The Wars of the mid & late 18th Century

Mr. Regan presents …

• Europeans no longer fought devastating wars over religion that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians; instead, professional armies and navies battled for control of overseas empires and for dominance on the European continent.• Rulers continued to expand their armies: the Prussian

army, for example, nearly tripled in size between 1740 and 1789. • Widespread use of flintlock muskets required deployment in

long lines, usually three men deep, with each line in turn loading and firing on command.• Military strategy became cautious and calculating, but this

did not prevent the outbreak of hostilities. • Between 1740 and 1775, the instability of the European

balance of power resulted in two major wars, a diplomatic reversal of alliances, and the partition of Poland-Lithuania among Russia, Austria, and Prussia.

The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713

• In 1713, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI got the European leaders to agree to the Pragmatic Sanction.• This agreement guaranteed that his

daughter, Maria Theresa, would inherit the Austrian throne upon his death.• In 1740, Charles died, and his Maria

Theresa took over, but ….

Prussian Invasion• The new Prussian king, Frederick II “The

Great” (1740 – 1786) had also just taken over Prussia.• He decided to “test” the new Austrian

queen by invading the resource-rich Austrian province of Silesia in 1740.• Other nations like Spain, Saxony, and

Bavaria rushed in to claim territorial prizes from a seemingly weakened Austria.• The war of Austrian Succession (1740 –

1748) begins.

Austria

•Gained the support of the Hungarian nobles.•Allied with Great Britain, which joined with Austria to prevent the breakup of Austria, to keep the French out of Belgium (the Austrian Netherlands), and to maintain the balance of power on the continent.

Prussia• France joins with Prussia. Why?• To continue their longstanding opposition to the Hapsburgs

• This way, the two dominant colonial powers (France and Great Britain) entered into a complex conflict, which would not only be fought now, but would later be continued in the Seven Years War

The War• Britain & France waged war in several theaters around the world in pursuit of

commercial and colonial objectives.• British took the American fortress at Louisburg and several Caribbean islands from France• France took Madras in India and held Belgium (long a concern of the British)

•Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748).Ends the War of Austrian Succession

Maria Theresa & Austria holds on to most of its lands, but Austria forced to concede Silesia to Prussia

Colonial Rivalry between France & Great Britain continues

Belgium retuned to Austria, known as the Austrian Netherlands

Beyond the Treaty…1. France now sat in an unfavorable strategic position,

hamstrung between major continental commitments with its large army and a growing commercial empire in need of naval defense.

2. Austria and Prussia now uneasily coexisted as two relatively even powers in Germany, with Prussia greatly enhanced by its capture of Silesia, which doubled the Prussian population to 6 million people & strengthened its economic base.

The 1756 Diplomatic Revolution• In 1756, the great Austrian diplomat, Count von

Kaunitz, engineered one of the great diplomatic coups of all time.• He convinced France to give up its traditional

opposition to the Hapsburgs and enter into an alliance against the “greater threat” of Prussia, an alliance that Russia and Sweden also joined.• This forced Great Britain onto the side of Prussia to

keep the balance of power.• This helped reignite the worldwide colonial conflict

between France & GB in the Seven Years War (1756 – 1763)

The Seven Years War (1756 – 1763)

• The first truly “world war”• Frederick II’s “darkest and finest” hour• Outnumbers almost 10 to 1, he & his armies fought brilliantly, even

after his capital of Berlin was burned to the ground and all was seemingly lost.• GB provided Prussia primarily financial support to better concentrate

on fighting the French around the globe (North America, the Caribbean, India).• Austrians disorganized & France lack of true support for its new

Austrian alliance ultimately allowed Prussia to keep Silesia.

Great Britain vs. France• France divided its army between the continent and the rest of

the world• Britain wins many battles on land and sea in North America,

the Caribbean, and India.• With its superior naval forces, Britain emerged as victorious.

The Treaty of Paris, 1763• Great Britain gains sole access to North America east of the

Mississippi River and gained a dominant position in India, which becomes the “crown jewel of the Empire.”• France wins back its profitable sugar islands in the Caribbean.• Sets the stage for major events on 3 Continents

1. In North America, British colonists were free of the French threat, while the British were determined to make them pay for the costs of empire, a difference in outlook that directly led to the American Revolution.

2. For Europe, the war confirmed the “dualism” in the German states between Prussia and Austria, and set the stage for the French Revolution by increasing French debt and criticism of the monarchy

3. In India, Britain, not France, oversaw the dissolution of the Mughal Empire and established a strong colonial presence that would change b0th civilizations,

The First Partition of Poland, 1772• Poland was an “outlier” among Europe’s

strong monarchies.• Its elective monarchy, powerful nobility, and

liberum veto never allowed the kingdom to achieve centralized institutions such as an effective tax system, bureaucracy, or standing army.• As a result, the three great eastern European

powers (Prussia, Austria, and Russia) saw it in their own best interests to take advantage of a weakened Poland.• The partitions maintained the balance of

power in eastern Europe.

By 1795, there’s no more Poland…

Quite Darwinina, huh?