Great Britain in the Seven Years' War
was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War, which for Britain in fact lasted nine years, between 1754 and 1763. British involvement in the conflict began in 1754 in what became known as the French and Indian War. However the warfare in the European theatre involving countries other than Britain and France commenced in 1756. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power, having gained all of New France in North America, ending France's role as a colonial power there. Following Spain's entry in the war in alliance with France in the third Family Compact, Britain captured the major Spanish ports of Havana, Cuba and Manila, in the Philippines in 1762, and agreed to return them in exchange for Spanish Florida. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 formally ended the conflict and Britain established itself as the world's pre-eminent naval power.
The war started poorly for Britain, at the hands of France in North America during 1754–1755, and in the fall of Menorca in 1756. The same year Britain's major ally Austria switched sides and aligned itself with France, and Britain was hastily forced to conclude a new alliance with Frederick the Great's Prussia. For the next seven years these two nations were ranged against a growing number of enemy powers led by France. After a period of political instability, the rise of a government headed by the Duke of Newcastle and William Pitt the Elder provided Britain with firmer leadership, enabling it to consolidate and achieve its war aims.
In 1759, Britain enjoyed an Annus Mirabilis, with success over the French on the continent, in North America, and in India. In 1761, Britain also came into conflict with Spain. The following year British forces captured Havana and Manila, the western and eastern capitals of the Spanish Empire, and repulsed a Spanish invasion of Portugal. By this time the Pitt-Newcastle ministry had collapsed, Britain was short of credit and the generous peace terms offered by France and its allies were accepted.
Through the crown, Britain was allied to the Kingdom of Ireland and the Electorate of Hanover, both of which effectively fell under British military command throughout the war. It also directed the military strategy of its various colonies around the world including British America. In India, British possessions were administered by the East India Company.
Background
The last major conflict in Europe, the War of the Austrian Succession, had ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle after a bloody war had left large parts of Central Europe devastated. The peace terms were unpopular with many, however, as they largely retained the status quo, which led the people of states such as France, Britain and Austria to believe that they had not made sufficient gains for their efforts in the war. By the early 1750s, many saw another major war as imminent, and Austria was preparing its forces for an attempt to retake Silesia from Prussia.The British Prime Minister, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, had acceded to the premiership in 1754 after the sudden death of his brother Henry Pelham and led a government made up largely of Whigs. Newcastle had thirty years of experience as a Secretary of State and was a leading figure on the diplomatic scene.
Despite enjoying a comfortable majority in the House of Commons, Newcastle was extremely cautious and vulnerable to attacks led by men such as William Pitt, the leader of the Patriot Whigs. Newcastle fervently believed that peace in Europe was possible so long as the "Old System", a structure of alliances with European powers in which Britain had formed grand coalitions against Bourbon ambitions in Europe, as well as the alliance with Austria, prevailed, and he devoted much of his efforts to the continuance of his policy.
One of the major concerns for the British government of the era was colonial expansion. During the 18th century, the British colonies in North America had become more populous and powerful and were agitating to expand westwards into the American interior. The territory that was most prized by the new settlers was the Ohio Country, which was also claimed by France. It had economic potential and was considered a strategically-key territory since French control would block British expansion westwards, and French territory would eventually surround the British colonies and pin them against the coast. A number of colonial delegations to London urged the government to take more decisive action in the Ohio dispute.
In the wars of the time, the British tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on Continental Europe.They sought to offset the disadvantage of this in Europe by allying themselves with one or more continental powers whose interests were antithetical to those of their enemies, particularly France. By subsidising the armies of continental allies, Britain could turn London's enormous financial power to military advantage.
During the Seven Years' War, the British chose as their principal partner the most brilliant general of the day, Frederick the Great of Prussia, which was the rising power in Central Europe, and paid Frederick substantial subsidies for his campaigns.That was accomplished in the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 in which Britain ended its long-standing alliance with Austria in favour of Prussia, which left Austria to side with France. In marked contrast to France's strategy, Britain strove to prosecute the war actively in the colonies and took full advantage of its naval power. The British pursued a dual strategy of naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports, combined with rapid movement of troops by sea. They harassed enemy shipping and attacked enemy colonies and frequently used colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort.
War in North America
Initial skirmishes (1754–1755)
The Ohio Country located between Britain's Thirteen Colonies and France's New France saw France and Britain clash. In 1753, the French sent an expedition south from Montreal that began constructing forts in the upper reaches of the Ohio River. In 1754, the Province of Virginia sent the Virginia Regiment led by George Washington to the area to assist in the construction of a British fort at present-day Pittsburgh, but the larger French force had driven away a smaller British advance party and built Fort Duquesne. Washington and some native allies ambushed a company of French scouts at the Battle of Jumonville Glen in late May 1754. In the skirmish the French envoy Joseph Coulon de Jumonville was left dead leading to a diplomatic incident. The French responded in force from Fort Duquesne, and in July Washington was forced to surrender at the Battle of Fort Necessity. Despite the conflict between them, the two nations were not yet formally at war.Braddock Expedition (1755)
The government in Britain, realising that the existing forces of America were insufficient, drew up a plan to dispatch two battalions of Irish regular troops under General Edward Braddock and intended to massively increase the number of Provincial American forces. A number of expeditions were planned to give the British the upper hand in North America including a plan for New England troops to capture Fort Beauséjour and Fortress Louisbourg in Acadia, and others to act against Fort Niagara and Fort Saint-Frédéric from Albany, New York. The largest operation was a plan for Braddock to dislodge the French from the Ohio Country.In May 1755, Braddock's column blundered into an enemy force composed of French and Native Americans at the Battle of the Monongahela near Fort Duquesne. After several hours' fighting the British were defeated and forced to retreat, Braddock died a few days later of his wounds. The remainder of his force returned to Philadelphia and took up quarters, intending no further action that year. The French remained in control of the Ohio Country.
In the maritime theatre, the British were successful in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour and in their campaign to remove the French military threat from Acadia. After the battle the British began the Great Expulsion called the Bay of Fundy Campaign by the British, with the intent of preventing Acadian support of the French supply lines to Louisbourg. The British forcibly relocated 12,000 French-speakers. Two additional expeditions from Albany each failed to reach their objectives, although one, William Johnson's expedition, did establish Fort William Henry and held off a French attempt on Fort Edward in the Battle of Lake George.
When news of the Braddock disaster reached Britain it caused a massive public outcry over the government's poor military preparation. The government appointed William Shirley as the new commander-in-chief in North America, and planned an equally ambitious series of operations for the following year.
Further struggles in North America (1756–1758)
Britain and France continued to clash, each with increasingly large forces. Even though the inhabitants of the British colonies hugely outnumbered those of New France, they were unable to exercise this advantage, partly due to a successful campaign by the French to recruit Native American allies who raided the unprotected frontier of the Thirteen Colonies. The British raised regiments of local militia and shipped in more regular forces from Britain and Ireland.Despite these increased forces Britain continued to fare badly in the battle for control of the Ohio Country and the nearby Great Lakes, and none of their campaigns was successful in 1756. After losing the Battle of Fort Oswego, not only that fort, but others in the Mohawk River valley were abandoned. This was followed in 1757 by the fall of Fort William Henry and the Indian atrocities that followed. News of this disaster sent a fresh wave of panic around the British colonies, and the entire militia of New England was mobilised overnight.
In the maritime theatre, a raid was organized on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and several on the Chignecto. A British attempt to take Louisbourg in 1757 failed due to bad weather and poor planning. The following year, in part because of having expelled many Acadians, the Siege of Louisbourg succeeded, clearing the way for an advance on Quebec. Immediately after the fall of Louisbourg the expulsion of the Acadians continued with the removal of Acadians in the St. John River Campaign, the Petitcodiac River Campaign, the Ile Saint-Jean Campaign, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign.
By this point, the war in North America had reached a stalemate, with France broadly holding the territorial advantage. It held possession of the disputed Ohio territory but lacked the strength to launch an attack on the more populous British coastal colonies.
One of the most significant geopolitical actions of the time was the slow movement towards unity in North America started by delegates of seven British North American colonies at the Albany Congress. Although delegates rejected a Plan of Union proposed by Benjamin Franklin, those seven colonies did combine to fight the War of Independence in which 13 British colonies seceded from the British Empire, eventually to form the United States of America.