Seven Years War Begins
The Seven Years' War, which began in Europe in 1756, is often called the first truly global conflict. Fought between two shifting coalitions of European powers, it spread across Europe, North America, the Caribbean, West Africa, India and the Philippines. Its outcome reshaped the balance of power, left Britain the dominant colonial and naval power, and set in motion financial and political pressures that contributed to later revolutions.
The war grew from rivalries that the previous major conflict, the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), had left unresolved. Austria wanted to recover Silesia, a rich province seized by Prussia's Frederick II. Britain and France, meanwhile, were competing for land, trade and influence in North America and India. Fighting between British and French forces and their respective Native American allies had already broken out in the Ohio River valley in the mid-1750s, and this conflict is known in North America as the French and Indian War. In 1756, a diplomatic upheaval often called the "Diplomatic Revolution" realigned old alliances: Britain allied with Prussia, while Austria joined forces with its longtime enemy France, and later Russia sided against Prussia.
The war in Europe is usually dated from August 1756, when Frederick launched a preemptive invasion of Saxony, fearing an encirclement by Austria, France and Russia. Prussia, though much smaller than its opponents, survived through Frederick's tactical skill, the use of interior lines, and some fortunate breaks, including Russia's withdrawal from the war after the death of Empress Elizabeth in 1762. Elsewhere, Britain used its navy and financial strength to target French colonies and trade. British forces captured Quebec in 1759 and Montreal in 1760, and British victories in India, notably at Plassey in 1757, strengthened the East India Company's position in Bengal.
The conflict ended with the Treaty of Paris and the Treaty of Hubertusburg in 1763. France ceded most of its North American holdings, with Louisiana west of the Mississippi passing to Spain, while Britain gained Canada and territory east of the Mississippi. Prussia kept Silesia and emerged as a recognized great power. Spain, which had entered the war late on France's side, lost Florida to Britain but received Louisiana.
The consequences were far-reaching. Britain's victory came with enormous debt, and attempts to raise revenue from the American colonies after the war helped fuel the tensions that led to the American Revolution. France's weakened finances and loss of prestige are often seen as one of the long-term factors behind the crisis of the monarchy in the 1780s, though historians stress that many causes were involved. The war also marked a turning point in how European states fought and financed conflicts across oceans.