Election of Pope Clement XI

Date: November 23, 1700 • Location: Madrid, Spain

A papal conclave, which had been deadlocked due to concerns over how a successor would respond to the impending death of Charles II of Spain, ended with the election of Clement XI.

The 1700 papal conclave was convened following the death of Pope Innocent XII. It ended in the election of Cardinal Giovanni Albani as Pope Clement XI. The conclave saw a rise in the dominance of a zelanti faction in the College of Cardinals. It remained deadlocked for a month until the death of the childless Charles II of Spain. The cardinal electors anticipated that his death without a clear heir would cause a political crisis, and moved to elect a pope who would be seen as non-partisan.