The Seven Years War and Europe's Ancien Régime

• Autores: Hamish Scott
• Localización: War in history, ISSN-e 1477-0385, ISSN 0968-3445, Vol. 18, Nº. 4, 2011, págs. 419-455
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Recent decades have seen a welcome revival of scholarly interest in the Seven Years War (1756—63). This has not been accompanied, however, by sufficient appreciation of the burdens imposed by the fighting and the enormous impact of these upon the states which were at war. Drawing upon the abundant recent scholarship, this article argues that the adoption of an international and comparative perspective, together with an extension of the time frame within which consequences are assessed, makes clear that the Seven Years War was decisive for the European ancien régime. It drove governments to adopt new policies and to introduce fundamental reforms, and in some states stimulated opposition to established political authority.