A struggle for the balance of power forms the distant background of the narrative. For decades, Austria had relied upon Britain and Russia as its allies, seeing France and Prussia as its main enemies. In the 1740s, Prussia’s approach to Britain initiated a sort of political domino effect. Urgently seeking a new powerful ally against Prussia, Maria Theresa succeeded to win the consent of Louis XV to reverse the existing alliances, known as the Diplomatic Revolution. In this delicate process, Austrian Ambassador Count Kaunitz was decisively supported by the King’s maîtresse-en-titre Madame de Pompadour. As the third party, Czarina Elizaveta of Russia joined the new alliance, a move which made Frederick of Prussia, a well-known misogynist, bitterly refer to them as the three most famous whores in Europe.
Nevertheless, on the global scale, the Austrian-Prussian war was only the secondary strand in the fight for world power between France and Britain. As its hotspot was in North America, the Seven Years’ War had an intercontinental nature and is sometimes called the first world war.
Access to the Metatext via placing an order for an augmented product. See Terms of Use
