King William's War and Queen Anne's War?

Question

In my textbook it seems to combine the two wars into one:

"Indian allies of the French ravaged with torch and tomahawk the British colonial frontiers...Spain, eventually allied with France, probed from its Florida base at outlying South Carolina settlements. For their part the British colonists failed miserably in sallies against Quebec and Montreal but scored a signal victory when they temporarily seized the stronghold of Port Royal in Acadia."

The next paragraph it says

"Peace terms, signed at Utrecht in 1713, revealed how badly France and its Spanish ally had been beaten. Britain was rewarded with French-populated Acadia and the wintry wastes of Newfoundland and Hudson Bay".

I am a bit confused here, because in the first paragraph it looked like the French and Spanish were winning. Was it because the British's "signal victory" (what is a signal victory, or is it a typo for single?) in Port Royal was so important that French troops were immediately forced to surrender?

Please explain why it appears that the French and Spanish have won, and yet through the peace treaty the British have won.

Thank you all in advance.

Answer 1

King William's War also known as (or a subset of) the Nine Year's War or War of the Grand Alliance ended by the Treaty of Ryswick

Queen Anne's War also known as The War of Spanish Succession, ended by the Treaty of Utrecht

Port Royal was captured in both, but the Spanish attacks from Florida and the Treaty of Utrecht were from the later Queen Anne's War (Spain was in opposition to France during King William's War).

A signal victory means one of significance, Port Royal was the capital of Acadia, a division of New France, as such its capture was a drawback to the French.

The War of Spanish Succession was primarily a European war intended to halt the possibility that France and Spain could fall under the rule of one royal family or even one king – a combination that would tip the balance of power against the Holy Roman Empire. It was the solution of this European war which resulted in Spain's and France's losses in North America.

Answer 2

The British (and their allies) won the war, known as the War of Spanish Succession in Europe, even though they didn't win many battles in North America. The war was mostly fought over in Europe.