"and provided for considerable local autonomy among ecclesiastical, secular, and hereditary states, reflected in Imperial Diet. The House of Habsburg held the imperial crown from 1438 until the death of Charles VI in 1740. Having no male heirs, he had convinced the Electors to retain Habsburg hegemony in the office of the emperor by agreeing to the Pragmatic Sanction. This was finally settled through the War of Austrian Succession; in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Charles VI's daughter Maria Theresa ruled the Empire as Empress Consort when her husband, Francis I, became Holy Roman Emperor. From 1740, the dualism between the"
"which confirmed Prussian control of Silesia. The conflict can be viewed as a continuation of the First Silesian War, which had ended only two years earlier. Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI died in 1740 without a male heir; he was succeeded by his eldest daughter, who became ruler of the Archduchy of Austria, as well as of the Bohemian and Hungarian lands within the Habsburg Monarchy, as Archduchess Maria Theresa. During Emperor Charles’s lifetime, this female succession was generally acknowledged by the imperial states, but when he died it was promptly contested by several parties. The newly crowned King"
"royal inheritance by a woman. This was to be the key justification for France and Prussia, joined by Bavaria, to challenge Habsburg power. Maria Theresa was supported by Britain, the Dutch Republic, Sardinia and Saxony. Spain, which had been at war with Britain over colonies and trade since 1739, entered the war on the Continent to re-establish its influence in northern Italy, further reversing Austrian dominance over the Italian peninsula that had been achieved at Spain's expense as a consequence of Spain's war of succession earlier in the 18th century. The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748,"
"his daughter Maria Theresa by the ""Pragmatic sanction"" of 1713."" After his death in 1740 the Prussian king Frederick the Great attacked Austria and invaded Silesia in the First Silesian War (1740 – 1742). Austria lost and in the Treaty of Berlin (1742) Prussia acquired nearly all of Silesia. Prussia's victory weakened Austria's prestige and Maria Theresa, and gave Prussia an effective equality with Austria within the Holy Roman Empire"" for the next century. From 1792 onwards, revolutionary France was at war with various parts of the Empire intermittently. The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that"
"the rivalry with Austria. Austria's resolve to repossess the rich province of Silesia, which had been lost to Prussia in 1748, was the major conflict leading to the Seven Years' War. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, acquired the support of Russia, Sweden, Saxony, Spain, and France, with the specific aim of waging war against Prussia and its ally, Great Britain. It was King Frederick the Great of Prussia, however, who initiated the hostilities with his attack and capture of Saxony in 1756. The Seven Years' War started in 1756, with Prussia facing the allied"
"and a majority of the German states and declared war against Spain in 1702. The War of the Spanish Succession lasted 11 years, and ended when the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1714. Less than 50 years later, in 1740, war broke out again, sparked by the invasion of Silesia, part of Austria, by King Frederick II of Prussia. Britain, the Netherlands and Hungary supported Maria Theresa. Over the next eight years, these and other states participated in the War of the Austrian Succession, until a treaty was signed, allowing Prussia to keep Silesia. The Seven Years' War began"
"recently concluded War of the Austrian Succession (1741–1748). The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle concluded the earlier war with Austria. Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, acquired the prosperous province of Silesia. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the treaty to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances; she intended to regain ascendancy in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1754, escalating tensions between Britain and France in North America offered the Empress the opportunity to regain her lost territories and to limit Prussia's ever growing power. Similarly, France sought to break the British"
"1740. He laid claim to the duchy of Silesia after the death of Emperor Charles VI and declared war on Charles' daughter and heir, Maria Theresa of Austria, thereby starting the Silesian Wars. Frederick II was followed by his nephew, Frederick William II, on 17 August 1786. Frederick William II inherited the Franconian cadet branches (Ansbach and Bayreuth) of the House of Hohenzollern in 1791. For reasons of economy, however, the official seals were unchanged. Frederick William III took the throne on 16 November 1797 and changed the arms on 3 July 1804. The reorganisation of Germany by Napoleon I"
"thereby beginning the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48). In 1744, Frederick invaded again to forestall reprisals and to claim, this time, the province of Bohemia. He failed, but French pressure on Austria's ally Great Britain led to a series of treaties and compromises, culminating in the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that restored peace and left Prussia in possession of most of Silesia. When Frederick preemptively invaded Saxony and Bohemia over the course of a few months in 1756–57, he initiated the Seven Years' War. This war was a desperate struggle for the Prussian Army, and the fact that it"
"global conflict, it took a specific intensity in the European theater based on the recently concluded War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle gave Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, the prosperous province of Silesia. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the treaty to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances; she was intent upon regaining ascendancy in the Holy Roman Empire as well as recovering the Silesian province. In 1754, escalating tensions between Britain and France in North America offered France an opportunity to break the British"
"it took a specific intensity in the European theater based on the recently concluded War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle concluded the earlier war in which Prussia and Austria were a part; its influence among the European powers was little better than a truce. Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, acquired the prosperous province of Silesia, but had wanted much of the Saxon territories as well. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the treaty to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances; she was intent upon regaining"
"erupted on the continent as Frederick, fearing encirclement, launched a pre-emptive invasion of Saxony and the defensive treaty became offensive. The ensuing Third Silesian War (1754–1763, part of the larger Seven Years' War) was indecisive, and its end saw Prussia holding onto Silesia, despite Russia, France, and Austria all combining against him, and with only Hanover as a significant ally on land. The end of the war saw Austria, poorly prepared at its start, exhausted. Austria continued the alliance with France (cemented in 1770 with the marriage of Maria Theresa's daughter Archduchess Maria Antonia to the Dauphin), but also facing"
"goal was to convince rival kings that it was better to negotiate and make peace than to fight him. In the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48) Empress Maria Theresa of Austria fought successfully for recognition of her succession to the throne. However, during the subsequent Silesian Wars and the Seven Years' War, King Frederick the Great (Frederick II) occupied Silesia and forced Austria to formally cede control in the Treaty of Hubertusburg of 1763. Prussia had survived the combined force of its neighbours, each larger than itself, and gained enormously in influence at the cost of the Holy Roman Empire."
"of Austrian princess Marie Antoinette to the French Dauphin, who later became King Louis XVI. The war is often said to be a continuation of the War of the Austrian Succession, which was fought in 1740. France and Austria, along with Russia, fought against Great Britain and Prussia. The French Revolution was opposed by the Habsburgs in Austria, who sought to destroy the Revolutionary Republic with assistance from several coalitions of monarchical nations, including Great Britain and several states within the Holy Roman Empire. According to Chris McNab: ""The problems faced by the Austrian Emperor were in large part due"
"mid-1742, the War of the Austrian Succession had broken out in Europe. Principally fought by Prussia and Austria over possession of Silesia, the war soon engulfed most of the major powers of Europe, who joined two competing alliances. The scale of this new war dwarfed any of the fighting in the Americas, and drew Britain and Spain's attention back to operations on the European continent. The return of Vernon's fleet in 1742 marked the end of major offensive operations in the War of Jenkins' Ear. France entered the war in 1744, emphasizing the European theatre and planning an ambitious invasion"
"the Seven Years' War. Prussia in 1740 was an emerging power, a small but well-organized state whose new king, Frederick II, wanted to unify the disparate and scattered holdings of his crown by gathering intervening lands into a unified, contiguous state. Prince Frederick was 28 years old when he ascended to the throne on 31 May 1740 upon the death of his father, Frederick William I. Although Prussia and Austria had been allies in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738), concluded only two years before, the interests of the two countries diverged when the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI,"
"the Austrian Succession (1741–1748). The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which concluded the earlier war, confirmed Prussian King Frederick II's seizure of the region of Silesia from the Habsburg Monarchy through two previous Silesian Wars. The defeated Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria nevertheless fully intended to retake the lost province and reassert Austria's hegemony in the Holy Roman Empire; after peace was restored, she set about rebuilding her armed forces and seeking out new alliances. Together with Tsaritsa Elizabeth of Russia, Maria Theresa formed a defensive agreement known as the Treaty of Two Empresses in 1746 which aligned Austria and Russia against"
"the legitimacy of the accession of Maria Theresa to the Austrian throne, began in 1740, but at first did not involve either Britain or Spain militarily. Britain was drawn diplomatically into that conflict in 1742 as an ally of Austria and an opponent of France and Prussia, but open hostilities between them did not take place until 1743 at Dettingen, and war was only formally declared between Britain and France in March 1744. Massachusetts did not declare war until June 2. News of war declarations reached the French fortress at Louisbourg first, on May 3, 1744, and the forces there"
"and Austria declared war on France and Spain in 1702 to replace the Bourbon Philip with a Habsburg candidate, the Archduke Charles. When Charles' elder brother, Emperor Joseph I, died in 1711, Charles succeeded him as Charles VI, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. This War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1713–14 with the series of agreements known as the Peace of Utrecht. This treaty divided the Spanish inheritance between Austria and Spain to create a balance of power in Europe, but both Austria and Spain objected to some of the terms. As a result, Spain attempted to seize"
"European powers. The remaining question was whether it was realistic in the complicated power games of European dynasties. Charles III died on 20 October 1740, and was succeeded by his daughter Maria Theresa. However she did not become Empress immediately, that title passing to Charles VII (1742–1745) the only moment in which the imperial crown passed outside of the Habsburg line from 1440 to 1806, Charles VII being one of many who repudiated the 1713 Pragmatic Sanction. As many had anticipated all those assurances from the other powers proved of little worth to Maria Theresa. On 16 December 1740 Prussian"
"and in the south the remaining Bohemian crown lands of Austrian Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia proper. The incorporated Upper Lusatian strip of land in the west touched the remaining territory of the Saxon kingdom. The coronation of Maria Theresa as queen regnant of the Kingdom of Bohemia immediately triggered an invasion of the region of Silesia by King Frederick the Great of Prussia, thereby starting the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). By the end of the First Silesian War in 1742, the Prussian forces had conquered almost all of the Habsburg crown land in Silesia, while according to the"
"First Silesian War The First Silesian War was a theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession. The name is used to describe Prussia's war against Austria between 1740 and 1742, fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia (the lands of the Bohemian Crown). It became the first in a series of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria. The war began in late 1740, when King Frederick invaded Habsburg Silesia, citing centuries-old dynastic claims to parts of the province. It ended in a Prussian victory with the 1742 Treaty of Berlin, which recognized"
"1745 Imperial election The imperial election of 1745 was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It took place in Frankfurt on September 13. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor died on October 20, 1740. His daughter Maria Theresa inherited his royal titles in Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, Mantua, Milan, Galicia and Lodomeria, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma according to the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Although Prussia had accepted the Pragmatic Sanction, it now repudiated Maria Theresa's inheritance as a violation of Salic law. Its king Frederick the Great invaded Silesia"
"Frederick II of Prussia took this Austrian succession crisis as an opportunity to press his dynasty's territorial claims in the Habsburg crown land of Silesia, invading in December 1740 and beginning the First Silesian War. After early Prussian successes, other powers were emboldened to attack the beleaguered Habsburg realm, widening the conflict into what became the War of the Austrian Succession. France, Spain, Bavaria, and others formed an alliance known as the League of Nymphenburg to support each other's efforts to seize Habsburg territory and Bavaria's bid for the imperial election. The allies invaded on multiple fronts in the summer"
"Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars () were a series of three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Austria (under Empress Maria Theresa) for control of Silesia, all three of which ended in Prussian victory. The First (1740–42) and Second (1744–45) Silesian Wars formed a part of the larger War of the Austrian Succession, while the Third Silesian War (1756–63) was one theater of the Seven Years' War. Besides its value as a source of tax revenue, industrial output and military recruits, Silesia was strategically important to Prussia because its seizure ""significantly blunted"
"Battle of Mohács. With the female succession of the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa to the throne in 1740, the Prussian king Frederick the Great laid claim to the Silesian province and, without waiting for any reply, on 16 December started the First Silesian War, thereby opening the larger War of the Austrian Succession. His campaign was concluded in 1742 with the Prussian victory at the Battle of Chotusitz leading to the treaties of Breslau and Berlin, in which Silesia was divided. Under the terms of the treaty, the Kingdom of Prussia received most of the territory including the Bohemian County"
"Austrian Succession, but most colonists called it King George's War. In 1745, British and colonial forces captured the town of Louisbourg, and the war came to an end with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. However, many colonists were angered when Britain returned Louisbourg to France in return for Madras and other territories. In the aftermath of the war, both the British and French sought to expand into the Ohio River valley. The French and Indian War (1754–63) was the American extension of the general European conflict known as the Seven Years' War. Previous colonial wars in North America had started"
"Second Silesian War The Second Silesian War was a theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession. The name is used to describe Prussia's war against Austria between 1744 and 1745, fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia, and Upper Saxony. It was the second in a series of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria. The war began in mid 1744, when King Frederick invaded Bohemia to counter the threat to Prussia's newly acquired province of Silesia posed by a resurgent Habsburg Monarchy. It ended in a Prussian victory with the 1745 Treaty of Dresden,"
"Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Russia, were all wary of getting involved in the conflict; ultimately, only Britain provided significant support. Thus began the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), one of the more confusing and less eventful wars of European history, which ultimately saw Austria holding its own, despite the permanent loss of most of Silesia to the Prussians. That represented the loss of one of its richest and most industrialised provinces. For Austria the War of Succession was more a series of wars, the first concluding in 1742 with the Treaty of Breslau, the second (1744–1745) with the"
"the Ottomans except Banat of Temeswar and Syrmia in the Austro-Russian–Turkish War despite being allied with Russia. These Silesian Wars initiated a long-standing tension between Austria and Prussia. Maria Theresa effectively reigned as Empress through her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine (d. 1765) and they founded the new dynasty of Habsburg-Lorraine. During her reign extensive reforms were initiated, and when Francis died in 1765, these were continued by her son, Joseph II (Emperor 1765–1790; Archduke 1780–1790). However his successor, his brother, Leopold II (1790–1792), was much more conservative. The next emperor, his son Francis II (1792–1835), found himself at war"
"on 11 June 1742, which drew the First Silesian War to a close. However, the larger War of the Austrian Succession continued. The year 1743 opened disastrously for the forces of the new Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VII. The French and Bavarian armies were not working well together, and Field Marshal Broglie had been placed in command of the allied army in Bavaria. This created tension between Broglie and the Bavarian commanders. Broglie openly quarrelled with the Bavarian field marshal Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff. No connected resistance was offered to the converging march of Prince Charles's army along the Danube,"
"There was the War of Devolution (1667–1668), the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), the War of the Reunions (1683–1684), and the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). These were then followed by the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). When Charles II of Spain died in 1700, two dynasties of foreign relatives contested for the throne, the House of Bourbon, who ruled France, and the Habsburgs, who were emperors of the Holy Roman Empire as well as holding various territories in central Europe. The Austrian Habsburgs were supported by an alliance led by Britain, the Dutch Republic, and several other northern European Protestant states,"
"Treaty of Dresden. The overall war however continued until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). In 1745, following the reign of the Bavarian Elector as Emperor Charles VII, Maria Theresa's husband Francis of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was elected Emperor, restoring control of that position to the Habsburgs (or, rather, to the new composite house of Habsburg-Lorraine), Francis holding the titular crown until his death in 1765, but his empress consort Maria Theresa carrying out the executive functions. The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 applied to the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs and Archduchy of Austria but not the position of"