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"The King is dead. Long live the... Oh, shit!"
In the room, there was no space for mourning. Everyone was too worried about the future.
King Charles II had no heirs. With his death, Spain was leaderless. There were no doubt factions and countries would soon knock on the Royal Alcázar of Madrid's door, claiming control over the superpower.
France, Great Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, and many others would claim the kingless throne. If not the throne, at least freedom or to expand their borders.
In the room, everyone cried; not Charles II's death, but the certainty of war.
Spain wouldn't know peace for 14 years.
THE END
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The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) was an early-18th-century European war, triggered by the death in November 1700 of the childless Charles II of Spain. It established the principle that dynastic rights were secondary to maintaining the balance of power between different countries. Related conflicts include the 1700–1721 Great Northern War, Rákóczi's War of Independence in Hungary, the Camisard revolt in southern France, Queen Anne's War in North America and minor struggles in colonial India.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession#Prelude_to_war