The 'War of the Quadruple Alliance' occurred as a result of the ambitions of King Philip V of Spain, his wife, Isabella Farnese, and his chief minister Giulio Alberoni in Italy, where the Spanish had traditional claims and Isabella several dynastic claims to advance; and for the crown of France, where Philip's infant nephew Louis XV was King, and his cousin the Duc d'Orléans was Regent.
Opposition to Philip's ambitions led France, Britain, and The Seven United Netherlands, to join together in the Triple Alliance on January 4, 1717, and later in the year, to strengthen the Treaty of Utrecht, Britain, France and Austria contemplated ceding Sicily to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. This arrangement displeased Spain, who wanted to recover the island and in November Philip began hostilities against the Holy Roman Empire by invading the island of Sardinia, given to Austria by the Treaty of Utrecht ending the War of the Spanish Succession. Shortly thereafter, the Spanish advanced, invading Sicily, which had been awarded to the Duke of Savoy.
This led, on August 2, 1718, to the formation of the Quadruple Alliance, with the Emperor now joining the Triple Alliance. The French, Austrians, and British now demanded Spanish withdrawal from Sicily and Sardinia, and a British fleet landed a small Austrian army near Messina, which was besieged by the Austrian forces. On August 11, at the Battle of Cape Passaro, a British fleet, led by Sir George Byng, captured much of a decrepit Spanish fleet, and on 17 December 1718, the French, British, and Austrians declared war on Spain. The Dutch joined them later in August 1719.
It was during this time that the Irish exile, the Duke of Ormonde, organized an expedition with extensive Spanish support to invade England and replace the British king with James Stuart, the "Old Pretender." However, his fleet was disbanded by a storm near Galicia in 1719, and never reached England.
Spain fared poorly in the war. A French army under the Duke of Berwick invaded the Basque provinces of Spain almost without resistance in April 1719, before being forced back by disease. Meanwhile, British fleets captured Vigo and Pontevedra in October, and that same month, Messina surrendered to the Austrians. Displeased with his kingdom's military performance, Philip dismissed Alberoni in December 1719, and made peace with the allies at the Treaty of The Hague on February 17, 1720. Included in the terms of this treaty, the Duke of Savoy was forced to exchange his throne in Sicily for that of the less important Kingdom of Sardinia.

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