War of the Spanish Succession: An Anglo-Dutch fleet engaged a French naval force at the Battle of Málaga in the Mediterranean Sea.

The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict, fought between 1701 to 1714. The death of Charles II of Spain in November 1700 without children resulted in a struggle for the Spanish Empire between rival claimants. Charles named his heir as Philip of Anjou, who was backed by his grandfather Louis XIV of France. His opponent, Archduke Charles of Austria, was supported by the Grand Alliance. Significant related conflicts include the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and Queen Anne's War (1702–1713).

The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from the High Middle Ages to 1848 during its dissolution. It was also an early colonial power, with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America geographically centred on the Great Lakes.

The battle of Málaga, also known as the battle of Vélez-Málaga, was a major fleet action which took place during the War of the Spanish Succession between an Anglo-Dutch fleet and a Franco-Spanish naval force on 24 August 1704. Both sides fought an intense engagement before the Anglo-Dutch fleet withdrew the next day. The French subsequently returned to Toulon, transforming the battle from a tactical stalemate into a strategic defeat, as they would not put out to sea again for the duration of the conflict. Occurring soon after the Anglo-Dutch capture of Gibraltar a few weeks prior, the battle served as one of the numerous engagements which took place for control over the settlement during the war.

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about 2,500,000 km² (970,000 sq mi), representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only 14 km (9 mi) wide.