What was ceded to Britain in 1713 as part of the settlement of the War of Spanish Succession?
Disputed status of Gibraltar eventually ceded to the Kingdom of Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession. In that treaty, Spain ceded to Great Britain "the full and entire propriety of the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications, and forts thereunto belonging ... for ever, without any exception or impediment whatsoever." Should the British Crown ever wish to relinquish Gibraltar, a reversion clause holds that the territory would first be offered to Spain, "And in case it shall hereafter seem meet to the Crown of
War of the Spanish Succession commercial access to Spanish America. France accepted the Protestant succession, ensuring a smooth inheritance by George I in August 1714 and ended support for the Stuarts under the [[Anglo-French Alliance (1716–1731)|1716 Anglo-French Treaty]]. Lastly, the war left all the participants with unprecedented levels of government debt but only Britain successfully financed it. Philip was confirmed as King of Spain, which retained its independence and the majority of its Empire but ceded the Spanish Netherlands and most of their Italian possessions. The 1707 "Nueva Planta" decrees transferred powers to Madrid and largely abolished regional political structures. These reforms enabled Spain to