Editing War of the Spanish Succession (section)

===Diplomacy and renewed war===
{{further|No Peace Without Spain}}

French diplomats focused on the Dutch, whom they considered more likely to favour peace, since victory at Ramillies had removed any direct military threat to the Republic, while highlighting differences with Britain on the Spanish Netherlands. Peace talks had broken down in late 1708 because the Allies could not agree joint terms.{{sfn|Bromley|1979|p=446}} The [[Great Frost of 1709]] caused widespread famine in France and Spain, forcing Louis to re-open negotiations, who now hinted at his willingness to cede French fortresses to the Dutch Republic.{{sfn|Ward|Leathes|2010|pp=422–423}}{{sfn|Nimwegen|2020|p=307}}
	
In May 1709 the Allies presented him with the preliminaries of the Hague. Britain and Austria still insisted on an undivided Spanish monarchy for Archduke Charles. The Allies demanded that Philip was given two months to cede his throne to Charles, while France was required to remove him by force if he did not comply, besides having to cede the strongholds, [[Thionville]], [[Cambrai]] and [[Valenciennes]] as collateral.{{sfn|Ward|Leathes|2010|pp=422–423}} Although Spain was of less importance to them, the Dutch negotiators, led by Heinsius, considered these strict conditions necessary to ensure that peace conditions were honoured, as they doubted Louis' sincerity. The Dutch considered these harsh terms necessary as they doubted Louis' sincerity, and were concerned the Allies might exhaust themselves in Spain, while allowing France to recover, and potentially back Phillip once again.{{sfn|Bromley|1979|pp=437}}{{sfn|Nimwegen|2020|pp=307–308 & 321}}

[[File:The Battle of Malplaquet, 1709.png|thumb|right|upright=1.0|[[Battle of Malplaquet]], 1709: an Allied victory, the losses shocked Europe and increased the desire for peace.]]

Many Allied statesmen, including Marlborough, felt the terms assumed Philip would abdicate on request, and seriously underestimated France's ability to continue the war. They also required the Spanish to accept Archduke Charles as king in his place, which they were certainly unwilling to do, as demonstrated by the failure of Allied campaigns to hold territory outside Catalonia.{{sfn|Kamen|2001|pp=70–72}} Although Louis seemed willing to abandon his ambitions in Spain, making war on his grandson was unacceptable, a stipulation so offensive that the French resolved to fight on when it was made public.{{sfn|Ward|Leathes|2010|p=424}}

Following the capture of [[Siege of Tournai (1709)|Tournai]], Marlborough's 1709 offensive in northern France culminated in the [[Battle of Malplaquet]] on 11 September, a hard fought Allied victory with heavy casualties on both sides.{{Sfn|Holmes|2008|p=433}} Although the battle did not improve the French strategic position, it showed their fighting abilities were intact and increased war-weariness in both Britain and the Dutch Republic. The impact was magnified by Franco-Spanish victories at [[Siege of Alicante|Alicante]] in April, and [[Battle of La Gudina|La Gudina]] in May 1709, which made prospects of an Allied victory in Spain increasingly remote.{{sfn|Gregg|2001|p=289}}

Shortly after, the Dutch discovered they had been excluded from a commercial agreement signed by Archduke Charles giving Britain exclusive trading rights in Spanish America. This deepened divisions between the Allies while increasing Spanish opposition to having the Archduke as their king.{{sfn|Gregg|2001|p=289}} The [[Godolphin–Marlborough ministry|Whig government]] in London was afraid to push the Dutch into the hands of the French and went back on their commercial agreement with Archduke Charles. In exchange for a Dutch guarantee to support the Hanoverian succession, Britain agreed to share trading rights in Spanish America and the Mediterranean. The Whigs promised the Dutch a significantly expanded barrier in the Spanish Netherlands, including fortress towns such as Lille, Valenciennes, [[Vieux-Condé|Condé]] and [[Maubeuge]]. The Dutch now seemed to obtain all they had ever wanted from the war, in the Low Countries, the Mediterranean and America.{{sfn|Veendendaal|1970|p=438–439}} This treaty sparked resentment from Emperor Joseph, who was offended by the heavy burden it imposed on his brother's sovereignty over the Southern Netherlands, while they were also opposed by the Tory opposition in Britain who saw them as detrimental to British commerce.{{sfn|Veendendaal|1970|p=439}}{{sfn|Gregg|2001|p=289}}

The Whigs had won the [[1708 British general election]] by arguing military victory was the quickest road to peace, but failure in France was mirrored in Spain. Archduke Charles re-entered Madrid in 1710 after victories at [[Battle of Almenar|Almenar]] and [[Battle of Saragossa|Saragossa]], but the Allies could not hold the interior and were forced to retreat. 3,500 British troops surrendered at [[Battle of Brihuega|Brihuega]] on 8 December, while the [[Battle of Villaviciosa]] on 10 December confirmed Bourbon control of Spain.{{sfn|Kamen|2001|p=101}} At the same time, costs continued to rise; the Dutch were close to bankruptcy while Austrian troops were almost entirely funded by Britain. In 1709, [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]] approved expenditures of £6.4 million was up from £5.0 million in 1706; by the end of 1710, these had doubled to £12.9 million, despite minimal gains.{{Sfn|Hattendorf|1978|p=304}}