1725 - The First Treaty of Vienna
Tertulia, vol. 73
Hola. This is Barbara, your guide to the latest cultural news from the Spanish-speaking world. To continue with this year's bookish anniversaries, I have chosen a diplomatic treaty from 1725 between Bourbon Spain and the House of Habsburg with the formal title of Tratado de Viena firmado entre España y el Imperio el 30 de abril de 1725 y Congreso de Cambrai. The First Treaty of Vienna, as it was later called, was meant to bring peace and stability to Europe by confirming the Treaty of Utrecht, which had formally ended the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). As we mark the 300th anniversary of the treaty on April 30th, 2025, it is worth revisiting its contents and consequences.
Contents of the treaty
The Treaty of Vienna aimed to secure mutual recognition of dynastic legitimacy and territorial sovereignty. Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740) definitively renounced his claims to the Spanish throne, thereby recognising Philip V (1683-1746) as the legitimate king. In that respect, it is notable that the treaty includes lengthy mutual promises by each monarch to defend the other’s succession laws.
The most striking expression of this dynastic support can be found in the following paragraph, which merits quoting at length:
Su Majestad Cesárea promete defender, proteger y mantener siempre que sea necesario, el orden de sucesión recibido en el reino de España, y confirmado por el tratado de Utrech, por las renuncias que después se hicieron en fuerza de la cuádruple alianza, y últimamente por el presente instrumento de paz. Y el rey de España ofrece por su parte defender y proteger el orden de sucesión que su Majestad Cesárea, siguiendo la mente de sus antecesores, ha declarado y establecido en su serenísima casa por los pactos antiguos de ella, en forma de perpetuo, indivisible e inseparable fideicomiso afecto a la primogenitura, a favor de todos sus herederos y sucesores de uno y otro sexo; cuya serie de sucesión ha sido después universalmente admitida por voto común de todos los órdenes y estados, de los reinos, archiducados, ducados, principados, provincias y países que por derecho hereditario pertenecen a la serenísima casa de Austria; reconocida de todos ellos con grata y rendida voluntad; y registrada en los protocolos públicos en fuerza de ley y de pragmática sanción, perpetuamente firme y valedera. (quoted from: https://archive.org/details/A10903704/mode/2up?view=theater, p. 9)
Translation: “His Imperial Majesty promises to defend, protect, and maintain, whenever necessary, the order of succession established in the Kingdom of Spain, and confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht, by the renunciations subsequently made under the Quadruple Alliance, and ultimately by this present instrument of peace. And the King of Spain, for his part, offers to defend and protect the order of succession which His Imperial Majesty, following the will of his ancestors, has declared and established in his Serene House by its ancient pacts in the form of a perpetual, indivisible, and inseparable trust in the right of primogeniture, in favour of all his heirs and successors of both sexes; whose line of succession has subsequently been universally accepted by the common vote of all the orders and estates of the kingdoms, archduchies, duchies, principalities, provinces, and countries which by hereditary right belong to the Serene House of Austria; recognised by all of them with grateful and dutiful consent; and recorded in public protocols with the force of law and of pragmatic sanction, perpetually firm and valid." In short, each monarch pledged to defend the other’s dynastic settlement.
In exchange, Spain confirmed Austria’s control over the former Spanish Netherlands, Naples, Milan, and Sicily - territories that had shifted to Habsburg hands in the wake of earlier treaties, particularly the Treaty of Utrecht. The treaty also included clauses intended to foster commercial cooperation between the two empires. You can find a complete list of agreements here.
Long-term impacts: power, not peace
While the treaty was framed as a peace instrument, its effect was more tactical than transformative. It did not bring lasting equilibrium to European diplomacy. Instead, it served as a temporary alignment in the constant struggle for influence between the great powers. The accord marked a momentary convergence of interests between the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties. However, it also alarmed other European powers - Britain, France, and Prussia - who feared a revival of cooperation between Bourbons and Habsburgs. In response, they formed the Treaty of Hanover later that same year, realigning the European balance once more.
For Spain, the treaty signalled a slow pivot away from aspirations of continental dominance and toward a strategy focused on defending its interests in the Iberian Peninsula and its American viceroyalties. Though not explicitly addressed in the treaty, regions like Catalonia, which had suffered severe repression following their support for the Habsburg side during the War of the Spanish Succession, were indirectly affected by this new focus on internal consolidation. For Spain, the treaty marked a transitional moment - between the glories of Habsburg Spain long gone and the pragmatic recalibrations of Bourbon rule.
As stated before, the Treaty of Vienna offered short-term diplomatic choreography rather than structural resolution. The dynastic anxieties it sought to contain would re-emerge within a generation.
An anecdote from behind the curtain
No account of the 1725 Treaty of Vienna is complete without mentioning Juan Guillermo Riperdá, Duque de Riperdá (Johan Wilhelm Ripperda in Dutch), a Dutch-born adventurer and diplomat whose career defied convention. Initially employed by the Habsburgs, Ripperda switched sides to represent Spain. He also gripped important ministerial posts after taking part in these negotiations. I found his memoirs on archive.org. At first glance, his life sounds so captivating, switching his religious beliefs like others change their shirts, that his memoir might as well serve as a blueprint for a wonderful historical telenovela.
Due to his prominent role in the negotiations, the Treaty of Viena is sometimes also called the Ripperda Treaty (like here and here), which is probably a good idea since this naming avoids confusion over the many treatises signed in Vienna (like those from 1815 or 1731). Or does it shed a bad light on diplomatic negotiations of that time? Considering current diplomacy manners, the negotiations of 1725 look quite well-behaved and orderly, don’t they?.
Digital access to the documents of the treaty
As quoted previously, there is a digitised version of the treaty document in Spanish available at archive.org (which I found thanks to an entry in the library catalogue of the Universidad de Sevilla). At this institution, you can also ask to view the physical copies. I used this modern transcription for easy reading purposes.
This is all for today. Thank you for your interest in Spanish history. Let’s see which anniversary we will discuss next.