Peace of Utrecht in the context of "History of Spain (1700–1808)"

For most of its history, what is today Belgium was either a part of a larger territory, such as the medieval Carolingian Empire, or was divided into a number of smaller states. In the Middle Ages, the territory of present-day Belgium was fragmented into numerous feudal principalities, including the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the County of Namur, the County of Hainaut and the County of Luxembourg. Belgium's modern shape can be traced back at least as far as the southern core of the medieval Burgundian Netherlands. The Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) later led to the split between a northern Dutch Republic and the Southern Netherlands from which Belgium and Luxembourg developed. The area, long a Habsburg stronghold, briefly came under Bourbon control during the War of the Spanish Succession. The resulting Peace of Utrecht transferred the area back to Habsburg control, creating what is now known as the Austrian Netherlands. The French Revolutionary wars led to Belgium becoming part of France in 1795. After the defeat of the French in 1814, the Congress of Vienna created two new states, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which were placed in dynastic union under the House of Orange-Nassau. The Southern Netherlands rebelled during the 1830 Belgian Revolution, establishing the modern Belgian state, officially recognized at the London Conference of 1830. The first King of Belgium, Leopold I, assumed the throne in 1831.

The first half of the twentieth century was tumultuous. Its historic neutrality was violated in each of the World Wars. During World War I, frustrated German invaders launched the Rape of Belgium. During the 1940 invasion, the quick surrender by Leopold III of Belgium to German forces drove a wedge between the King and his people. The King's attempt to return led to a constitutional crisis in 1950, which led to his abdication in favor of his son Baudouin. Belgium entered the second half of the twentieth century showing an unprecedented era of economic growth, as Belgium took an active role in the formation of the Benelux customs union with its neighbors. Ultimately, the Benelux union would serve as a model for the European Economic Community, a precursor to the European Union; to this day Brussels serves as the seat of many of the European Union institutions.

The Treaty of The Hague was signed on 17 February 1720 between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance, established by the 1718 Treaty of London. Its members included Britain, France, the Dutch Republic and Austria.

By signing, Spain joined the Alliance, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance and accepting the terms of the Treaty of London. As previously agreed at Utrecht in 1713, Philip V confirmed his renunciation of the French throne and Spanish claims to their former Italian possessions. In exchange, Emperor Charles VI renounced his claim on the Spanish throne and four-year-old Charles of Spain was recognised as heir to the Duchies of Parma and Tuscany.

The Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España) entered a new era with the death of Charles II, the last Spanish Habsburg monarch, who died childless in 1700. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) was a European war fought between the proponents of the French Bourbon prince, Philip of Anjou, and the proponents of the Austrian Habsburg claimant, Archduke Charles. After the war ended with the Peace of Utrecht, the Prince of Anjou ruled as Philip V of Spain from 1715, although the peace treaty required he had to renounce his place in the succession of the French throne.

Spain entered a period of reform. Ideas of the Age of Enlightenment entered Spain and Spanish America. The period ended with the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Peninsular War (1808-1814), which upended the stability of the Spanish Empire, and although France was defeated, the turmoil in Spain led to the Spanish American wars of independence of 1808 to 1833, in which most of the empire was lost.

The Treaty of Baden, signed 7 September 1714 in Baden, Switzerland, made peace between France and the Holy Roman Empire. Together with the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt, it was one in a series of agreements ending the 1701 to 1713 War of the Spanish Succession.