Tras el Tratado de Ryswich, las tropas españolas reemplazan a las francesas entre alegría popular

In the Peninsula itself, the impact of the Nine Years War was most directly felt by Catalonia, where there had been fighting every year since 1690 and where the French slowly but steadily pressed forward after going on the defensive in other theatres. Like its successor, this war culminated in a siege of Barcelona, a city with about one-third the population of Madrid, an efficient artisan militia, and by Spanish standards a strong citadel. Barcelona succumbed to Vendôme’s army of 26,000 on 10 August 1697. The French evacuated it only on 4 January 1698, after exacting a final tribute. The Catalans, though they had long liked the French and detested Castilian interference, had suffered so heavily during the invasion as to welcome the return of Spanish troops with sincere joy. Loyalty to Carlos mounted when he accepted their objection to a proposed viceroy and sent them, instead, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, a cousin of the queen and an attractive personality, who had latterly distinguished himself in the Catalan war in command of 5,000 Imperial troops. He took the oaths in Barcelona on 9 February. This had great significance for the future.