The conflict that broke out over the succession of Austria’s imperial throne has been intimidating historians for more than 270 years. With a kaleidoscope of changing combatants, political intrigue and shifting aims, not to mention the vast scope of the war, which saw hostilities in almost every corner of the world, it is an almost impossibly unwieldy entity.
Adding to the confusion is the overlapping with other wars, often between the same protagonists – the two phases of the war involving Prussia are often referred to as the First and Second Silesian Wars, and elsewhere there was King George’s War and the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
Fittingly, for such a fiendishly complex war, the originsdeeply complicated. In the late 18th century, tension began rising over the successor to Charles VI, ruler of the Habsburg monarchy and Holy Roman Emperor. Two opposing sides emerged from this dispute, although the members of each camp often changed. On one side, the Pragmatic Alliance believed that Charles VI’s daughter, Maria Theresa, should step into her father’s shoes. On the other, Prussia and France put forward their own candidates.
