on the 10th of May the
allied fleet appeared, the French ships retired, and the siege was
raised in disorder. The Bourbon claimant dared not retreat into
Aragon, and so passed by Roussillon into France, leaving his rival in
possession. At the same time there moved forward from Portugal--that
other base which the sea power of the English and Dutch at once
controlled and utilized--another army maintained by the subsidies
earned from the ocean. This time the western attack was more
successful; many cities in Estremadura and Leon fell, and as soon as
the allied generals learned the raising of the siege of Barcelona,
they pressed on by way of Salamanca to Madrid. Philip V., after
escaping into France, had returned to Spain by the western Pyrenees;
but on the approach of the allies he had again to fly, leaving to them
his capital. The Portuguese and allied troops entered Madrid, June 26,
1706. The allied fleet, after the fall of Barcelona, seized Alicante
and Cartagena.

So far success had gone; but the inclinations of the Spanish people
had been mistaken, and the strength of their purpose and pride,
supported by the natural features of their country, was not yet
understood. The national hatred to the Portuguese was aroused, as well
as the religious dislike to heretics, the English general himself
being a Huguenot refugee. Madrid and the surrounding country were
disaffected, and the south sent the Bourbon king assurance of its
fidelity. The allies were not able to remain in the hostile capital,
particularly as the region around was empty of supplies and full of
guerillas. They retired to the eastward, drawing toward the Austrian
claimant in Aragon. Reverse followed reverse, and on the 25th of
April, 1707, the allied army was disastrously overthrown at Almansa,
losing fifteen thousand men. All Spain fell back again into the power
of Philip V., except the province of Catalonia, part of which also was
subdued. The next year, 1708, the French made some progress in the
same quarter, but were not able to attack Barcelona; Valencia and
Alicante, however, were reduced.

The year 1707 was not marked by any naval event of importance. During
the summer the allied fleets in the Mediterranean were diverted from
the coast of Spain to support an attack upon Toulon made by the
Austrians and Piedmontese. The latter moved from Italy along the coast
of the Mediterranean, the fleet supporting the flank on the sea, and
contributing supplies.