The different names by which this war is known indicate the number of countries involved and the different perspectives of each. The war was the third occasion on which the major European powers confronted the expansionist plans of Louis XIV of France whose desire to extend the influence and integration of Catholic powers under Bourbon rule animated so much of European history in the late seventeenth-century. Another factor was the increasing competition of European powers for overseas colonies.

This particular war was caused in part by the anticipation of the death of the heirless and partly insane Charles II of Spain – the last of the Spanish Hapsburgs – whose eventual demise would enable the remaking of Bourbon and Hapsburg dynasties and the lands they controlled. Louis was intent

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Nine Years War, War of the League of Augsburg, War of the Grand Alliance, King Williams' War, War of the English Succession". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1437, accessed 23 November 2024.]