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Description

Interesting map of a part of the Theater of War in Europe, celebrating the signing of the Treaty of Dresden, on December 25, 1745.

The Treaty of Dresden was signed on December 25, 1745 at the Saxon capital of Dresden between Austria, Saxony and Prussia, ending the Second Silesian War.

In the 1742 Treaty of Breslau, Queen Maria Theresa of Austria, struggling to control the Empire after her father Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg according to the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, had to cede most of the Bohemian province of Silesia to King Frederick II of Prussia. In the following years, she was able to strengthen her position: She attacked the Bavarian Electorate and in January 1745 achieved the support of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and Saxony to reconquer Silesia. Furthermore her rival Emperor-elect Charles VII of Wittelsbach died a few days later. On April 22, 1745 his son Elector Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria concluded the Peace of Füssen with her.

At the end of May 1745, Austrian and Saxon troops invaded Prussian Silesia, but were halted by Prussian forces at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg on June 4. Maria Theresa's husband Francis I of Lorraine finally was elected Holy Roman Emperor on September 13, 1745 while Frederick's troops won battles at Soor and Kesselsdorf, occupying Dresden on December 18, 1745. Faced with mounting adversaries and dwindling resources, and hampered by his failure to gain the support of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, King Frederick II was forced to enter a peace agreement.

Based on the terms of the agreement, King Frederick II acknowledged Francis I as Holy Roman Emperor. In return, he maintained control over Silesia. Saxony probably got the worst of the Treaty, as it was forced to pay Prussia a large sum in reparations. Overall, the accord ratified and confirmed the tenets of both the Treaty of Breslau and the Treaty of Berlin. This accord brought the Second Silesian War to an official end.

Homann Heirs Biography

Homann Heirs was a German publishing firm that enjoyed a major place in the European map market throughout the eighteenth century. Founded in 1702 by Johann Baptist Homann, the business passed to his son, Christoph, upon Johann’s death in 1724. Christoph died in 1730, aged only 27, and the firm was inherited by subsequent Homann heirs. This altered the name of the company, which was known as Homann Erben, or Homann heirs. The firm continued in business until 1848.