The Seven Years War*

* Lasted NINE years

The Seven Years War• 1754 -1763• First global conflict –

fought on 5 continents and 3 oceans

• Some historians argue that THIS war is the real “World War One”

• In America, we often refer to it as the French & Indian War

Causes of War• France and England were

competing for colonies in America, Africa, and India

• Austria and Prussia were competing for influence in the German microstates of Central Europe

• Russia wanted to limit Prussian aggression in Eastern Europe

Tangled Alliances• In Europe

– England allied with Prussia– France allied with Austria and

Russia• In North America

– France allied with Native American tribes

– English enlisted help from their American colonists

• In India– English allied themselves with

one set of minor princes– French allied themselves with a

different set of minor princes

The World at War

• Blue = England & Allies • Green = France & Allies

War in North America• Early English attacks on

French forts in the Ohio River Valley failed, but thanks to English naval superiority, the English were eventually able to capture Canada

• The fighting in North America, also known as the French & Indian War, is where a young George Washington gained his first military experience

War in the Caribbean• English captured the

French sugar islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, as well as the Spanish city of Havana, Cuba

• English, French, and Spanish fleets did battle multiple times in the Caribbean, but the English nearly always won

War in Africa• English raiders

captured numerous French trading posts along the West African coast

War in India• English and their

local allies captured French forts and trading posts, eventually pushing the French out of India altogether

War in South America & Pacific• Spanish (allied with the

French) and Portuguese (allied with the English) raided back and forth between Spanish South American colonies and Portuguese Brazil

• English captured the Spanish colonial capital of Manila in the Philippines (an archipelago in the Western Pacific Ocean)

War in Europe• Prussia fought off attacks

from the French, Austrians and Russians with practically no military help from the English (except at sea)

• Just as Prussia was starting to falter, Russia’s tsarina died and the new tsar (Peter III) pulled Russia out of the war

• Peter was assassinated just 6 months later, leaving his wife Catherine, a PRUSSIAN PRINCESS as tsarina of Russia

Peace Settlements• Treaty of Paris

– France gave Canada to England and agreed to English control of India and several former French colonies in Africa; France also gave Spain Louisiana

– England returned Caribbean sugar islands to France

– Spain gave Florida to England• Treaty of Hubertusburg

– Returned all boundaries in Europe to where they were before the war

• Native American tribes were excluded from all peace talks

Costs of War• Over 1 million dead• France and England both nearly

bankrupt from overspending on the war, a situation which led directly to both the American and French Revolutions

• Native American tribes, unhappy with their situation, stepped up attacks against English settlers

• England now faced with having to pay for soldiers to defend their new colonies, especially in America