War of the Spanish Succession

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern... subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers , about 4.8% of the planet's surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 529 million people. It is the third-largest continent in area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. The Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann.
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In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred... to as the Spanish Main. "Main" in this sense is a corruption of French and Anglo-French mesne, a reference to the fact that the Spanish Crown exercised its sovereignty over the land through various provincial governors and other intermediate landholders. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of South America. In particular, the term is most strongly associated with that stretch of the Caribbean coastline that runs from the ports of Porto Bello on the Isthmus of Darien, through Cartagena de Indias in New Granada, and Maracaibo to the Orinoco delta. Veracruz in New Spain was another major port. From the 16th to the early 19th century, the Spanish Main was the point of departure for enormous wealth that was shipped back to Spain in the form of gold, silver, gems, spices, hardwoods, hides and other riches.
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The Battle of Almansa, fought on 25 April 1707, was one of the most decisive engagements of the War of the Spanish Succession. At Almansa, the... Franco–Spanish army under Berwick soundly defeated the allied forces of Portugal, England, and the United Provinces led by the Earl of Galway, reclaiming most of eastern Spain for the Bourbons. It has been described as "probably the only Battle in history in which the English forces were commanded by a Frenchman, the French by an Englishman." The Bourbon army of about 25,000 was composed of Spanish and French troops in equal proportion, as well as an Irish regiment. Opposing them was a mainly Anglo-Portuguese force with strong Dutch, German, and French Huguenot elements. The Battle began with an artillery exchange. When Galway committed his reserves to an attack on the Bourbon centre, Berwick unleashed a strong force of Franco-Spanish cavalry against the weakened Anglo-Portuguese lines, sweeping away the Portuguese cavalry. A general rout followed, only the Portuguese infantry held, attacked by the three sides, and tried to retire fighting. They surrendered by nightfall.
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The Battle of Almenar took place on 27 July 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession, between the troops of Phillip V and the Archduke Charles.... Philip V's army having been defeated was forced to evacuate Catalonia and regroup behind the Ebro. In spring 1710 the Spanish army had entered Catalonia from Aragón crossing the Segre river on March 15. On May 3, Philip V, the Bourbon claimant to the throne, joined the army. The opposing allied army, consisting of Austrian, British, and Dutch troops, was joined by Archduke Charles of Austria, the Habsburg claimant, in June. In July General Guido Starhemberg received reinforcements and decided to attack. He crossed the Noguera river taking up positions on the heights of Almenar. Stanhope then crossed the Segre at Balaguer marching to the bridge of Alfarras, crossing it on 27 July. Villadarias opened the battle with a cavalry attack which was initially successful, but the initiative was wasted by pursuing groups of fleeing enemies. Then the British infantry attacked the left wing which fled, taking the second line with it.
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The Siege of Barcelona was a battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession , which pitted Archduke Charles of Austria , against Philip V of... Spain, backed by France in a contest for the Spanish crown. During the early part of the war, Barcelona had fallen to the forces of Archduke Charles: his fleet had anchored in the port on 22 August 1705, landing troops which surrounded the city. These troops later captured the fort of Montjuïc, and used it to bombard the city into its submission on October 9 of that year. Even though the freshly defeated Catalan court then supported the Archduke against Philip V, the Franco-Spanish forces were not strong enough to attempt a recapture of the city until 1713. By 25 July of that year, the city was surrounded by Bourbon forces, but attacks upon it were unfruitful due to the scarcity of artillery. The Bourbons then waited for a 20,000 man reinforcement force, which arrived in April–May 1714.
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The Battle of Villaviciosa took place on December 10, 1710, between the Franco-Spanish army led by Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme and Philip V of... Spain and the Habsburg-Allied army commanded by the Austrian Guido Starhemberg during the War of the Spanish Succession, one day after the decisive Franco-Spanish victory at Brihuega against the British army under James Stanhope. Philip V and the Archduke Charles claimed the victory, but the number of dead and wounded, the pieces of artillery and other weapons abandoned by the Allied army, and the strategic consequences in the war, confirmed the decisive victory for Philip V of Spain. The battle was determined in great part by the crucial role of the Spanish squadrons of cavalry and Dragoons commanded by the Marquis of Valdecañas and the Count of Aguilar, which far exceeded the enemies armies. Finally, the Imperial-Austrian general was compelled to continue his retreat, harassed at every step by the Spanish cavalry. His army was reduced to 6,000 or 7,000 men when he reached Barcelona on January 6, almost the only place in Spain, which still recognised the authority of Charles.
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