Political Developments in the 1700’s

Military Conflicts  Philosophes condemned war but rivalries led to numerous conflicts in the 18 th century  War of Spanish Succession  Attempts to unify Spain and France under the same Bourbon ruler following the death of the last Spanish Hapsburg  France tries to dominate western Europe  Peace of Utrecht

Military Conflicts  War of Austrian Succession  Attempts to take advantage of Austria while she is “weakened” by a female ruler  Prussia attacks Silesia, an Austrian territory  Gets to keep the land after the war ends

Military Conflicts  With conflict so common, states began to place a great deal of emphasis on military  Prussia spent 80% of its government revenue on military  Peasants often conscripted (drafted) into the military

Competition between France and England  France and England both competing for land in North America  Also competing for dominance in Europe and access to trade in India  Seven Year’s War:  Major conflict that involved most major European powers  In Europe, there were few territorial changes resulting from the war, but major changes took place in North America and India

Seven Years’ War  Known as the French and Indian War in North America  British defeat the French and seize much of the French territory in N.Am.  France lost Canada but got to keep islands in Caribbean  War debts cause the British to increase colonial taxes, which will lead to conflict with the colonists

Seven Years’ War  Conflict between England and the colonies would eventually lead to the American Revolutionary War  In India, both France and England were seeking trade and land  After winning the war, the British kick the French out of India  The British East India Company eventually takes over India  The Mughal Dynasty (India’s government) was weak and unable to fend off European expansion

The British Raj in India  As time went on, the British government became more invested in India  In 1800’s, India eventually became a royal colony  Queen Victoria of England was declared the Empress of India  India would remain a major part of the British empire until the 1900’s.

Partitions of Poland  Poland was traditionally dominated by powerful nobles, lacking a strong monarch  The weakness of the Polish government made it vulnerable to aggressive neighbors  Beginning in 1772, Poland lost land to Austria, Prussia, and Russia  Three major partitions (1772, 1793, 1795) would eventually lead to all of Poland’s land being taken  Poland ceased to exist as an independent state until after WWI

Partitions of Poland