Editing History of Italy (section)

===18th century===
The [[War of the Spanish Succession]] (1701–1714) was triggered by the death without issue of the last Habsburg king of Spain, [[Charles II of Spain|Charles II]], who fixed the Spanish inheritance on [[Philip, Duke of Anjou]], the grandson of King [[Louis XIV]] of France. In face of the threat of a French hegemony over much of Europe, a [[Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg)|Grand Alliance]] between Austria, England, the Dutch Republic and other minor powers (including the [[Duchy of Savoy]]) was signed in [[Treaty of The Hague (1701)|The Hague]]. The Alliance successfully fought and defeated the Franco-Spanish "Party of the Two Crowns", and the subsequent [[Treaty of Utrecht]] and [[Treaty of Rastatt|Rastatt]] passed control of much of Italy (Milan, Naples and Sardinia) from Spain to Austria, while Sicily was ceded to the Duchy of Savoy. Spain attempted to retake territories in Italy and to claim the French throne in the [[War of the Quadruple Alliance]] (1718–1720), but was again defeated. As a result of the [[Treaty of The Hague (1720)|Treaty of The Hague]], Spain agreed to abandon its Italian claims, while Duke [[Victor Amadeus II of Savoy]] agreed to exchange Sicily with Austria for the island of Sardinia, after which he was known as the [[King of Sardinia]]. The Spaniards regained Naples and Sicily following the [[Battle of Bitonto]] in 1738. [[Corsica]] passed from the [[Republic of Genoa]] to France in 1769 after the [[Treaty of Versailles (1768)|Treaty of Versailles]]. [[Italian language|Italian]] was the official language of Corsica until 1859.<ref>Abalain, Hervé, (2007) ''Le français et les langues historiques de la France'', Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, p.113</ref>