Volta
ConflictDecember 1740 – October 1748

War of the Austrian Succession

Also called: Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Silesian Wars

When Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg lands in 1740, Prussia invaded Silesia and France, Bavaria and others joined in; the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) confirmed her inheritance, but Silesia went to Prussia.

Maria Theresa — portrait from the workshop of Martin van Meytens
Maria Theresa — portrait from the workshop of Martin van Meytens

Workshop of Martin van Meytens · Public domain · Source

Emperor Charles VI, who had no son, sought through the Pragmatic Sanction to leave his lands to his daughter Maria Theresa, but when he died in October 1740 several states broke their word. That December Frederick II of Prussia invaded industrially rich Silesia and won at Mollwitz (1741); France, Bavaria and Spain sided with Prussia and Britain with Austria.

The 23-year-old Maria Theresa held on with the support of the Hungarian nobility, and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) secured her inheritance and the imperial title for her husband Francis I, though she lost Silesia. She then strengthened her realm through centralisation, military and tax reform and compulsory schooling. At the same time in Joseon, King Yeongjo set up the Tangpyeong Stele (1742) in front of the National Academy.

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States at the time
Habsburg Monarchy · belligerent
Kingdom of Prussia · belligerent
France · belligerent
Great Britain · belligerent
Places
Vienna

People

  • Maria Theresa1717 – 1780

    monarch · Habsburg heiress who ruled Austria, Hungary and Bohemia (1740–1780), fighting the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years’ War while reforming her realm

  • Frederick the Great1712 – 1786

    commander · King of Prussia (r. 1740–1786) who seized Silesia and made Prussia a great power — an enlightened despot who called the ruler “the first servant of the state”

Before and after

Earlier
1740 Rise of Prussia and Frederick the Great
Later
1756 Seven Years’ War

Themes that include this event

  • Reformation and Absolutism1517 – 1796

    From Luther’s Ninety-five Theses to Catherine the Great — the wars of religion of a divided Christendom ended at Westphalia, and absolute monarchs armed with divine right, standing armies, bureaucracies and mercantilism, followed by the enlightened despots of eastern Europe, contended for the balance of power among sovereign states