1740 - 1748 War of the Austrian Succession (mar 11, 1740 – jun 14, 1748)

Description:

The War of the Austrian Succession was a war that involved most of the great powers and lesser powers of Europe over the issue of Maria Theresa's succession to the Habsburg Monarchy.
The war included peripheral events such as:
- King George's War in British America,
- War of Jenkins' Ear
- First Carnatic War in India,
- Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland
- First and Second Silesian Wars.

The cause of the war was Maria Theresa's alleged ineligibility to succeed to the hereditary lands of her father, Emperor Charles VI, because Salic law precluded royal inheritance by a woman. This was to be the key justification for France and Prussia, joined by Bavaria, to challenge Habsburg power. Maria Theresa was supported by Britain, the Dutch Republic, Sardinia and Saxony.

Since 1739, Spain had been fighting the separate War of Jenkins' Ear with Britain, which primarily took place in the Americas. It joined the war in Europe, hoping to recapture its former possessions in Northern Italy, now held by Austria. Having previously re-gained the Kingdom of Naples in 1735, doing so would restore the territories lost under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, whereby Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia. However, the underlying issues were not resolved; combined with the political upheaval in Europe, this resulted in the 1756-1763 Seven Years' War.

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