Major turmoil involving France, Prussia, and the Hapsburg Empire arose during the 1740's. Each empire had an integral part in the rise or decline of the other involved nations. Prussia on one hand was seeking to expand into the Hapsburg territories. France seeing an expansion opportunity as well made an alliance with Prussia. The Hapsburg Empire could only hope to maintain the current boundaries of their kingdom and territories. They also thought it was necessary to create alliances to counterpart the ones made by Prussia. When Prussia seized the Austrian Province of Silesia, the Pragmatic Sanction was broken and upset the continental balance of power. These events and others culminated into the War of the Austrian Succession. The confrontation began though, as a result of each involved nation's foreign policy and their effort to achieve goals to further their economic, political, and geographical position. France, Prussia, and the Hapsburgs exhibited this quality as the War of Austrian Succession developed.
             The foreign policy of France reflected the situation in Prussia and Austria. France did not want to witness a rising power to the east. Therefore, the dilemma was often to determine which nation, Austria or Prussia, was stronger in there effort to unite part of the land east of France. France then hoped to deter their efforts at unity. Furthermore, the aims of the French foreign policy were to "erode further the Hapsburg positions, by moves in the south against Spain and in the east and north against the vulnerable string of Spanish- Hapsburg and German territories". (Kennedy 88) France was looking to expand financially and geographically, by gaining resourceful territories while still maintaining their colonies in America. It is because of their pursuits on two continents that they were trying to become the dominate hybrid power. France began to see the emergence of a multipolar system among European ...