Contents	7
	Foreword	9
	1 Introduction	22
	PART I Succession crises	26
	2 The English succession	28
	3 The Spanish succession	32
	The partition treaties	32
	The War of the Spanish Succession	35
	The Peace of Utrecht	37
	4 The Baltic succession	40
	Swedish imperialism	40
	The Great Northern War	42
	5 The French succession	44
	The effects of Utrecht	44
	The balance of power in Europe in 1723	50
	6 The Austrian succession	52
	7 The Polish succession	58
	International implications	58
	The War of the Polish Succession	60
	The War of the Austrian Succession	63
	PART II Portents of change	68
	8 The diplomatic revolution	70
	9 The Seven Years War	76
	10 The Peace of Paris and its consequences	80
	11 The changing balance of power	84
	The growth of state power	84
	The Ottoman empire and the partition of Poland	87
	The War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–79) and the Armed Neutrality (1780)	89
	12 Conclusion	92
	Notes	96
	Further reading	98
	More eBook at www.ciando.com	0