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Description
The Bourbon forces only just barely squeaked out a victory by the skin of their teeth in the war over the succession to the Spanish throne, and right away it was apparent that they were surrounded by enemies. Philip V of Spain set about trying to make preparations for this, already seething over having to trade away Spanish possessions in the Netherlands and Italy in exchange for his victory. When Louis XIV of France died in 1715, he was declared as King Philip VII of France, and emulating the way that the United Kingdom had merged her two constituents of England and Scotland into a single entity, so too he declared the union of France and Spain into a single "Franco-Spanish Union", ruling largely from Madrid as king in both nations with a unified national government. And it was very clear from the outset that it wouldn't last forever. England and Scotland were two nations, one eclipsed by the other in terms of economics and populations that spoke a similar language and had a similar set of ideas and traditions of government. France and Spain, meanwhile, were more or less equal in their economic affluence and population and spoke two different languages, not to mention the fact that Philip V's reign from Madrid didn't exactly make the Parisians happy. And obviously, Europe had begun to align itself in opposition to them, forming what was loosely known as the "Anti-Bourbon Coalition", with its anchors in the Habsburgs, Portuguese, and the British, surrounding them on all sides and ready to strike the moment an opportunity presented itself...

Description
The Bourbon forces only just barely squeaked out a victory by the skin of their teeth in the war over the succession to the Spanish throne, and right away it was apparent that they were surrounded by enemies. Philip V of Spain set about trying to make preparations for this, already seething over having to trade away Spanish possessions in the Netherlands and Italy in exchange for his victory. When Louis XIV of France died in 1715, he was declared as King Philip VII of France, and emulating the way that the United Kingdom had merged her two constituents of England and Scotland into a single entity, so too he declared the union of France and Spain into a single "Franco-Spanish Union", ruling largely from Madrid as king in both nations with a unified national government. And it was very clear from the outset that it wouldn't last forever. England and Scotland were two nations, one eclipsed by the other in terms of economics and populations that spoke a similar language and had a similar set of ideas and traditions of government. France and Spain, meanwhile, were more or less equal in their economic affluence and population and spoke two different languages, not to mention the fact that Philip V's reign from Madrid didn't exactly make the Parisians happy. And obviously, Europe had begun to align itself in opposition to them, forming what was loosely known as the "Anti-Bourbon Coalition", with its anchors in the Habsburgs, Portuguese, and the British, surrounding them on all sides and ready to strike the moment an opportunity presented itself...