Treaty of Hubertusburg
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg
by Prussia
, Austria
, and Saxony
. Together with the Treaty of Paris
, it marked the end of the French and Indian War
and of the Seven Years' War
. The treaty ended the continental conflict with no significant changes in prewar borders. Silesia
remained Prussian, and Prussia clearly stood among the ranks of the great powers.
Austria's resolve to repossess the rich province of Silesia, which had been lost to Prussia in 1748, was the major conflict leading to the Seven Years' War. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary
and Bohemia
, acquired the support of Russia, Sweden, Saxony, Spain, and France, with the specific aim of waging war against Prussia and its ally, Great Britain. It was King Frederick the Great
of Prussia, however, who initiated the hostilities with his attack and capture of Saxony in 1756.
The Seven Years' War
started in 1756, with Prussia facing the allied forces of Austria, Russia, France, and Sweden. Although in January 1757 the majority of the Reichstag
colleges (minus Hanover
, Hesse-Kassel
(or Hesse-Cassel), Brunswick
, and Saxe-Gotha
) voted against the move for war, Frederick succeeded in his quest for expanding Prussian influence, power and territory.
Through the first half of the war, the Prussians continued victorious. In the Battle of Rossbach
on November 5, 1757, the Prussian army not only defeated the French, but also Imperial
troops who had fought on the side of the latter against Prussia. They defeated the Austrians at Leuthen
in 1757 and the Russians at Zorndorf
in 1758. At this point, however, with Sweden entering the war and virtually all Europe opposing Frederick, the tide seemed to turn. By 1759 eastern Prussia was in the hands of the Russians, and Berlin had been captured. The Prussian situation was desperate.
In 1758 the Anglo-Hanoverian army, an ally of Prussia, commanded by Ferdinand of Brunswick, defeated the French and occupied the town of Münster
. In 1759 Imperial troops invaded Saxony, expelling the Prussians.
Two significant factors, however, led to the eventual return of Prussian dominance in the war. One was the active support of the British and Hanoverians; both, until this point ineffective combatants, now fought successfully against the French. The second, and more important, was the withdrawal in 1762 of Russia and Sweden from the war. This occurred as a result of the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia; her successor, Peter III
, an admirer of Frederick, quickly signed a peace treaty with the Prussian leader. By the Treaty of St. Petersburg in 1762 Russia made peace and restored all conquests; Sweden made peace in the same year.
Now fighting alone in the east, the Austrians were soundly defeated in the Battle of Burkersdorf
(July, 1762). The French, too, had suffered severe reverses. In America they had lost Louisbourg
(1758), Quebec
(1759), and some possessions in the West Indies; in India, the British victories at Plassey
(1757) and Pondichéry (1761) had destroyed French power; on the sea, the French took Port Mahón
from the British (1757) but were defeated by Hawke in Quiberon Bay
(1759). The entry of Spain into the war under the terms of the Family Compact of 1761 was of little help to France, where the war had never been popular.
After protracted negotiations between the war-weary powers, peace was made among Prussia, Austria, and Saxony at Hubertusburg, and among Great Britain, France, and Spain at Paris. The Treaty of Hubertusburg, though it restored the prewar status quo, marked the ascendancy of Prussia as a leading European power. Through the Treaty of Paris
, Great Britain emerged as the world’s chief colonial empire, which was its primary goal in the war, and France lost most of its overseas possessions.
The phrase "Hubertsburg Peace" is sometimes used as a description for any Treaty which restores the situation existing before conflict broke out.
Hubertusburg
thumb|right|300px|Hubertusburg, WermsdorfHubertusburg is a palace in Saxony, in the village of Wermsdorf and midway 6 m. between the towns Oschatz and Grimma. It was built in 1721-1724 by Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and is given to his son Augustus III in 1724, as a...
by Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, Austria
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. Together with the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, it marked the end of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. The treaty ended the continental conflict with no significant changes in prewar borders. Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
remained Prussian, and Prussia clearly stood among the ranks of the great powers.
Austria's resolve to repossess the rich province of Silesia, which had been lost to Prussia in 1748, was the major conflict leading to the Seven Years' War. Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, acquired the support of Russia, Sweden, Saxony, Spain, and France, with the specific aim of waging war against Prussia and its ally, Great Britain. It was King Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
of Prussia, however, who initiated the hostilities with his attack and capture of Saxony in 1756.
The Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
started in 1756, with Prussia facing the allied forces of Austria, Russia, France, and Sweden. Although in January 1757 the majority of the Reichstag
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
colleges (minus Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
, Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
(or Hesse-Cassel), Brunswick
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
, and Saxe-Gotha
Saxe-Gotha
Saxe-Gotha was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine of the Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha....
) voted against the move for war, Frederick succeeded in his quest for expanding Prussian influence, power and territory.
Through the first half of the war, the Prussians continued victorious. In the Battle of Rossbach
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place during the Seven Years' War near the village of Roßbach, in the Electorate of Saxony. Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire...
on November 5, 1757, the Prussian army not only defeated the French, but also Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
troops who had fought on the side of the latter against Prussia. They defeated the Austrians at Leuthen
Battle of Leuthen
In the Battle of Leuthen or Lissa, fought on 5 December 1757, Frederick the Great's Prussian army used maneuver and terrain to decisively defeat a much larger Austrian army under Charles of Lorraine, thus ensuring Prussian control of Silesia during the Seven Years' War.- Background :While Frederick...
in 1757 and the Russians at Zorndorf
Battle of Zorndorf
The Battle of Zorndorf was a battle fought on August 25, 1758 during the Seven Years' War, fought between the forces of the Russians troops under the command of Count William Fermor – and a Prussian army under King Frederick the Great...
in 1758. At this point, however, with Sweden entering the war and virtually all Europe opposing Frederick, the tide seemed to turn. By 1759 eastern Prussia was in the hands of the Russians, and Berlin had been captured. The Prussian situation was desperate.
In 1758 the Anglo-Hanoverian army, an ally of Prussia, commanded by Ferdinand of Brunswick, defeated the French and occupied the town of Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
. In 1759 Imperial troops invaded Saxony, expelling the Prussians.
Two significant factors, however, led to the eventual return of Prussian dominance in the war. One was the active support of the British and Hanoverians; both, until this point ineffective combatants, now fought successfully against the French. The second, and more important, was the withdrawal in 1762 of Russia and Sweden from the war. This occurred as a result of the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia; her successor, Peter III
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
, an admirer of Frederick, quickly signed a peace treaty with the Prussian leader. By the Treaty of St. Petersburg in 1762 Russia made peace and restored all conquests; Sweden made peace in the same year.
Now fighting alone in the east, the Austrians were soundly defeated in the Battle of Burkersdorf
Battle of Burkersdorf
The Battle of Burkersdorf was a battle fought on July 21, 1762 during the Seven Years' War. A Prussian army of 40,000 men fought an Austrian army of around 30,000 men....
(July, 1762). The French, too, had suffered severe reverses. In America they had lost Louisbourg
Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Louisbourg is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.-History:The town's name was given by French military forces who founded the Fortress of Louisbourg and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, in honour of Louis XV...
(1758), Quebec
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
(1759), and some possessions in the West Indies; in India, the British victories at Plassey
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...
(1757) and Pondichéry (1761) had destroyed French power; on the sea, the French took Port Mahón
Mahon
Mahón is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca , located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon has the second deepest natural harbor in the world: 5 km long and up to 900m. wide...
from the British (1757) but were defeated by Hawke in Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...
(1759). The entry of Spain into the war under the terms of the Family Compact of 1761 was of little help to France, where the war had never been popular.
After protracted negotiations between the war-weary powers, peace was made among Prussia, Austria, and Saxony at Hubertusburg, and among Great Britain, France, and Spain at Paris. The Treaty of Hubertusburg, though it restored the prewar status quo, marked the ascendancy of Prussia as a leading European power. Through the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, Great Britain emerged as the world’s chief colonial empire, which was its primary goal in the war, and France lost most of its overseas possessions.
The phrase "Hubertsburg Peace" is sometimes used as a description for any Treaty which restores the situation existing before conflict broke out.