A complicated European conflict in which the key issues were the right of Maria Theresa of Austria to succeed to the lands of her father, Emperor Charles VI, and the right of her husband Francis of Lorraine to succeed to the imperial title. Francis’s claims (in spite of the Pragmatic Sanction) were disputed by Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, supported by Frederick II of Prussia and Louis XV of France. Additionally Philip V of Spain and Maria Theresa were in dispute over who should have control of Italy, and Britain was challenging France and Spain’s domination of the Mediterranean (War of Jenkins’s Ear), and fighting for control of India and America (King George’s War).

After the death of Charles VI in 1740 war was precipitated by Frederick II of Prussia, who seized Silesia. The war began badly for Austria: the French seized Prague, a Spanish army landed in north Italy, Charles Albert was elected Holy Roman Emperor, and Silesia was ceded by treaty to Frederick II in 1742. Britain now supported Austria by organizing the so‐called Pragmatic Army (Britain, Austria, Hanover, and Hesse) and under the personal command of George II it defeated the French at Dettingen in 1743. Savoy joined Austria and Britain (Treaty of Worms, September 1743) and the tide of war began to turn in Austria’s favour. In 1744–45 Frederick II re‐entered the war, determined to retain Silesia. Meanwhile Charles Albert died and Francis was elected Holy Roman Emperor in exchange for the return of the lands of Bavaria to the Elector’s heir. Frederick II won a series of victories against Austria, and the Treaty of Dresden (1745) confirmed his possession of Silesia. The struggle between France and Britain intensified. The French supported the Jacobite invasion of Britain (the Forty‐Five) and in India the French captured the British town of Madras (1746). The British won major victories at sea: off Cape Finisterre, Spain and Belle‐Ile, France in 1747. By 1748 all participants were ready for peace, which was concluded at Aix‐la‐Chapelle. The war had been a long and costly effort by Maria Theresa to keep her Habsburg inheritance intact and in this she largely succeeded. But Austria was weakened and Prussia, which held Silesia, consolidated its position as a significant European power.