European Wars of the 18th Century

War of the Spanish Succession (Fall 1701 - March 1714)
-Death of childless Charles II, last Habsburg ruler of Spain; closest heirs were the Austrian Habsburgs and French Bourbons, but either acquiring the whole Spanish Empire would unbalance power in Europe; Bourbons of France and Spain v. Britain, Dutch Republic, Holy Roman Empire, Habsburgs of Spain
-Treaty of Utrecht (1713): Philip of the House of Bourbon in France takes the throne of Spain under condition that no combination of the French and Spanish thrones be possible; Spain loses Netherlands, Naples, Milan, and Sardinia to Austria, Sicily to Savoy, and Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain; France acknowledges Protestant rule in Britain and agrees to end support for Jacobites (supporters of the exiled House of Stuart); Britain gains further status as the major maritime and commercial power in Europe; Dutch Republic loses status as a first-rate power; Spain cemented as a centralized state; Holy Roman Empire further splintered into powerful German states

War of Austrian Succession (1740 - 1748)
-Archduchess Maria Theresa’s succession to her father’s throne of the Habsburg Monarchy (Holy Roman Empire and Austria); Salic law (West Frankish, laid down by Clovis in 500 CE) forbade female inheritance of a throne
-France, Spain, Prussia v. Austria, Britain, Dutch Republic
-Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748): Maria Theresa succeeds the throne; Austria gives Silesia (part of modern-day Poland) to Prussia, humiliating Austrian dominion over the German states in the Holy Roman Empire and doubling Prussia’s size, economy, and population; Frederick II deemed “the Great”; begins the Austria-Prussia rivalry for leadership of the German peoples, culminating in a push for German unification; France humiliated Austria, but helped in strengthening Prussia to France’s later detriment; shifting alliances result in the Seven Years’ War

Seven Years’ War (1756 - 1763)
-Austria seeks to regain Silesia from Prussia; Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 changes longstanding unions in European politics; Britain and Prussia v. Austria, France, Russia; significantly, Austria v. Prussia and Britain v. France; Britain, Prussia, Portugal, smaller German states v. France, Austria, Russia, Spain, Sweden; fought on 5 continents and sometimes considered World War 0
-Treaty of Paris (1763): Britain rises as a global power in place of France; France loses Canada to Britain and the Louisiana Territory to Spain; Spain loses Florida to Britain (the future US is a result of the outcome of this war); France loses power in India, opening the door for future British hegemony; Britain’s control of the seas grows uncontested; Britain loses all allies as Prussia turns to Russia, so it received no help during the American Revolution; France reforms its military, creating a powerful artillery and army that served well during the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars; Austria does not regain Silesia, but performs well militarily and regains prestige as a major European power; Frederick the Great further elevated as a military genius and Prussia as a major power, with success in battle overshadowing economic support from Britain in the public eye; Prussia devastated nonetheless, requiring agrarian reform and encouraged immigration to recover; Prussia performs poorly in battle for the next 40 years, before military reforms re-establish it as a power throughout the 19th century; in 1763, however, countries send officers to Prussia to learn their military secrets; Russia realizes its logistical weaknesses and initiates reform that allows future military successes; Britain enacted laws protecting native lands following native alliance with France during the French and Indian War, but these laws enraged the Colonies; the Quebec Act of 1774 protected French Catholicism and language, and Quebec did not rebel during the American Revolution