Wars of the 18th Century

Consider Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia, do "wars make one great?" What is Frederick remembered for? (OPINION)

• started BOTH War of Austrian Succession (invading Silesia) and Seven Years' War (invading Saxony)

• got Silesia from Austria and KEPT it!

• benefitted from the Partition of Poland

• was a good musician (flute!), lover of art, friend of philosophers, and great tactical genius

• won great victories, but at the cost of manpower so he had to reluctantly employ foreign recruits

• understood the importance of mobility, introduced the horse artillery

• biggest asset was the quality of his soldiers

• after 1763, devoted himself to restoring his war-shattered country and army

Economic Causes of the Great Wars of the 18th Century (Between Britain and France)

• competition with trade
• wanted colonies and rich land (like Silesia)
• mercantilist policies that prioritized exports over imports
• global colonial conquest (especially in the Americas)

Political Causes of the Great Wars of the 18th Century (Between Britain and France)

• statesmen believed war would further national interests
• alliances (Great Britain + Austria, France + Prussia → Great Britain + Prussia, Austria + France)
• important to note that the UK was Anglican and France was Catholic

Examples of the Economic and Political Causes of the Great Wars

• Frederick II invades Silesia (War of Austrian Succession) → economic because Silesia was rich with coal and iron, political because he violated the Pragmatic Sanction
• North American expansion contested France and Great Britain (who had 3 million people in colonies) against each other → economic because both wanted resources, political because Native Americans made an alliance with France

The War of Jenkin's Ear

• Treaty of Utrecht gave Britain asiento and ability to send 1 ship to Portobello (major Caribbean seaport on Panama Coast) a year → British traders + smugglers access to Spanish market
• during the night, British resupplied Portobello ship with more goods but Spanish government had coastal patrols to search English ships for contraband
• 1731: fight occurred during one of the Spanish coastal guard searches and Captain Jenkins lost his ear (he preserved it in brandy)
• 1738: Jenkins showed Parliament his ear as proof of Spanish atrocities to British merchants in West Indies → pressuring Parliament to relieve the Spanish intervention in their trade → 1739: Great Britain went to war with Spain
• beginning of a series of European wars fought until 1815

The War of Austrian Succession (King George's War)

• December 1740: Frederick II seized Austrian province of Silesia, violating the Pragmatic Sanction, upsetting the balance of power established by Treaty of Utrecht
• French court aristocrats compelled Cardinal Fleury (1st Minister of Louis XV) to cancel naval attack on Britain and instead support Prussian aggression against Austria → aid to Prussia consolidated powerful state in Germany that would endanger France + brought Britain into continental war because they wanted Low Countries to remain in friendly hands of Austria NOT France
• 1744: Britain + France conflict expanded beyond continent when France supported Spain in New World → French military and resources badly divided
• France was unable to bring sufficient strength against Britain in colonial struggle → continued old struggle with Austria
• ended in a stalemate in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle: Prussia kept Silesia + Spain renewed asiento with Britain

Diplomatic Revolution

• between wars, specifically the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War
• Convention of Westminister: a defensive alliance between Prussia and Great Britain to prevent foreign troops (Russia, France) in the Germanies
• Great Britain had been an ally of Austria since the wars of Louis XIV, but was now allied with Prussia, Austria's major 18th century enemy
• Prince Kaunitz, Maria Theresa's foreign minister, was delighted with the Convention of Westminister → always wanted to ally with France to dismember Prussia
• France was agreeable with Prussia because Frederick II had not come to them before signing the Convention of Westminister with Britain
• May 1756: France and Austria had a defensive alliance, Kaunitz reversed French foreign policy → France would now fight for Austria

The Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)

• August 1756: Frederick II invades Saxony as preemptive strike against conspiracy by Saxony, Austria, and France to destroy Prussia → that destructive alliance Frederick feared formed: France, Austria, Sweden, Russia, and German states
• Britain (William Pitt) gave Frederick II lots of financial aid
• 1762: Empress Elizabeth of Russia died, successor Tsar Peter III greatly admired Frederick II and quickly made peace
• Treaty of Hubertusburg (1763): ended continental conflict with no significant changes to pre war borders (Prussia kept Silesia + stood as a great power)
• Pitt saw the German conflict as a way to shift France's focus and resources away from colonial struggle → filled Frederick's pockets
• Pitt sent more than 40,000 English + colonial troops to fight French in Canada
• Pitt got cooperation with American colonies' leaders who wanted to be free from French
• France military was corrupt: military and political calls were divided ad they could not adequately provision its North American forces
• September 1759: General Wolfe defeated French Lieutenant de Montcalm, French Empire in Canada was ending
• major islands of French West Indies fell to the British → sugar helped British war effort
• British slave interests captured bulk of French slave trade
• 1755-1760: French colonial trade fell by more than 80%
• in India, British Robert Clive defeated French in 1757 at Battle of Plassey → opened way for conquest of Bengal + all India by BEIC
• Treaty of Paris: Britain got all of Canada, Ohio River Valley, east of Mississippi River Valley, but Britain returned Pondicherry, Chandernagore, and West Indian sugar islands of Guadaloupe + Martinique
• HRE = empty shell, Habsburg power depended on Hungarian domains
• Spanish Empire largely intact, Britain still trying to get into their markets
• Britain = global power

Compare/Contrast the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War

• Frederick II invaded Silesia VS Frederick II invaded Saxony
• primarily a European conflict VS global conflict because of British + French fighting in American colonies, West Indies, and India
• Great Britain + Austria and France + Prussia VS Great Britain + Prussia and Austria + France
• Prussia got Silesia VS Prussia kept Silesia + became a great power, Britain became a global power, France no longer a great colonial power
• created a temporary peace VS laid seeds for the American Revolution
• Prussia kept Silesia + Spain renewed asiento with Britain VS Britain got all Canada, Ohio River Valley, and east of Mississippi River Valley; but gave France Pondicherry, Chandernagore, Guadaloupe + Martinique back

Who were the overall "winners" of the Great Wars? What did they precisely win?

• England got all of Canada, land between Appalachian and Ohio River Valley, east of Mississippi River Valley, asiento renewed fro another 30 years, India where they became the paramount power, and Florida from Spain
• Prussia got iron-rich, coal and mineral filled Silesia
• Spain briefly had Luisiana

How much debt did Britain have after the Seven Years' War?

Britain had a debt of 133 million. Most of it was paid by UK tax payers (for every penny the colonists paid, UK tak payers paid 50!). Britain needed revenue, so they directly taxed the colonists, leading to American Revolution.

What factors allowed the winners of the Great Wars to achieve victories?

• money
• strong alliances: marriage of Marie Antoinette (France + Prussia, but she was hated), Maria Theresa getting 100,000 troops from Hungary
• sheer numbers
• strength of army and navy
• good leaders
• accurate strategy
• William Pitt sends lots of money to Frederick II so France is caught up with more powerful Prussia during the Seven Years' War → taking France's attention, resources, and troops away from North America, where British wanted to expand and claim French land
• England had lots of ships → control of the Mediterranean + leading naval and colonial power

What were the experiences of the "non-winners" of the Great Wars?

• Natives: oppressed, enslaved, mistreated, no land
• Africans: enslaved even more with the growth of colonies
• Indians: culturally discontent, forced conscription, famine, resources drained
• Austria: permanently lost Silesia, power was dependent on Hungary, war debt, lost men
• France: lost Canada, no longer a great colonial power, war debt, lost men

What are key methods by which European kingdoms established a strong and effective state?

• Louis XIV took total power and introduced a system of intendants (royal officials who reported directly to the king and governed provinces, coordinating royal policies)
• Louis XIV controlled the nobility at the Palace of Versailles distracting them with his extensive court rituals and made them dependent on his favor, while he kept an eye on them (nobles focused on eliminating each other, rather than the King; royal women did this too with court women)
• Louis XIV projected himself as the "Sun King" (everything revolved around him), Bishop Bousset's clergy emphasized his near superhuman power
• Louis XIV created a professional, standing army + army was controlled by the Crown (no more nobles' private armies)
• Louis XIV's mercantilism by Colbert: exports OVER imports, state-controlled economy, tariffs on imports
• Louis XIV's Commercial Code: support old industries, create new industries, new production regulation, guilds to boost quality, foreign craftsmen in France
• Louis XIV's Five Great Farms: no tariffs on French goods = free trading zone, tariffs on foreign goods
• Ferdinand II: reduced power of Bohemian states, confiscated Protestant land and gave to Catholic nobles + foreign mercenaries
• Ferdinand III: continued to build state power, established centralized government in German-speaking parts
• Maria Theresa gave nobles new privileges (saw Hungary as very important so gave Magyers local autonomy)