What were the significant differences between the Wars of Succession with regards to Spain versus Austria?
What will be an ideal response?
The War of Spanish Succession was fought by Louis XIV as the last of a series of land-grabs and the finale of the wars he had started that were blocked by the League of Augsburg. His argument was that his wife was the older daughter of the King of Spain, and therefore when the Spanish King (her brother) died in 1700, Louis' grandson had the greater right to take the throne of Spain. This was contested by the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, who wanted his grandson to rule the Spanish throne. It invoked the involvement of previous alliances from the League of Augsburg, which feared Louis XIV's plans to expand his empire. A long series of wars followed, ending with the Treaty of Utrecht that divided the lands between Habsburgs and Bourbons. By contrast, the Austrian War of Succession took place when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (who would have inherited the territory of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs, had that not threatened the balance of power such that other European countries invoked the Treaty of Utrecht) had no sons, and made provisions for his daughter Maria Theresa to rule Austria. She could not take the title of Holy Roman Empress, as the Emperor had always been male. To gain support for his daughter's succession (also known as the Pragmatic Sanction), he made concessions with his nobility to recognize her as the legitimate ruler. As soon as he died, however, the Prussian ruler, Frederick II, challenged this and began open warfare in 1740 with the newly militarized Prussia. In the end, Prussia succeeded in taking Silesia from Maria Theresa, with the assistance of France.
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Which of the following helps explain Britain and France’s reluctance to embrace Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
a. They had suffered terribly during the war and wanted Germany to be crippled. b. They saw the Fourteen Points as a ploy to allow the United States to acquire an empire. c. They believed that Wilson was secretly pro-German. d. They thought the Fourteen Points would impose too harsh a peace on the Central Powers.
Which of the following statements best describes the United States' involvement in the Philippines at the start of the 20th century?
A) Benevolent acceptance of the Filipinos. B) Disdain for the Filipinos. C) Expedient liberation of the islands. D) Lengthy occupation of the islands. E) Abject denial of the problems there.
In general, freed African Americans in the late 1860s were:
A) more interested in jobs than in politics. B) generally apathetic about political activity. C) highly involved in political activity. D) supportive of the Democratic Party.
In writing about "the modern emblem of motion and power—the pulse of the continent," Walt Whitman was celebrating late nineteenth-century
A) factories. B) waterways. C) roadways. D) railroads. E) farms.