including headings Preliminaries to war, Frederick on the warpath, Annus mirabilis, Pitt and north America, Wolfe and Quebec, ...
At the start of the Seven Years' War the balance between the empires of France and Britain looks much as it has been since the late 17th century. By the end of it, in 1763, the situation is transformed. The change is les...
Frederick the Great uses the years after the Seven Years' War for a thoroughgoing revision of his kingdom's administration. As with the reforms of Joseph II, his younger rival in Austria, the effect of Frederick's measur...
From Sweden's point of view the disappointment of the Seven Years' War is that Skåne, the southern province of the Swedish peninsula, remains in Danish hands. It will do so until 1658....
They also discover the economic benefits of neutrality. Holland keeps out of the Seven Years' War (1756-63) to the considerable advantage of the carrying trade of the merchant fleet. And the Dutch reap similar profits fr...
By contrast the third Family Compact, signed in 1761 in the last stages of the Seven Years' War, proves a costly disaster. Its main result, for Spain, is the loss of Florida.These events suggest that the Spanish...
By 1563 Denmark and Sweden are at war over the issue. The conflict lasts until 1570, becoming known as the Seven Years' War of the North. It achieves no territorial gain for either side, but Denmark wins international re...
The dispute between Prussia and Austria turns out to be only a minor element in the very broad canvas of the Seven Years' War. The world-wide conflict between France and Britain becomes the dominant feature of the war.
It is impossible for Portugal to avoid being drawn into two European wars - the War of the Spanish Succession, and the Seven Years' War - but the 18th century is a time of prosperity. This partly derives from the wealth...
It is a commonplace that the war beginning in 1939 is a continuation of the one which ended in 1918, much as European conflicts of the 18th century (such as the Seven Years' War) were often a return to unfinished busines...
The renewal of war between Britain and France in 1793 is a continuation of a century-long conflict between the two most aggressive imperial powers. In recent engagements the results have favoured Britain, particularly in...
Elizabeth, reigning from 1741 to 1762, brings back the vigorous mood of Peter the Great - appropriately, since she is a daughter of Peter and of Catherine I. Russian interests are now energetically pursued again, particu...
In the last few decades of the 18th century the main unrest in Europe is in the eastern part of the continent. Previously European friction has centred on Germany: within the German empire itself (particularly in the Thi...
The new Russian tsar, Peter III, rapidly puts into effect his own pro-Prussian preferences. By May he has made peace with Frederick. There is an immediate knock-on effect. Austria, for whom it will be impossible to defea...
The loss of Silesia naturally rankles with the empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Much of her diplomatic policy during the early 1750s is devoted to putting together an alliance which will enable her to recover her lost t...
