Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- Seven Years’ War - The diplomatic revolution and the prelude to the French and Indian War
- Maria Theresa
- War of the Austrian Succession
- history of Austria - Foreign policy, 1878–1908
- Seven Years’ War - Defensive alliances
- Seven Years’ War
- history of Austria - Austria as a great power
- War of the Grand Alliance
- Austria - Austria as a great power
Why did the Habsburgs form an alliance with France before the Seven Years' War?
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House of Habsburg
Ruins of the castle of Habsburg, or Habichtsburg (“Hawk's Castle”), built 1020, the original seat of the house of Habsburg, Aargau canton, Switzerland.
The Habsburg alliance with France before the Seven Years' War was a strategic shift known as the "diplomatic revolution" or "reversal of alliances."12
This realignment was driven by several key factors:
- Loss of Silesia: Maria Theresa was determined to recover the province of Silesia, which had been seized by Frederick the Great of Prussia during the War of the Austrian Succession.23
- Failure of the British Alliance: The Habsburgs concluded that their traditional alliance with Great Britain was no longer beneficial. British subsidies had failed to protect Austrian interests, and the British military effort had not prevented the loss of Silesia.14
- The Convention of Westminster: The 1756 agreement between Great Britain and Prussia—Austria's primary rival—convinced the Austrian chancellor, Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, that the British alliance was effectively dead. This move left Prussia isolated from its former French ally and pushed France to seek a rapprochement with Austria to avoid diplomatic isolation.4
Consequently, in 1756, Austria and France signed the First Treaty of Versailles, a defensive pact that marked the end of the long-standing hostility between the two powers and set the stage for the Seven Years' War.4