Frederick seizes Silesia, a wealthy province that belongs to the Habsburgs and has a population of about one million inhabitants, in 1740.

Maria Theresa (r. 1740-80), the new Habsburg empress, is unable to regain possession of Silesia, which remains under Prussian control at the end of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48).

Frederick retains Silesia even after facing a coalition of France, Austria, and Russia during the Seven Years' War (1756-63).

Frederick expands Prussian territory still further in 1772, when, with his erstwhile enemies Russia and Austria, he takes part in the First Partition of Poland.

This last seizure is highly beneficial to Frederick because it links eastern Prussia with much of his kingdom's western holdings.