Louis XV was king of France from 1715 to 1774. He ascended the throne when he was only five years old, which allowed the nobility to take advantage of the kings youth. His advisor, Cardinal de Fleury, kept office from 1726 to 1743. He did not favor religious toleration but was good with finances which were essential to indebted France. One of his vices was that he allowed his mistresses to lead his political decisions, ending in some competent ministers being dismissed and being replaced with deficient ones. Throughout his entire reign, Louis XV tried to suppress the parlement, ignoring and replacing and imprisoning the leaders that disagreed with him. This was his greatest error being a major factor in the onset of the French revolution.
During the 18th century, the enlightenment became a major movement, and the more radical thinkers tended to reside in France. The Materialists were the most radical group of enlightenment thinkers. They were extreme atheists believing in no spiritual world whatsoever and viewed human beings as a machine and advanced kinds of animals. Therefore they did not believe in punishing criminals for crimes, just like you can’t blame a dishwasher for doing a bad job cleaning your dishes. They believed you should spend your life gratifying your impulses and pleasures since there was nothing else to life. Some of the major Materialist thinkers include La Mettrie Helvetius and Baron d’Holbach.
The primary powers in the war of Austrian succession were Prussia and Austria. Maria Theresa’s father Charles VI Holy Roman Emperor had gone to the nations of Europe asking to recognize Maria Theresa as heir and future ruler of Austria. Frederick the Great’s father Frederick William had agreed to this, but Frederick wanted to start a war with Austria in order to obtain the territory of Silesia for Prussia. So he came up with a ridiculous argument and quickly took Silesia with Prussias vast army. The war of Austrian Succession lasted for five years in multiple phases and ended with Prussia still in possession of Silesia. Silesia nearly doubled Prussias population and gave it a more densely industrialized territory. This eventually lead to the Seven Years War with Austrias attempt to reclaim Silesia, but Prussia still retained it at the end of the war.