Social Effects Of The Seven Years War

Five nations, three mutual defense agreements, numerous aggressive actions, and over a century of developing tensions all culminated in the Seven Years’ War. Throughout the eras leading up the 1750’s, societal structure and political influence weighed heavily on the development, maintenance, and purpose of the military. The conflict and diplomatic ties between two powerful alliances, Prussia and Great Britain versus France, Austria, and Russia, saw the rise and fall of historical figures such as Frederick II of Prussia (“Frederick the Great”) and the internal collapse of France, Prussia, and Austria. During the Seven Years’ War, the “face of battle,” or detailed experiences of the battlefield, transformed in tandem with social evolution experienced
With a non-volunteer force, a more accurate representation of the general population will be serving alongside one another and often marching across the entire country together, as well as into battle. Similar to the social classes and political scheme of the era, the Officer Corps of the services came from the wealthy, educated, and elite classes, as commissions were either bough with one’s own wealth or given by a relative in command of a unit. Mirroring the demographics of the period, there were rather few officers in the service relative to the number of enlisted Soldiers. While the Officer Corps required some passion, as they are more motivated by glory and representing their family name than survival, the enlisted Soldiers were often “recruited” by unit leadership under false pretenses, booty, or downright forcing the peasants into service. A non-voluntary force, as the time period commonly featured, often led to discipline and unit readiness becoming secondary priorities to the shear survival of the Soldiers, who frequently sold their own possessions just to have money for