Which war was concluded by the Treaty of Utrecht?

The Treaty of Utrecht concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. More accurately, the Peace of Utrecht was a group of treaties signed mainly in Utrecht between 1713 and 1715 to settle the conflict over who would inherit the Spanish monarchy.

The war began in 1701 after the death of Charles II of Spain, the last Spanish Habsburg king. European powers feared that a union of the Spanish and French crowns would create an overwhelming Bourbon superpower. The main settlement recognised Philip, Duke of Anjou, as Philip V of Spain, while requiring that the Spanish and French crowns could never be united.

The agreements reshaped Europe. Spain ceded Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain, while Austria gained major former Spanish territories in Italy and the Spanish Netherlands. The settlement also encouraged the idea of a European balance of power. Fighting involving Austria and Spain continued in some places after the Utrecht agreements, but the treaties are conventionally regarded as ending the War of the Spanish Succession.