The Seven Years War*

1. The Seven Years War* * But lasted NINE years

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. The World at War • Blue = England & Allies • Green = France & Allies

7. 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

8. 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

9. War in Africa • English raiders captured numerous French trading posts along the West African coast

10. War in India • English and their local allies captured French forts and trading posts, eventually pushing the French out of India altogether

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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

15. 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