;- a 1 h9 Class j) py 1 Rnnk L S ?. Epochs of Modern History EDITED BY EDWARD E. MORRIS, M.A., J. SURTEES PHILLPOTTS, B.C.L. AND C. COLBECK, M.A. FREDERICK THE GREAT and the SEVEN YEARS' WAR F. W. LONGMAN By the same Author. A POCKET DICTIONARY of the GERMAN- ENGLISH and ENGLISH -GERMAN LAN- GUAGES. Third Edition (1880). Square i8mo. Price $s. cloth. " By far the best Dictionary himself familiar with the pre- we have seen for practical use." cise nature of the aid which the Examiner. English reader or Student of German needs, has set himself " The handiest and most con- to supply it on the simplest and sort venient of dictionaries ; the most perfect plan." of book never to be away from Morning Post. the study table of a literary man." Literary Churchman. " We have not seen any Pocket Dictionary, German and Eng- " It is incapable of being sur- lish, that can bear comparison passed. ... It has evidently with this. It is remarkably been compiled by a thorough compendious, and the arrange- German scholar, who, being ment is clear." Athenaeum. r. Epochs of Modern History FREDERICK THE GREAT AND THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. ' S111 )P BY F. W. LONGMAN BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD Author of a Pocket Dictionary of the German and English Languages. NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 743 and 745 Broadway. C (V\ d -0^ GRANT, FAIRES & RODGERS, Electrotyfiers &" Printers, 5a & 54 North Sixth Street, Philadelphia. ly Transfer PREFACE. Although this little book is mainly intended for school- boys, it may perhaps be read by some who will desire a fuller knowledge of Frederick the Great, and of the time in which he lived, than can be derived from its pages : for the sake of these I propose to mention a few of the best books on the subject. Anything like an exhaustive list of the authorities I have laid under contribution would be out of place, for, as may well be supposed, in the case of events which happened in a period so near to us as the middle of the eighteenth century, the literature of the subject is very extensive. All I offer, therefore, is a selected list containing the books which appear most likely to be of use. The first to be mentioned is, of course, Carlyle's " History of Frederick the Great," a noble work which is appreciated most by those who know it best. Much, however, has been written since the publication of its last volume, especially in Germany, where several vi Preface. books have appeared founded in part on materials that were not accessible to its author. Foremost among these are Arneth's " Geschichte Maria Theresia's," a very important work based on documents in the Vienna archives, from which until recently historical enquirers were jealously excluded, and Schafer's "Geschichte des Siebenjahrigen Kriegs," the most accurate and comprehensive history of the war in existence. Some of Ranke's works deal with parts of the subject. For the war itself the professor has only a series of short studies, but its origin is elaborately investigated in his " Ursprung des Sieben- jahrigen Kriegs." An excellent account of the early part of Frederick's reign and of the history of Prussia, up to the king's accession, will be found in his 11 Zwolf Bucher Preussicher Geschichte," while the later policy of Frederick is discussed in " Die Deutsch- en Machte und der Fiirstenbund." To the works of these great modern writers may be added Preuss's well-known biography of Frederick the Great, and the king's own historical writings, of which a separate edition has recently been published in France. For Ferdinand of Brunswick, and that part of the war in which England was directly concerned, the great authority is Westphalen's " Geschichte der Feld- zlige des Herzogs Ferdinand," but though this work is invaluable to students, it is altogether unsuited to the general reader, who will find Manvillon's biography more adapted to his requirements. Preface. vii Of contemporary French history m'ost readers will find as much as they want in Voltaire's " Siecle de Louis XV.," and in either Sismondi or Martin. Several recent publications, such as the Due de Broglie's " Le Secret du Roi," and the " Memoires et Lettres du Car- dinal de Bernis," possess considerable interest, though the amount of new information which they contribute is somewhat less than has been supposed. For the English history of the period, ahd for the war regarded from an English point of view, the standard modern work is Lord Mahon's " History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles," but here it is easier as well as more de- sirable for the student to bring himself into contact with some of the original authorities. The following may be consulted with advantage : Horace Walpole's Letters and Memoirs," " The Chatham Correspond- ence," " The Annual Register," and " The Gentle- man's Magazine" for the years in question. The Me- moirs of Sir Andrew Mitchell, the English ambassador at the Prussian Court, derive great value from the fact that Mitchell accompanied the king throughout the campaigns of the Seven Years' War. Among later English works, Coxe's " House of u Austria," and Thackeray's Life of Pitt," are useful though dull. Several of Macaulay's Essays relate to the period, but that on Frederick is rather to be ad- mired for its brilliancy than commended as trustworthy. Mr. Lecky's " History of England in the Eighteenth " viii Preface. Century" will be read with deep interest by such as already possess some knowledge of the period. For America Bancroft's " History of the United States is the standard work. Readers who desire a more detailed account of the affairs in India will find in Orme the storehouse whence subsequent historians have drawn their materials. The French side of the story is admirably represented in Colonel Malleson's interesting " History of the French in India." CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. PAGE Why the Seven Years' War is an Epoch in History . i CHAPTER II. BRANDENBURG AND PRUSSIA. SECT. 1. Foundation of the Margraviate, 928-1440 ... 3 2. The Hohenzollerns in the 16th and 17th Centuries, 1440-1640 6 3. The Great Elector, 1640-88. The First King, 1700 . 9 CHAPTER III. THE REIGN OF FREDERICK WILLIAM, 1713-40. i. Frederick William and the Army .... 16 2. Frederick William and the Balance of Power . 18 3. Father and Son .24 4. The Polish Election War and the Close of Frederick William's Reign ...... 28 Contents. CHAPTER IV. FREDERICK THE GREAT AND THE FIRST SILESIAN WAR. SECT. PAOB 1. Accession and Character of Frederick, 1740 3i 2. State of Europe at Frederick's Accession 39 3. The Emperor's Death and its Results 42 4. The Conquest of Silesia, 1740-2 46 CHAPTER V. THE SECOND SILESIAN WAR, 1744-5, AND THE PEACE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 1748 .... £6 CHAPTER VI. ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 1. The North American Colonies . 6 2. Newcastle and Pitt 69 3. Breaking out of the Naval War, 1756 78 CHAPTER VII. POLICY OF AUSTRIA DURING THE PEACE. i. Kaunitz 83 2. Negotiations with France, 1755-56 87 3. Austria and Russia 90 CHAPTER VIII. COMMENCEMENT OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. Frederick's reasons for War 93 The Invasion of Saxony, 1756 99 The War becomes general . 103 English Affairs during the Winter, 1756-7 107 Contents. CHAPTER IX. 1757. SECT. PAGE 1. The Invasion of Behemia 112 2. The French in North Germany . 120 3. Rossbach, November 5 124 4. Silesia regained 132 5. Pitt and the War .... 142 CHAPTER X. 1 FREDERICK REDUCED TO EXTREMITIES. 1. The Last Year of Offensive Warfare, 1758 . 147 2. Kunersdorf and Maxen, 1759 .... 155 CHAPTER XI. THE WAR IN WESTERN GERMANY. 164 Battle of Minden, August 1, 1759 • I7° CHAPTER XII. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FRENCH FLEETS. 1. Preliminary Operations, 1758 175 2. Quebec, September 13, 1759 177 3. Quiberon, November 20, 1759 186 4. The Capitulation of Montreal, 1760 . 190 CHAPTER XIII. INDIA. 1. Dupleix 193 2. Clive 194 3. Clive in Bengal, 1756-60 204 4. Lally, 1756-62 210 xii Contents. CHAPTER XIV. P4GE THE FALL OF PITT, 1761 . 215 CHAPTER XV. END OF THE WAR. SECT. i. Prussia, 1760-2 225 2. England, France, and Spain, 1762 .... 234 3. The Peace and its Results, 1763 238 CHAPTER XVI. CLOSE OF FREDERICK'S REIGN . 243 The Partition of Poland, 1772 The Bavarian Succession War, 1778 The League of Princes, 1785 Death of Frederick, 1786 MAPS. Europe at the Accession of Frederick . To face title The Seat of War " p. 47 WOODCUTS. Rossbach .... 129 Leuthen 137 Minden 170 Quebec 179 FREDERICK THE GREAT AND THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. The importance of the Seven Years' War as an epoch in the history of Europe lies chiefly in its bearing on the question of German unity. The war re- sulted in placing the young Prussian king- Years^ War on a footing of equality with the old dom ^p chh! the monarchy of the Hapsburgs, and so raising history of ' . , . , , . Europe. up withm Germany a rival and counterpoise to Austria, a rallying point round which all opposition to her might gather. It thus laid the foundations of the unification of Germany, which could never have been effected as long as the Austrian supremacy remained un- broken. For though Austria, before the time of Frede- rick the Great, was indisputably the greatest of German powers, she was after all more foreign than German.