Convention of Westminster
Signed on 16 January 1756, the Convention of Westminster was a defensive neutrality agreement between Britain and Prussia stipulating that neither power would allow foreign troops to march through German territory. Britain's primary concern was protecting Hanover — George II's German electorate — from French attack; Frederick's was securing his western flank. But the Convention had immediate and explosive diplomatic consequences entirely disproportionate to its modest terms. In Paris, the Convention was seen as a British betrayal: France had been counting on Prussia remaining at least neutral in any Anglo-French conflict, and now Britain had aligned with France's traditional enemy. The French court, led by Foreign Minister Bernis and influenced by Madame de Pompadour, turned decisively toward Austria. Chancellor Kaunitz had been lobbying for precisely this rupture for years. Within weeks, the Franco-Austrian rapprochement that would become the First Treaty of Versailles was under negotiation. The Convention of Westminster thus acted as the trigger for the Diplomatic Revolution — the very opposite of what its architects intended. By trying to protect a secondary interest (Hanover), Britain pushed France into the arms of Austria, and Prussia found itself facing an encircling coalition of France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. The Convention illustrates how diplomatic misjudgements can create catastrophic chain reactions when the international system is already under tension.
- Year: 1756 CE
- Category: Political
