The Silesian Wars were three conflicts in which Frederick the Great of Prussia fought the Habsburg monarchy of Maria Theresa of Austria for control of Silesia, a rich province in central Europe. Frederick invaded Silesia just after Maria Theresa came to the throne, in the First Silesian War, and kept most of it under the peace treaties that followed the first two wars. The third war, from 1756, merged into the Seven Years' War, in which Austria, France and Russia allied against Prussia. Prussia came close to collapse but was saved when the Russian empress Elizabeth died, and the Treaty of Hubertusburg left Silesia in Prussian hands. The wars made Prussia a great European power and set Prussia and Austria on a long path of rivalry.
Before and after
- 15 November 1738Birth of William Herschel
- 2 June 1739Construction of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- from 22 October 1739 to 18 October 1748War of Jenkins' Ear
- 1740Rise of Hasidic Judaism
- from 1740 to 1763Silesian Wars
- 2 June 1740Birth of Marquis de Sade
- 20 October 1740Birth of Isabelle de Charrière
- 14 November 1740Founding of University of Pennsylvania
- from 29 November 1740 to 6 May 1757Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
More in Wars, politics & history
- 13 April 1598Edict of Nantes
- from 1642 to 1651English Civil War
- 24 October 1648Peace of Westphalia
- from 22 February 1700 to 10 September 1721Great Northern War
- from March 1701 to September 1714War of the Spanish Succession
- from 17 May 1756 to 15 February 1763Seven Years' War
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.