No Peace Without Spain

No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) which Britain was leading participant in. It implied that no peace treaty could be agreed with Britain's principal enemy Louis XIV of France that allowed Philip, the French candidate, to retain the Spanish crown. The term became a rallying cry for opposition to the Tory government of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht.

The phrase was first popularly used by the Tory politician Lord Nottingham in Parliament in December 1711. However it was soon adopted by the rival Whig movement, who were increasingly regarded as the "war party" opposed to the "peace party" of the Tories. The Whigs were buoyed by the campaigns in the Low Countries where the British commander, the Duke of Marlborough, led the Allies to a series of victories. The Whigs demanded that King Louis be made to abandon his expansionist policies, and renounce any attempts to make Spain a satellite state.

While the term originated in London, it also spread to several Allied capitals as a statement of intent. However, this represented an extension of the war aims the Allies had originally agreed upon, potentially extending the conflict.

Britain's intervention in Spain had begun optimistically, having seized Gibraltar and taken Barcelona, while securing the support of Portugal and the Catalans. However, they suffered a significant setback at the Battle of Almanza in 1707.

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