The Treaty of Versailles, also known as the First Treaty of Versailles, was a

diplomatic Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...

agreement between France and Austria. It was signed in 1756 at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

in France. There were four treaties signed on this Agreement.

Terms

The two countries offered mutual assistance if attacked by

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. The

Franco-Austrian Alliance The Franco-Austrian Alliance was a diplomatic and military alliance between France and Austria that was first established in 1756 after the First Treaty of Versailles. It lasted for much of the remainder of the century until it was abandoned dur ...

, which lasted in some form or another for the next 30 years, was established.

Aftermath

Within months of the agreement, France and Austria found themselves engaged in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

against the Anglo-Prussian Alliance, which was to last until 1763. Along with the Westminster Convention, the treaty formed part of the

Diplomatic Revolution The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 was the reversal of longstanding alliances in Europe between the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. Austria went from an ally of Britain to an ally of France, the Dutch Republic, a long sta ...

, which realigned the alliance systems of the major powers of Europe in the run-up to the war. It was ostensibly defensive, but British agents suspected that there were secret clauses that were more wide-ranging than the document actually publicised.Simms p.410-11 The

Second Treaty of Versailles The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...

, promising even closer co-operation between the two states, was agreed at Versailles in 1757.

References

Sources

* *

Simms, Brendan Brendan Peter Simms (born 1967, Dublin) is a Professor of the history of international relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. Early life Brendan Simms is the son of Anngret and David Simm ...

. ''Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire''. Penguin Books, 2008.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treaty Of Versailles (1756) Treaties of the Seven Years' War Geopolitical rivalry 18th-century military alliances 1756 treaties Treaties of the Kingdom of France Treaties of the Habsburg Monarchy Military alliances involving Austria Military alliances involving France 1756 in France 1756 in Austria Versailles France–Habsburg Monarchy relations Treaties of the Silesian Wars