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Wars of the 18th Century
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Beginning about 1650, concept of a balance
of power between states gradually took hold
in many European courts.
 Arose in part out of the decline of religious
antagonisms as dominant cause of warfare
 Quest of absolute rulers to add to their dynastic
territories
 Growing global and commercial rivalry between
the Great Powers

As a diplomatic concept dating from time of
Renaissance city-states
 Held that Great Powers should be in equilibrium,
that one should not be allowed to become too
powerful
 Decline of one power could threaten the balance
of power resulting in another power enhancing its
strength
 Threat to peace no longer religious “heresy” but
French expansionism

Dynastic interests determined a state’s
choice of allies.
 For example, in order to expand its influence in
Central Europe, France needed an alliance with
either Austria or Prussia
 But such an alliance would inevitably push the
other German power into opposition, forcing it to
look for allies against France
 Usually this meant England (called Great Britain
after 1707) France’s rival in North America
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Following conclusion of hostilities that
reworked borders, alliances frequently
shifted, as rulers anticipated the next
opportunity to expand their territories
This, then was the nature of Louis XIV’s
France
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Determined that territorial gain and prestige
be the measure of his greatness
Must expand his kingdom’s borders to what
he considered France’s “natural borders.”
 Pyrenees Mountains to the south
 Rhine River to the east
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Some international conditions worked to
Louis’ advantage
 Newly restored English king, Charles II faced
mounting political opposition at home
 Sweden confronted Danish threat to its control at
home
 In Central Europe, Austrian Hapsburgs faced
opposition from other German princes as well as
the Turks

To contain the two Hapsburg powers, Spain
and Austria by initiating a series of wars
 Each conflict followed his violation of a previous
agreement or formal treaty
 Always claimed that French aggression was “just”
 The Treaty of Pyrenees (1659) ended this round of
hostilities with Spain
▪ Established frontier between the two nations that exists
today

1667: Wanted to annex Spain’s Frenchspeaking Franche-Comté to the east and
Spanish Netherlands to the north
 Upon seeing French armies invade the Spanish
Netherlands, England (didn’t want to see Flanders
and its Channel ports fall to France) joined the
Dutch Republic, Sweden and Spain to turn back
Louis’ armies
 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)
▪ France annexed Lille and part of Flanders

1671: Louis invaded Dutch Republic after
securing British neutrality (paying secret $ to
Charles II)
 Dutch fended off French by opening dikes to
create barrier of water
 Several more years of indecisive fighting &
negotiations led to
▪ France absorbing Franche-Comté, but little of Southern
Netherlands
▪ Later got Alsace-Lorraine, Strasbourg and occupied
Luxembourg

1688-1697: started when Louis ordered
invasion of Palatinate to secure the Rhine
 Led to an alliance of England and Dutch Republic
(other German states also joined against France)
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William III of Orange now king of England!
Treaty of Ryswick (1697) confirmed French
gains in Alsace, but warned European powers
would ally again to check France
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Hapsburg King Charles II of Spain: no heir
Louis opposed son of HRE to sit on throne
 It was Louis’ chance to end France’s encirclement
by Hapsburg powers
 Through his wife, (half sister to Charles II) he put
forth his own claim to throne

When Charles II died in 1700 he left will
 Expressing his desire that his empire stay intact
 That Louis XIV’s grandson, Philip of Anjou succeed
him
 But that Philip must renounce all claim to French
throne
▪ On ascending throne Philip V won’t renounce claim to French
throne & Louis won’t rule him out as successor to French
throne
▪ Austrian Hapsburg ruler Leopold I refuses to accept Charles
II’s will
▪ Attacks Italian territories of Spanish Hapsburgs
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Great Britain
Dutch Republic
Austria
Prussia
Portugal

France, Spain, Bavaria
Southern
Netherlands to
Hapsburg
Austria
Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia,
Hudson Bay to
Great Britain
Philip V
recognized as
King of Spain
but renounced
all claim to
French throne
Lombardy &
Naples to
Hapsburg
Austria
Great Britain
clear winner
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Union of England & Scotland during war
Based at Gibraltar & Minorca, British were not a
power in the Mediterranean
Asiento extorted from Spain
Lucrative privilege of providing Spanish America
with African slaves
 Much of wealth of Bristol, Liverpool built on this
 By permitting 1 shipload of British goods to be
brought to Porto Bello in Panama al year also
provided opportunities for illicit trade in non-human
cargo

Spanish empire had been pried open
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By defeating France, assured themselves a
line of Protestant kings, maintenance of
constitutional & parliamentary government
Landed aristocracy and merchant allies free
to govern as they pleased
Rapid increase in wealth leading to the
Industrial Revolution

With Germany still in ‘feudal chaos,’ Italy
divided into minor states or controlled by
foreign kings and Spain subordinated to
France, the treaty of Utrecht left France and
Great Britain as
 The two most vigorous powers of Europe
 The two principal carriers and exporters of the
European civilization that would spread its
institutions and ideas throughout the modern
world
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Started by King of Prussia, Frederick the
“Great”
Violated Pragmatic Sanction signed by the
European powers
 Stipulated that all Austrian Hapsburg domains be
inherited integrally by the new heiress, Maria
Theresa
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Province of Silesia adjoined Prussia
Lay in upper valley of the Oder River
Frederick II gave “reason of state” for his
invasion (welfare and expansion of the state
of which he was ruler)
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Many followed Frederick’s lead & it became a
war of partition
Bavaria
Saxony
Spain still hoping to revise Peace of Utrecht
 Maybe get some of her Spanish holdings in Italy

France
 French nobles saw Austria as traditional enemy,
they wanted Belgium

Reminiscent of 30 Years’ War
 League of German princes banded together
against the monarchy of Vienna, this time with
the new kingdom of Prussia
 Collision of Bourbon and Hapsburgs where French
pursued old policy of maintaining Germany
divided by supporting German princes against
Hapsburgs
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Maria Theresa supported only by Great Britain
and Holland
They gave her $ but couldn’t supply forces
Franco-German-Spanish combination gave her a
run for her money
 1742: she made a separate peace with Frederick and
let him keep Silesia
 French and Bavarians moved into Bohemia
 French dominated Belgium

But situation in America offset the situation
 French were losing fast to the British!

French had to pull out of the war if it didn’t
want to lose their wealth in the Americas
 Atlantic powers recognized Frederick’s
annexation of Silesia
 Belgium returned to Maria Theresa
 Britain and France: status quo ante bellum
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For France
 France couldn’t straddle herself between Europe
and the overseas world without being strong in
one or other
 Maintaining a huge army in Europe left her weak
on the seas
 Since she was weak on the seas, she couldn’t hold
her gains in Europe or conquer Belgium
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For Austria
 Hapsburg empire still stood
 Hungary had thrown its lot in with Vienna
 Bohemia won back
 Maria Theresa got her husband elected HRE
Frances I
 Loss of Silesia was momentous
 Made the Hapsburg empire less German, more
Slavic and Hungarian
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For Prussia
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Silesia as populous as Dutch Republic
Heavily German
Industrially most advanced region east of Elbe River
Prussia WITH Silesia unquestionably a great power
Henceforth TWO great powers in the vague world
known as “Germany”
▪ To be known as German dualism
 Silesia keystone of Germany
▪ Frederick determined to hold it
▪ Maria Theresa equally determined to win it back

Maria Theresa’s foreign minister Count Kaunitz
concluded time ripe to abandon centuries old
ideas
 Rise of Prussia had revolutionized balance of power
▪ Kaunitz proposed an alliance between Austria and France –
between the Hapsburgs and Bourbons!!!
▪ In return for French support in the destruction of Prussia,
France to get Belgium
 Britain then sought Prussian alliance
▪ They had Hanover to protect
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Another war of partition
 Austria, Russia, France set out to partition Prussia
 Russia joined to avert Prussia’s growth in the Baltics
 Later supported by Sweden & German states
▪ Relegate Hollenzollerns to territory in Brandenburg
Brilliant campaigns fought by Frederick
Although he was greatest military genius of his
day, wasn’t enough
 With no ally but Great Britain and Hanover,
Prussia had no chance of survival
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1762: Russia pulled out of the alliance and left
France and Austria alone to fight Frederick
Peace Settlement 1763 signed at Paris 4 days
before Austro-Prussian Peace of
Hubertusburg
By end of war, all French posts in India lay
prostrate
France detached from her overseas world
France kept from Belgium

Treaty of Paris: France ceded all territory east
of Mississippi
 Canada became British & French abandoned
North America
 Colonials of 13 colonies relieved of French
presence
 France gave Spain all holdings west of Mississippi
and at its mouth

Prussia remained in existence as a major power
continuing the German dualism
 Prussia and Austria eyed each other as rivals
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Prussia’s aggression of 1740 legalized
For England, war opened up new commercial
channels
 Most significant British gains were imperial and strategic
 India would be brought into the empire
 Britain had vindicated its command of the sea

French still had few cards to play and were to play
them in the American and French revolutions
Palmer & Colton
2002