Hindsight makes Prussia's survival and later strength look more certain than they were. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended a bitter war in 1748, yet every major participant remained dissatisfied with the settlement. It was a last gasp of the old order: familiar positions appeared restored while the competition beneath them remained unresolved. The Holy Roman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were still tempting arenas for intervention and territorial advantage. Diplomatic neatness on paper did little to prevent renewed war.
Chapter · 18:15-23:15
Aix-la-Chapelle and the last gasp of the old order
Reading history forward reveals how little security the 1748 settlement offered when every power disliked its place and vulnerable political prizes remained.