War of the Austrian Succession

Examples of War of the Austrian Succession in the following topics:

• The Diplomatic Revolution

  • The diplomatic revolution of 1756 was the reversal of longstanding alliances in Europe between the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, when Austria went from an ally of Britain to an ally of France, and Prussia became an ally of Britain.
  • In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), Frederick the Great of Prussia seized the prosperous province of Silesia from Austria.
  • The War of the Austrian Succession had seen the belligerents aligned on a time-honored basis.
  • The 1748 Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, after the War of the Austrian Succession, left Austria aware of the high price it paid for having Britain as an ally.
  • Although the War of Austrian Succession concluded with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), nearly all major powers involved were not satisfied with its outcome.

• Territorial Losses

  • Louis XV's controversial decision following the War of the Austrian Succession and his loss in the Seven Years' War weakened the international position of France that lost most of its colonial holdings.
  • In 1740, the death of Emperor Charles VI and his succession by his daughter Maria Theresa started the War of the Austrian Succession.
  • A few months later, Great Britain and Prussia, enemies in the War of the Austrian Succession, signed a 1756 treaty of "neutrality."
  • Frederick the Great had abandoned his French ally during the War of Austrian Succession by signing a separate peace treaty with Austria in 1745.
  • The French military successes of the War of the Austrian Succession were not repeated in the Seven Years' War, except for a few temporary victories.

• The War of Austrian Succession

  • Frederick the Great's 1740 invasion of resource-rich and strategically located Silesia, which marked the onset of the War of Austrian Succession, aimed to unify the disconnected lands under Frederick's rule.
  • Accordingly, the War of Austrian Succession began on December 16, 1740, when Frederick invaded and quickly occupied the province.
  • The War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) escalated and eventually involved most of the powers of Europe.
  • Her accession in 1740 still resulted in the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession.
  • Evaluate Frederick the Great's actual goals against his stated rationale for the War of Austrian Succession

• Empires in Conflict

  • The British and the Dutch vied over the colony of New Netherland, the British and the Spanish fought the War of Jenkins' Ear, and the British and the French fought in a series of wars that concluded in 1763 with the French and Indian War.
  • The war was largely subsumed by the War of the Austrian Succession in 1742.
  • Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second war for control of the continent, and was the counterpart of the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe.
  • King George's War (1744–48) was the North American phase of the War of the Austrian Succession .
  • The Battle of Fontenoy was an engagement in the larger War of the Austrian Succession, which involved most of the powers of Europe.

• The Pragmatic Sanction

  • The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was an edict issued by Charles VI to ensure that the Habsburg hereditary possessions could be inherited by a daughter, but it was contested after Charles' death in 1740, which resulted in the War of Austrian Succession.
  • The Head of the House of Habsburg ruled the Archduchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Croatia, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Italian territories awarded to Austria by the Treaty of Utrecht (Duchy of Milan, Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily), and the Austrian Netherlands.
  • The War of the Spanish Succession ensued, with Louis XIV of France claiming the crowns of Spain for his grandson Philip and Leopold I (Holy Roman Emperor) claiming them for his son Charles.
  • The refusal to accept the Sanction of 1713 resulted in the War of the Austrian Succession, in which Austria lost resource-rich and strategically located Silesia to Prussia as well as the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla.
  • Despite the promulgation of the Pragmatic Sanction, however, her accession in 1740 resulted in the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession.

• European Wars in the Colonies

  • The British and the Dutch vied over the colony of New Netherland, the British and the Spanish fought the War of Jenkins' Ear, and the British and the French fought in a series of wars that concluded in 1763 with the French and Indian War.
  • The war was largely subsumed by the War of the Austrian Succession in 1742.
  • His failure showed a growing recognition of the need to replicate European combat techniques and war policy in order to achieve military success.
  • Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second war for control of the continent and was the counterpart of the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe.
  • King George's War, 1744–1748, was the North American phase of the concurrent War of the Austrian Succession.

• Events of the War

  • Because of Prussia's alliance with Britain, Austria formed an alliance with France, seeing an opportunity to recapture Silesia (lost in the War of the Austrian Succession).
  • Despite the huge disparity in numbers, 1756 had been successful for the Prussian-led forces on the continent.
  • The years 1759 and 1760 saw several Prussian defeats, partly because of the Prussian misjudgment of the Russians and partly as a result of good cooperation between the Russian and Austrian forces.
  • This success convinced the British to launch two further expeditions to take the island of Gorée and the French trading post on the Gambia.
  • Frederick the Great routed a vastly superior Austrian force at the Battle of Leuthen on December 5, 1757.

• Early Wars with Austria and Britain

  • France declared war on the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in April 1792 and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.
  • He was successful in a daring invasion of Italy.
  • Bonaparte defeated successive Austrian armies sent against him while continuing the siege.
  • The Austrians negotiated the Treaty of Lunéville, basically accepting the terms of the previous Treaty of Campo Formio.
  • Despite Napoleon's initial successes, including the temporary capture of the port city Valletta in Malta, the defeats of French Navy in the Mediterranean encouraged a number of states to join the Second Coalition and go to war with France.

• The Question of Spanish Succession

  • The question of Spanish succession at the turn of the 18th century was linked directly to the question of balance on powers in Europe and led to a major European war that ended the European hegemony of France.
  • While William died in March 1702, the Austrians, the Dutch and English allies formally declared war in May 1702.
  • The War of the Spanish Succession brought to an end a long period of major conflict in Western Europe.
  • Europe before the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, (c. 1700), source: Wikipedia.
  • Europe after the War of the Spanish Succession (1714), source: Wikipedia.

• Marriage to Marie-Antoinette

  • Following the Seven Years' War and the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, Empress Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her longtime enemy, King Louis XV of France.
  • Her first official appearance in Paris in 1773 was a resounding success.
  • Marie Antoinette's first child, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte, was born in 1778 but in the middle of the queen's pregnancy, her brother made claims on the throne of Bavaria (the War of the Bavarian Succession).
  • The queen played a very important role in supporting the American Revolution by securing Austrian and Russian support for France, which resulted in the establishment of a neutral league that stopped Great Britain's attack, and by weighing in decisively for the nomination of Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur, as Minister of War and Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix, marquis de Castries, Secretary of the Navy in 1780.
  • By the time of the Flour War of 1775, a series of riots against the high price of flour and bread, her reputation among the general public was damaged.