The War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) reshaped the political balance of Europe after the death of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (reign 1711–1740) and the contested accession of Maria Theresa (reign 1740–1780) to the Habsburg lands. Although the Pragmatic Sanction (1713) had been intended to secure her inheritance, rival powers challenged Habsburg claims, turning a dynastic dispute into a continental war involving Austria, Prussia, France, Britain, Spain, Sardinia, and others. The conflict revealed the fragility of the European balance-of-power system: dynastic legitimacy mattered, but so did strategic opportunity. Above all, Prussia under Frederick II (“the Great,” reign 1740–1786) emerged as a major power through its seizure of most of Silesia, while the Habsburg monarchy, though battered, survived as a central force in European politics.
The settlement reached in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) ended the war without resolving all of its underlying tensions. Maria Theresa retained the core Habsburg inheritance, but Austria confirmed the loss of most of Silesia to Prussia, a change that transformed the political geography of Central Europe and intensified Austro-Prussian rivalry. In the Low Countries and Italy, territories were restored or adjusted in ways meant to preserve equilibrium rather than produce decisive victory for any one side. The war therefore stands as a classic 18th-century struggle in which dynastic claims, military campaigns, and diplomatic settlements combined to preserve the state system while simultaneously destabilizing it. Far from creating lasting peace, the 1748 settlement set the stage for renewed confrontation in the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) and for a new era of great-power competition.
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APA Style
Netchev, S. (2026, April 13). Map of Europe after the War of the Austrian Succession, 1748: Dynastic Rivalry and Balance of Power. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21734/map-of-europe-after-the-war-of-the-austrian-succes/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of Europe after the War of the Austrian Succession, 1748: Dynastic Rivalry and Balance of Power." World History Encyclopedia, April 13, 2026. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21734/map-of-europe-after-the-war-of-the-austrian-succes/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of Europe after the War of the Austrian Succession, 1748: Dynastic Rivalry and Balance of Power." World History Encyclopedia, 13 Apr 2026, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21734/map-of-europe-after-the-war-of-the-austrian-succes/.
