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Causes
Charles II of Spain had no children, thus ending the male line of Spanish Habsburgs. Louis XIV married his elder sister while HRE Leopold I married the younger. However, Charles II named Louis XIV's grandson Phillip V as his heir. This Brings the two sides--French and Grand Alliance (anti-French) to war. The Dutch Initiated the GA because of their incessant fear of a French invasion. The Austrians were seeking to Reunite the Habsburg family as it was in the times of Charles V. -
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Spanish Succession
The fighting was essentially between the French seeking to unite the French and Spanigh crowns and the alliance against the French consisting of the Austrians, Dutch, Swedish, and English along with various lesser German States. This was initiated against the French by the Dutch. -
Effects
Peace of Utrecht--the GA "wins." It kept the Spanish and French crowns separate though both under the house of Bourbon (Louis XIV in France, Phillip V in Spain). Britain gained Gibraltar and two French Colonies. Spain kept its holdings in the new world, Austria gains Spa. Netherlands and holdings in Italy. Dutch recieved a barrier of forts against the French in Belgium. Sets up French and English as main powers in Western Europe. -
Causes
Maria Theresa's father Charles VI made everyone in Europe sign the Pragmatic Sanction which essentially said to leave Austria alone once he died. Frederic the Great of Prussia violated this agreement to invade Silesia. The French, ever expansionists, joined Prussia, bringing with them the Bourbon Spanish. The Dutch once again united "the rest" of Europe against France to prevent their expansion. Basicly, some saw a chance at gain, others a threat. -
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Austian Succession
Upon Maria Theresa's assencion to the Austrian throne, Prussia invaded Silesia. Theresa worked tirelessly to unite the Austrians and Hungarians to defend her empire. The fighting was between the Alliance of Prussia, France, (Bourbon) Spain, and German States and the Alliance of Austria, Great Britain, the Dutch, Hanover, and other German States. Both sides had some intermittent beligerents. The war also included fighting in the Americas as well as some in India. -
Effects
The Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle was mostly a "status quo ante bellum" between the belligerents; the biggest exception was Austria's loss of Silesia to Prussia. This essentially left the problems of Europe as they had been before the War and, much like the Treaty of Versailles, helped to spawn the subsequent war by not solving the problems. -
Causes
Though a general rekindling of the WoAS in Eastern Europe, for the English and French, much was about trying to dominate foreign trade. In India, the trade companies were stepping on each other's toes; eventually, their competitiveness came to bayonnets. In North America, the English were pushing west into the new-founded French Ohio region, specifically Fort Duquesne at what is now Pittsburgh. This was antagonized by the general support of France by the natives who harried the new English. -
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7-Years--'Mericas and India
Basically, the French and British were at it again, but with mostly swapped allies from the Austrian Succession. In India, the countries' trading companies went to war with each other. The French had the early advantage before being mostly pushed out by the British. In North America, the colonies went to war with the French to the North and West. The colonies recaptured Louisburg and even captured fortified Quebec itself, routing the French. -
Effects
The Treaty of Paris made England the Definite Winner. The French were mostly pushed out of India, greatly weakening their commercial position in the east. They were also all but pushed out of North America. All land East of the Mississippi went to England, West to Spain. The English emereged as the most powerful overseas empire, only comparable to that of the weaker Spanish. The Eastern European Conflicts were resolved in the Treaty of Hubertusburg.