between the Habsburg Monarchy and a Saxon–Prussian alliance to prevent
the Habsburg acquisition of the Duchy of Bavaria. There were only a few
minor skirmishes, but several thousand soldiers died from disease and
starvation. It began after Maximilian Joseph (pictured) died, leaving no
children. Charles IV Theodore, his heir, also had no children to
succeed him; Charles II August, had a claim as Charles Theodore's heir
presumptive. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II wanted Bavaria, to expand his
family's influence. For Frederick II of Prussia, Joseph's claim
threatened the Hohenzollern ascendancy in German politics, but he saw no
point in pursuing hostilities. Frederick Augustus I of Saxony wanted to
preserve the territorial integrity of the Duchy for his brother-in-law,
Charles August, and had no interest in seeing the Habsburgs acquire
additional territory on his borders. France became involved to maintain
the balance of power. Finally, Catherine II of Russia's threat to
intervene on the side of Prussia with 50,000 Russian troops forced
Joseph to reconsider his position, leading to the Treaty of Teschen in
May 1779.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Bavarian_Succession>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1054:
Siward, Earl of Northumbria, led an invasion of Scotland and
defeated Macbeth, King of Scotland, in a battle north of the Firth of
Forth.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siward,_Earl_of_Northumbria>
1694:
A Royal Charter was granted to the Bank of England as the
English Government's banker.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England>
1789:
The U.S. State Department, then known as the Department of
Foreign Affairs, became the first federal agency created under the U.S.
Constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_State>
1916:
British mariner Charles Fryatt was executed at Bruges, Belgium,
after a court-martial found him to be a franc-tireur.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Fryatt>
1953:
An armistice was signed to end hostilities in the Korean War,
officially making the Division of Korea indefinite by creating an
approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) wide demilitarized zone across the Korean
Peninsula.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
portend:
1. (transitive) To serve as a warning or omen.
2. (transitive) To signify; to denote.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/portend>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The thing about dancers is they're a certain breed. You don't do
it to become rich and famous, you don't do it to have a really long
career or to be the star, you do it because you can't imagine your life
not doing it.
--Cat Deeley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cat_Deeley>
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