ty of Dresden transferred from Austria to Prussia, while in Italy by
the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 cessions were made at the expense of
the house of Habsburg to the Spanish Don Philip and to Sardinia, the
Austrian monarchy as a whole had displayed a vitality that had astonished
the world, and was in some respects stronger than at the beginning of the
struggle, notably in the great improvement in the army and in the
possession of generals schooled by the experience of active service.

The period from 1747 to 1756, the year of the outbreak of the Seven Years'
War, was occupied in preparations for carrying into effect the
determination of Maria Theresa to recover the lost provinces. To give any
chance of success, it was recognized that a twofold change of system was
necessary: in internal and in external affairs. To strengthen the state
internally a complete revolution of its administration was begun under the
auspices of Count F. W. Haugwitz (1700-1765); the motley system which had
survived from the middle ages was gradually replaced by an administrative
machinery uniformly organized and centralized; and the army especially,
hitherto patched together from the quotas raised and maintained by the
various diets and provincial estates, was withdrawn from their
interference. These reforms were practically confined to the central
provinces of the monarchy; for in Hungary, as well as in the outlying
territories of Lombardy and the Netherlands, it was recognized that the
conservative temper of the peoples made any revolutionary change in the
traditional system inadvisable.

[Sidenote: Austrian-French alliance, and Seven Years' War.]

Meanwhile, in foreign affairs, it had become clear that for Austria the
enemy to be dreaded was no longer France, but Prussia, and Kaunitz prepared
the way for a diplomatic revolution, which took effect when, on the 1st of
May 1756, Austria and France concluded the first treaty of Versailles. The
long rivalry between Bourbons and Habsburgs was thus ended, and France and
Austria remained in alliance or at peace until the outbreak of the French
Revolution. So far as Austria was concerned, the Seven Years' War (_q.v._)
in which France and Austria were ranged against Prussia and Great Britain,
was an attempt on the part of Maria Theresa to recover Silesia. It failed;
and the peace of Hubertsburg, signed on the 15th of February 1763, left
Germany divided between Austria and Prussia, whose rivalry