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==Summary==
At first, the War of the Spanish Succession appeared to be similar to other wars that dominated Europe in the late 17th century. However, the long-term nature of the conflict and lack of clear resolution for many years led to it being costly for some countries, in particular the Dutch and Spain, while others greatly benefited, such as Britain. This helped to shape global affairs that developed in the next few centuries, as Britain came to dominate global trade and world affairs. In the long-term, however, it was the failure of European monarchies to easily resolve an issue such as succession without launching major wars that helped to weaken the influence of monarchies throughout Europe. This process had started in Britain earlier, during the English Civil War, but the War of the Spanish Succession and later Seven Years War helped to hasten the demise of the French monarchy. Ultimately, the rise of parliaments or representative democracies happened slowly in Europe, but the Wars of the Spanish Succession were a key step in that process as they created the conditions for monarchies to loose their absolute appeal.
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