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from the hegemonic power in Europe. In February, 1701 Philip V was crowned King of Spain and this accelerated the constitution in The Hague (September, 1701) of the Great Alliance formed by England, Holland and Austria, later joined by Savoy and Portugal. The allies recognised the other candidate to the Spanish throne as King, Archduke Charles of Austria. The conflict over the succession thus attained a clearly international tone, becoming the first major European confrontation of the 18th century.

The most worrying outcome for the Bourbonic side was the conflict’s direct impact on the peninsula, the scene of its battles. This publication contains 83 documents linking it more or less explicitly to the context generated during the War of Succession. They therefore represent an exceptional graphic source of information enlightening us about the details of this crucial event in our past.

The first military operations in the Peninsula were carried out by the English-Dutch squadron that disembarked in August, 1702 near Cadiz, which they intended to take (263, 108, 264). When they failed to do so, the allied army made a new attempt, this time on the Vigo estuary, to apprehend the Spanish ships that had returned from America loaded with precious metals. The English got their revenge for their earlier failure and, at the end of October, 1702, successfully destroyed most of the fleet at the Battle of Rande Bay (121, 265, 109, 120, 110, 266, 111).

When Portugal joined the Alliance in the summer of 1703, this provided allied interests with an excellent base for their operations in the Peninsula, of which they