Cabinet wars, derived from the German expression Kabinettskriege (German: [kabiˈnɛtsˌkʁiːɡə], singular Kabinettskrieg), is a historical term to describe the shift in Europe from the regular, limited, aristocratic conflicts of the eighteenth century to total war following the French Revolution.[1] Historians define cabinet wars as a period of small conflicts not involving standing armies, but with a growing military class arising to advise monarchs.[2] The term derived from the council these cabinets provided during the period of absolute monarchies from the 1648 Peace of Westphalia to the 1789 French Revolution. These cabinets were marked by diplomacy and a self-serving nobility.[3][4]