The Seven Years War was best known to those in American history as the French and Indian war. In reality, the war was much larger in scope and devastation in relation to the simple name given to it. Lasting from 1756-1763, the Seven Years War involved much of the imperial powers of that time: Prussia, England, and Portugal on one side with France, Spain, and Austria on the other. Spurred by competition for land and territory, the war implicated the two world powers, Britain and France, in a fateful battle for dominance. The period also saw the rise of important figures such as George Washington and Benedict Arnold that would later be instrumental in the American Revolution. Yet the significance of this war was that it set up the stage for events like the French and American Revolutions, and rearranged a new world order of imperialism.
In the years leading up to the Seven Years War, there were already many skirmishes in the thirteen colonies between the British and the Native American tribes in the area.1 The first official year of fighting also led to many decisive defeats to the overextended British Empire. Many small battles for dominance between the British and the French also occurred along the Indian coast. In response to the acts of expansion by the French, the British decided to defend its own territory in North America and India.2 There were many battles scattered across the world, with significant naval battles in the Indian theatre and the Mediterranean. At first, the French won many decisive battles with the aid of its allies against the British Empire. Both countries however, were relatively equal in size and power at the time, but that would soon change. The British began to turn the tide as they made significant lead...
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...ersity of North Carolina Press, 1984.
10. Fraser, Rebecca. "George III (1727-1760)." The Story of Britain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
11. Ibid.
12. Cobban, Alfred . "Historians and the Causes of the French Revolution." Aspects of the French Revolution. New York: George Braziller, 1968.
13. Hane, W. Scott. "Absolute Monarchy." The History of France. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000.
14. Ibid.
15. Fraser, Rebecca. "George III (1727-1760)." The Story of Britain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
16. Ibid.
17. Graham, Gerald S. "William Pitt and the Seven Years War." A Concise History of the British Empire. New York: Viking Press, 1970.
18. Ibid.
19. Marshall, Peter. "The British Presence in India in the 18th Century." http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/east_india_01.shtml (accessed June 8, 2014).
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
Eliga H. Gould, The Persistence of Empire: British Political Culture in the Age of the American Revolution (North Carolina: Omohundro Institute, 2000),
The Seven Years War originally dealt with real estate and advantages in the Ohio Valley, however, it became a national war that relied on the Native Americans. The interactions that were held between powers resided based upon the interactions each had with the Natives in their region. During the beginning of the war, different powers were able to lure Native support by using goods and protection. This eventually faded off as the Native Americans sided with the French, and brutalities began occurring amongst the tribes as well. The relations held during the war with the Native American groups shaped the course of the war as well as the course after the war. The Native Americans were undoubtedly the most influential group in the Seven Years War, and the interactions held with them directly affected each world power during and after.
Leach, Douglas E. flintlock and Tomahawk: New England in King Philip's War. NewYork: Norton, 1959
Wernham, Richard Bruce. Before the Armada: The growth of English foreign policy 1485–1588. Cape, 1996.
The Seven Years War proved to be a crossroads in the history of British colonial rule in America. Britain was victorious, but after defeating her French foes (along with their Indian allies), Britain was left to contemplate the ramifications of a war that would leave her relationship with her American colonies altered forever. This change would eventually lead to conflict between the colonies and Britain, and ultimately the Declaration of American Independence.
Schama, Simon. A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World?. New York, New York: Hyperion, 2000. Print.
The French and Indian War or the Seven Years War was one of the major events that led to the American Revolution. The French and Indian War started in 1754 when George Washington and General Edward Braddock tried to defend the British land that they felt the French were taking with their expansion into the Ohio River valley. In 1755 Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts had many French settlers in the Nova Scotia region moved from that region to avoid any confrontation if these settlers sided with their home country. These people were exiled from their home and moved into British colonies in a very cruel and violent fashion. This is one of the first examples of Britain’s oppressive nature towards people they consider a threat to what they feel is the best solution. The British military effort, at this time, was not as impassioned or successful. Both George Washington and General Braddock suffered major defeats at the hands of the French and their allies, General Braddock was even killed in one of the early battles before this war was officially started. It was not until later in the war that the British were able to successfully defeat the French. The war officially began in 1756 and ended in 1763 but this war is far less important than the major event it caused. More than anything this war was the first step to the American Revolution.
In 1756, the war that lasted for 9 years, not including the events that led up to the war are known to some as the French and Indian War and to others as the Seven Years’ War (French And Indian War). In this paper I am going to discuss what took place during the war, what led to war, finally, explain what led to the ending of the war.
The French and Indian war also known as the Seven Years war lasted from 1754 to 1763. The French and Indian war altered relations between the British and American colonies through political, economical and ideological aspects. The war was fought between the English and the American colonists in what was called the New World.The war that raged in North America through the late 1750's and early 1760's was but one part of the larger struggle between England and France for dominance in world trade and naval power. The British victory in that struggle, known in Europe as the Seven Years' War , ended the long struggle among the three principal powers in northeastern North America: The English, the French, and the Iroquois Confederacy, it confirmed England's commercial supremacy and cemented its control of the settled regions of North America.
The Seven Years War would be marked as a major power changing in Canada. The Seven Years War began in 1756 and involved major powers of England and France. Canada was populated by both English and French settlers, resulting in the conflict of the Seven Years War being fought in Canada, as well as overseas. The Seven Years War would conclude the struggle for power between the French and the English within Canada, ending with the dominant control of one power. During the Seven Years War, the British had several advantages over the French. One primary advantage that the British held over the French was that due to fighting overseas, France could only sacrifice limited resources to the colonies New France. Frances man power and resources overseas
McCullough seems to have little bias when the novel begins with the introduction of King George the third. Still youthful at thirty seven, and still hardworking after fifteen years on the thrown, he could be notably willful and often shortsighted, but he was sincerely patriotic and everlasting duty-bound.” ( McCullough 6). The description of the King showed a side of the Revolution many do not think of. Often the British are just thought of as the enemy in red, not so much people who the war affected greatly, whose lives were also lost fighting for their country. The British and King George the third had reason, some may not agree, but it was valid from their point of view. David McCullough manages to open the readers mind to the differ...
The Seven Years’ War generated an uncertain change in Europe's alliance structure and stability of control. The war was waged to resolve the dominance of the power in Europe. The reason that was elemental was which country in the colonial field would dominate. And in America this war was also called the French and Indian War. During the war there were three essential areas where the war took place, “Nova Scotia and what was then Acadia, the frontier between New France and New York, and the upper Ohio River, gateway to the Old Northwest” (137). The following paragraphs below will describe how Britain believed they had to prevent the French from having gain and control over the territories and trade that in the British eyes saw was lawfully
From 1754 to 1763, the French and Indian War took place. This war altered the political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies. It was the last of four North American wars waged from 1689 to 1763 between the British and the French. In these struggles, each country fought for control of the continent with the assistance of Native American and colonial allies. The French and Indian War occurred to end the land dispute between the British and French. Whoever won, in reality, gained an empire. It was a determined and eventually successful attempt by the British to get a dominant position in North America, the West Indies, and the subcontinent of India. Although Britain had won all this land, political, economic, and ideological relations between Britain and its American colonies were totally annihilated.
Findling, John E., ed. Events That Changed Great Britain Since 1689. Ed. Frank W. Thackeray. Westport: Greenwood, 2002. 75-80. Print.
Gascoigne, Bamber. "HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN (from 1707)." History World. (2001): n. page. Print. .