Vattel’s Law of Nations appeared in the midst of the Seven Years’ War. Vattel’s lasting fame was, however, not an instant effect of the initial reception of his main work as the Law of Nations spread throughout Europe on a much larger scale after its second enlarged edition was posthumously published in 1773. The context of the Seven Years’ War is nonetheless important. To understand the Law of Nations and its enduring legacy and influence on international law, constitutionalism and political thought, its immediate reception as well as its proximity to the mechanisms of diplomacy, war and peace need to be taken into account. By assessing the Law of Nations in the context of the Seven Years’ War and along with other sources of the time, Vattel’s position towards contemporary French, Prussian and British politics can be reconstructed.