page_title: Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) / Background
caption_attribution_description: Español: Retrato de Felipe de Borbón y Farnesio (1720-1765), hijo del rey Felipe V de España y de la reina Isabel de Farnesio. Fue infante de España y duque de Parma, de Plasencia y de Guastalla y el fundador de la rama de la Casa de Borbón-Parma.
context_page_description: The 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, sometimes called the Treaty of Aachen, ended the War of the Austrian Succession, following a congress assembled on 24 April 1748 at the Free Imperial City of Aachen.
  A preliminary treaty setting out terms of the peace was agreed on 30 April 1748 by Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic, with a final version signed on 18 October. Austria, Spain, Sardinia, Modena, and Genoa later acceded to the Treaty in two separate agreements, on 4 December 1748 and 21 January 1749.
  The Treaty largely failed to resolve the issues that caused the war, leading to the strategic realignment known as the Diplomatic Revolution, and the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756.
context_section_description: France and Britain began bilateral peace talks in August 1746 at Breda, but these were delayed by British hopes of improving their position in Flanders. Elsewhere, Austria made peace with Prussia in the December 1745 Treaty of Dresden, while by late 1746, their war with Spain in Northern Italy reached stalemate. Maria Theresa's husband Francis was made Holy Roman Emperor in September 1745 and her right to the Habsburg Monarchy recognised by the other claimants. Since the Austrian Netherlands were not considered a strategic possession, Maria Theresa had achieved her main war aims and wanted peace to restructure her administration and army, then regain Silesia.
  Despite victories in the Netherlands, throughout 1746 Finance Minister Machault repeatedly warned of the catastrophic state of French finances. The British naval blockade led to the collapse of customs receipts and severe shortages, especially among the poor, who relied upon Newfoundland cod as a cheap food source. After their losses at Cape Finisterre in October, the French navy could no longer protect their colonies or their trade routes. 
  Under the British-Russian convention of November 1747, a Russian corps of 37,000 arrived in the Rhineland in February 1748; although they took Maastricht in May, the French position could only deteriorate.  However, lack of progress in Flanders and domestic opposition to the cost of subsidising its allies meant Britain was also ready to end the war; both France and Britain were prepared to impose terms on their allies if needed but preferred to avoid dropping them by making a separate peace treaty. 
  To achieve this, France, Britain and the Dutch Republic signed a preliminary treaty on 30 April 1748, with conditions for a general peace, including the return of the Austrian Netherlands, the Dutch Barrier forts, Maastricht and Bergen op Zoom. They also guaranteed the Austrian cession of Silesia to Prussia, as well as the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla to Philip of Spain (1720–1765). Faced with the threat of continuing the war on their own, Austria, Sardinia, Spain, and Genoa acceded to the treaty on 4 December 1748 and 21 January 1749.
caption: Philip of Spain (1720–1765); Austria ceded him the Duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla
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