ABSTRACT
Philip V of Spain had never abandoned his claim on the former possessions of the Spanish crown in Italy, just as Charles VI had adhered to his pretensions to be King of Spain. Austria obtained the coveted Sicily in exchange for the valueless Sardinia; Charles VI renounced his claims on Spain and the Indies, Philip V his on Italy and the Netherlands. The Peace of Passarowitz is, it is true, the high-water mark of the tide of Austrian reconquest, but from the point of view of what might have been done, it must be regretted as a half measure, or rather as a fatal mistake. Charles was to some extent acting as head of the Empire in his attempts to give the trade of Germany an outlet to the ocean through his own dominions, but the real importance to Germany of all these diplomatic variations lies in the underlying attempt to get the Pragmatic Sanction recognised by the Powers.
