The Austrian Empire

Austria, by the 17th century the leading German state and a major power in Europe, was almost constantly at war. In the Thirty Years' War, 1618–48, the Hapsburgs lost the authority they had exercised as Holy Roman emperors over the other German states. There were many campaigns against the Turks, who were finally driven from Hungary in 1699. The Hungarian throne had already in 1687 been made hereditary in the Austrian branch of the Hapsburgs. In the War of the Spanish Succession, 1701–14, Austria failed to gain control of Spain after the Spanish Hapsburg line had died out, but gained the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium) and territory in Italy.

The War of the Polish Succession, 1733–35, increased Austria's Italian holdings. In 1740 Charles VI's daughter Maria Theresa succeeded to the throne. Her right to the throne was challenged by three rival claimants, and Frederick the Great of Prussia took advantage of the situation by offering to aid her in exchange for the Austrian possession of Silesia. When she refused, he seized Silesia, beginning the War of the Austrian Succession. ( When the war ended, Maria Theresa was recognized as the rightful ruler but Frederick retained Silesia.

Determined to regain Silesia, Maria Theresa negotiated alliances with Russia (in 1755) and France (in 1756) with the idea of going to war against Prussia. Meanwhile, Frederick forged an agreement for political and financial help for Prussia from Great Britain. He invaded Saxony in 1756, setting off the Seven Years' War. When the war ended in 1763, Maria Theresa had failed to regain Silesia and Prussia was recognized as a power equal to Austria.

Maria Theresa worked to offset the loss of Silesia throughout the rest of her reign. She annexed eastern Galicia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772 and acquired Bucovina from Turkey in 1774.