip V found himself compelled to negotiate peace, leading to the Treaty of The Hague, where he agreed to significant concessions, including the recognition of the Bourbon succession in Spain and the exchange of territories.
The aftermath of the war reaffirmed the status quo, with Spain's ambitions in Italy curtailed, although tensions remained. Ultimately, the conflict underscored the shifting balance of power in Europe and foreshadowed future challenges for Austria's position in the Mediterranean.
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War of the Quadruple Alliance
At issue: The Utrecht/Rastatt settlements; Spanish influence in Italy
Date: August 20, 1717-February 17, 1720
Locations: Spain, Sicily, Sardinia
Combatants: Spanish vs. British, French, Savoyans, and Austrians
Principal commanders:Spanish, Luis de Bette, marquis of Lede (1660–1724), Don Antonio Castañeda; British, Sir George Byng (1663–1733); Austrian, Count Claudius Florimund von Mercy (1666–1734); French, James Fitzjames, duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed (1670–1734)
Principal battles: Cape Passaro, Milazzo
Result: France and Britain force Spain, Austria, and Savoy to accept the settlements reached at Utrecht and Rastatt with minor modifications
Background
At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the least satisfied power was Spain, which had lost its holdings in Italy and the Netherlands. Philip V’s Italian second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, and his first minister, Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, pressed for an attempt to regain Spanish power in Italy and acquire principalities for Elizabeth’s sons, who were unlikely to succeed to the Spanish crown. Philip also had reconsidered his renunciation of the French crown, and Alberoni encouraged intrigues against the French regent, Philip, duke of Orléans. Undeterred by Britain’s and France’s jointly declared intention to maintain the status quo, the Alberoni government took advantage of Austria’s war with Turkey to strike the first blow.
Action
A Spanish expeditionary force of 8,000 men landed in Sardinia on August 20, 1717, and rapidly occupied the lightly garrisoned island. The Austrian response was slow, primarily because of the Turkish War. During the winter, some 11,000 troops left the Balkan theater for Italy, but lacking an adequate navy, Austria could achieve little without British and French aid.
In exchange for their assistance, Britain and France demanded that Emperor Charles VI recognize Philip V as legitimate king of Spain; that he cede Sardinia to Victor Amadeus, duke of Savoy, in exchange for Sicily; and that he recognize the eventual succession of Elizabeth Farnese’s son Don Carlos in Parma and Tuscany. Outraged,especially by the request to renounce his Spanish claim, Charles delayed joining the coalition.
A Spanish fleet under Don Antonio Castañeda appeared before Palermo on July 1, 1718, and 30,000 Spanish troops under Luis de Bette, marquis of Lede, occupied Sicily. On August 2, Austria accepted the Anglo-French terms and joined the alliance; Philip V rejected Anglo-French peace overtures. A British fleet under Sir George Byng was already headed for the Mediterranean, and on July 31, it crushed Castañeda’s fleet off Cape Passaro (1718), some three months before the official British declaration of war.
The Spaniards were now cut off but still occupied both islands. Byng’s ships began landing Austrian troops on Sicily, first at Messina to blockade the city, and then at Milazzo (1718), where the Spanish repulsed their attack on October 15 and waylaid them in the town. Count Claudius Florimund von Mercy arrived the following spring with 13,000 reinforcements, but logistical difficulties and command strife impeded his progress. The Austrians did not enter Messina until October 10, 1719. When hostilities ended, the Spanish still held most of western Sicily and all of Sardinia.
In March, 1719, a Spanish fleet set sail for Scotland carrying 6,000 troops and arms to support a Jacobite rebellion, but storms scattered the ships, and the rising was rapidly crushed. In April, a French army of 26,000, commanded by James Fitzjames, duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed, crossed the Pyrenees and occupied parts of northern Spain. Meanwhile, British amphibious landings in October captured Vigo and Pontevedra, on the Galician coast. In December, 1719, Philip V dismissed Alberoni and, on February 17, 1720, he signed the Treaty of The Hague, joining his recent enemies in the Quadruple Alliance.
Aftermath
In the short term, the status quo was reaffirmed. Under English and French pressure, Savoy ceded Sicily to Austria in exchange for Sardinia. Charles VI accepted the Bourbon succession in Spain and Don Carlos’s future claim to Parma and Tuscany, while Philip V renounced his French and Italian claims and acknowledged the Hanoverian succession in Britain. However, Spanish ambitions in Italy were not put to rest, and Austria’s weakness in the Mediterranean was exposed. Once France and Spain put their differences aside, the Austrian position in Italy would be gravely threatened.
Bibliography
Black, Jeremy. “Anglo-Spanish Naval Relations in the Eighteenth Century.” Mariner’s Mirror 77, no. 3 (1991): 235–238.
Hargreaves-Mawdsley, W. N., ed. and trans. Spain Under the Bourbons, 1700–1833: A Collection of Documents. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1973.
Lynch, John. Bourbon Spain 1700–1808. Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Blackwell, 1989.
McKay, Derek. Prince Eugene of Savoy. London: Thames & Hudson, 1977.