On December 25th, 1745, the Treaty of Dresden was signed by Austria, Saxony, and Prussia in Saxony’s capital, marking the conclusion of the Second Silesian War. The agreement solidified Prussia’s control over Silesia (a region primarily in today’s southwestern Poland) while Frederick the Great, monarch of Prussia, recognized Maria Theresa of Austria’s husband, Francis I, as Holy Roman Emperor. Augustus III of Saxony, Maria Theresa of Austria, and George II of England were parties to the treaty, signaling a shift in European power dynamics and temporary peace.

The Silesian Wars were key conflicts within the broader War of the Austrian Succession and began in 1740 with Frederick the Great’s invasion of Silesia to capitalize on Maria Theresa’s contested succession to the Habsburg hereditary lands. Prussia’s decisive battlefield victories compelled Austria to cede sovereignty over Silesia, culminating in the Treaty of Dresden. This treaty represented a pivotal moment in the conflict, which shaped 18th-century European politics and sovereignty.