The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King George's War in North America, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the First Carnatic War, and the First and Second Silesian Wars.
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Grand Duke of Tuscany. He became the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria, and Tuscany through his marriage to Maria Theresa, daughter of Emperor Charles VI. Francis was the last non-Habsburg monarch of the Empire. The couple were the founders of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, and their marriage produced sixteen children.
Charles VI was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain following the death of his relative, Charles II. In 1708, he married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, by whom he had his four children: Leopold Johann, Maria Theresa, Maria Anna, and Maria Amalia.
The Silesian Wars were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia and Habsburg Austria for control of the Central European region of Silesia. The First (1740–1742) and Second (1744–1745) Silesian Wars formed parts of the wider War of the Austrian Succession, in which Prussia was a member of a coalition seeking territorial gain at Austria's expense. The Third Silesian War (1756–1763) was a theatre of the global Seven Years' War, in which Austria in turn led a coalition of powers aiming to seize Prussian territory.
The Congress of Aachen was assembled on 24 April 1748 in the Imperial Free City of Aachen, in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession. Between 30 April and 21 May the preliminaries were agreed to between Great Britain, France, the Dutch Republic, and Maria Theresa, queen of Bohemia and Hungary. The king of Sardinia, Ferdinand VI of Spain, the duke of Modena, and the Republic of Genoa successively gave their adhesion. The definitive treaty was signed on the 18th of October, Sardinia alone refusing to accede, because the Treaty of Worms was not guaranteed.
The War of the Quadruple Alliance was fought from 1718 to 1720 by Spain, and the Quadruple Alliance, a coalition between Britain, France, Austria, and the Dutch Republic. Caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht, most of the fighting took place in Sicily and Spain, with minor engagements in North America and Northern Europe. Spain also supported the Jacobite rising of 1719 in Scotland in an effort to divert British naval resources.
The Treaty of Seville was signed on 9 November 1729 between Britain, France, and Spain, formally ending the 1727–1729 Anglo-Spanish War; the Dutch Republic joined the Treaty on 29 November.
The Second Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia, and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. It was the second of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, sometimes called the Treaty of Aachen, ended the War of the Austrian Succession, following a congress assembled on 24 April 1748 at the Free Imperial City of Aachen.
The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859, was fought by the Second French Empire and the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859 and played a crucial part in the process of Italian Unification.
Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este was a son of Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and Maria Theresa of Austria. He was the founder of the House of Austria-Este and Governor of the Duchy of Milan between 1765 and 1796. He was also designated as the heir to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, but he never reigned, owing to the Napoleonic Wars.
Ferdinand I was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla from his father's death on 18 July 1765 until he ceded the duchy to France by the Treaty of Aranjuez on 20 March 1801. He was a member of the Spanish House of Bourbon.
The Peace of Vienna, also known as the First Treaty of Vienna, was a series of four treaties signed between 30 April 1725 and 5 November 1725 by the Habsburg Monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire and Bourbon Spain. Later in 1726, the Russian Empire joined the newly formed alliance. The signing of this treaty marked the establishment of the Austro-Spanish Alliance and triggered the Fourth Anglo-Spanish War (1727-1729). The new alliance led to Austria's withdrawal from the Quadruple Alliance. As part of the new partnership, the Habsburgs renounced all formal claims to the Spanish throne, while the Spanish relinquished their claims to the southern Netherlands and several other territories.
The 1720 Treaty of The Hague was signed on 17 February 1720 between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance, established by the 1718 Treaty of London. Its members included Britain, France, the Dutch Republic and Austria.
The Treaty of Aranjuez (1752) was signed on 14 June, 1752, between Austria, Spain and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Maria Beatrice d'Este was the last descendant of the House of Este, of the House of Cybo-Malaspina and, through her maternal grandmother Ricciarda, also of the House of Gonzaga of Novellara and Bagnolo. Ducal princess of Modena and Reggio, she became the sovereign duchess of Massa and Carrara from 1790 until 1796 and from 1815 until her death in 1829. Through her marriage, she was co-founder of the new House of Austria-Este.
The Treaty of Turin concluded between France and Piedmont-Sardinia on 24 March 1860 is the instrument by which the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice were annexed to France, ending the centuries-old Italian domination of the region.
The descendants of Philip V of Spain, Bourbon monarch of the Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of Naples, and Kingdom of Sicily are numerous. He had two wives; by his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy he had two children. After the death of his first wife, Philip married Elisabeth of Parma and they had children. Philip's descendants have formed a major part of history around the globe; several becoming monarchs of Spain, Portugal and Sardinia.
The Plombières Agreement of 21 July 1858 was a secret verbal agreement which took place at Plombières-les-Bains between the chief minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, Count Cavour, and the French Emperor, Napoleon III. Some older English sources refer to it as the Treaty of Plombières. In modern times, it is merely referred to as an "agreement", since nothing was signed.
