Editing War of the Spanish Succession (section)

===Dutch Republic===
{{Location map many|Belgium|caption = The Barrier fortresses as agreed in 1715, corresponding to the modern borders of Belgium|border = black| width = 250| relief = yes|float = right
|label = Veurne|pos=top |lat_deg=51|lat_min =4|lon_deg = 2|lon_min = 39
|label2 =Knokke|pos2=right|lat2_deg=50|lat2_min = 59|lon2_deg = 2|lon2_min = 48
|label3 =Ypres |pos3= left|lat3_deg=50|lat3_min = 51|lon3_deg = 2|lon3_min = 53
|label4 =Menen |pos4=right|lat4_deg=50|lat4_min = 48|lon4_deg = 3|lon4_min = 7
|label5=Tournai|pos5=right|lat5_deg=50|lat5_min = 36|lon5_deg = 3|lon5_min = 23
|label6 =Mons |pos6=right|lat6_deg=50|lat6_min = 27|lon6_deg = 3|lon6_min = 57
|label7=Dendermonde|pos7 = right|lat7_deg = 51 | lat7_min = 2 | lon7_deg = 4 | lon7_min = 6
|label8 = Namur|pos8 = right|lat8_deg = 50 | lat8_min = 28 | lon8_deg = 4 | lon8_min = 52
}}
The Dutch had recovered and expanded their positions in the Southern Netherlands, and their troops were central to the alliance which halted French territorial expansion in Europe until a new cycle began in [[French Revolutionary Wars|1792]].{{sfn|Nimwegen|2020|p=354}} The war left them bankrupt, and inflicted permanent damage on the Dutch merchant navy; while they remained the dominant economic power in the [[Far East]], Britain took over as the pre-eminent global commercial and maritime power.{{sfn|Elliott|2014|p=8}} The exhaustion of the [[Dutch admiralties]] had also allowed the [[Barbary pirates|pirates]] from [[Regency of Algiers|Algiers]] to capture numerous Dutch merchant vessels, which the Dutch were only able to stop after a [[Dutch-Algerian War (1715–1726)|long conflict]]. The Barrier Treaty fortresses became the central driver of Dutch foreign policy in the decades after 1713 and were put to the test during the [[War of the Austrian Succession]].{{efn|Although judged favourably by contemporaries,{{sfn|Nimwegen|2002|pp=31–35}} modern historians still argue about the true effectiveness of the barrier fortresses, since they were conquered by France during the War of the Austrian Succession.{{sfn|Ward|Leathes|2010|p=57}}{{sfn|Kubben|2011|p=148}} Advocates instead emphasise that it took 3 years of campaigning for the French to conquer all barrier fortresses and that the purpose of the barrier was to give the Dutch enough time to mobilize and fortify their borders. According to them, nobody in the Dutch Republic was under the illusion that the barrier would stop French armies.{{sfn|Wijn|1964|p=703}}{{sfn|Nimwegen|2002|pp=31–33}}}}