Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle — End of the War of Austrian Succession
The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 ended eight years of war by returning almost everything to where it had been. The War of the Austrian Succession had begun with Frederick II's seizure of Silesia in 1740 and had drawn in France, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, Britain, the Dutch Republic and Russia, and had been fought in Europe, North America, India and at sea. The settlement was negotiated principally between Britain and France, with Austria and Spain treated as junior parties and told what they were signing, which caused lasting resentment in Vienna and Madrid. France, which had won the campaigns in the Netherlands and held Brussels, handed the whole of it back in exchange for the return of Louisbourg in Canada, which New England militia had taken and which the colonists were furious to lose. Madras went back to Britain in exchange. Maria Theresa was confirmed in her inheritance and had to confirm the loss of Silesia, which she had no intention of accepting; Prussia, which had gained a wealthy province and fought only when it suited, was the war's only clear winner and was not present at the negotiations. A French phrase for something pointless — as stupid as the peace — dates from the public reaction in Paris. The treaty settled nothing that mattered. Austria spent the following eight years constructing the alliance with France that made the Seven Years' War, and the colonial boundaries in North America and India were left to be argued over by the men on the spot. The North American resentment is worth registering. Louisbourg had been taken by colonial militia at colonial expense and was handed back for a fortress in Flanders, which taught New Englanders that imperial interests and their own were not the same thing.
- Year: 1748 CE
- Category: Political
