The Seven Years War was a global contest between the two superpowers of eighteenth century Europe, France and Britain. Winston Churchill called it “the first World War”. Neither side could afford to lose advantage in any part of the world, and the decisive battles of the war ranged from Fort Duquesne in what is now Pittsburgh to Minorca in the Mediterranean, from Bengal to Quèbec. By its end British power in North America and India had been consolidated and the foundations of Empire laid, yet at the time both sides saw it primarily as a struggle for security, power and influence within Europe.
In this eagerly awaited study, Daniel Baugh, the world’s leading authority on eighteenth century maritime history looks at the war as it unfolded from the failure of Anglo-French negotiations over the Ohio territories in early 1755 through the official declaration of war in 1756 to the treaty of Paris which formally ended hostilities between England and France in 1763. At each stage he examines the processes of decision-making on each side for what they can show us about the capabilities and efficiency of the two national governments and looks at what was involved not just in the military engagements themselves but in the complexities of sustaining campaigns so far from home.
With its panoramic scope and use of telling detail this definitive account will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in military history or the history of eighteenth century Europe.
CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Introduction
North America’s Emerging Importance
Canada’s Utility for France
A Global Contest
Geography and Policy
Chapter 2 Statesmen and Regimes
The Duke of Newcastle
The Earl of Hardwicke
William Pitt
The Duc de Choiseul
Chapter 3 Origins: The Contested Regions, 1748-1754
Acadia and Nova Scotia
The New York Frontier
Ohio: The French Predicament
Ohio: The French Solution
Virginia Responds
A Contest in India: Dupleix’s Project
Chapter 4 Risking War, 1754-1755
Unreadiness of the British Colonies
Britain Raises the Stakes
The Futile Negotiation
Britain and Europe
Whitehall Under Pressures, Versailles Under Illusions
Chapter 5 War Without Declaration: North America, 1755
The French Navy Wins a Gamble
Nova Scotia
Braddock and Disaster
Campaigns in Northern New York
Chapter 6 Indecision in Europe: May to December 1755
Seizure of French Shipping
The Netherlands and Hanover
Pitt and the Russian Subsidy
Paralysis at Versailles
Chapter 7 French Triumphs, British Blunders, 1756
France’s Initial War Plan
France and the Diplomatic Revolution
Admiral Byng and the French Conquest of Minorca
Oswego Destroyed
British and American Armies
Chapter 8 France’s New War Plan, 1756-1757
Pitt Attains his Goal
War Begins on the Continent
France’s New War Plan
The Trial of Admiral Byng
Pitt, George II and Germany
The French Invasion of Germany
A Hanoverian Policy
Louisbourg and Lake George
The Rochefort Expedition
Chapter 9 The Tide Turns, 1758
The French Army in Germany: Defeat and Disaster
War in India: Bengal
Achieving Naval Superiority
Raids on the French Channel Coast
France in Distress
Chapter 10 The Atlantic and North America, 1758
Seapower and Shipping
West Africa
Changing Conditions of North American Warfare
The Conquest of Louisbourg
Ticonderoga and Frontenac
Mountains and Indians: The Road to Fort Duquesne
Chapter 11 The West Indies and North America, 1759
Martinique and Guadeloupe
Niagara and Lake Champlain
Montcalm, Vaudreuil and the Defence of Canada
The Capture of Quebec
Chapter 12 The British Victory at Sea, 1759
Invasion Threat and Blockade of Brest
Lagos Bay and Quiberon Bay
France Defeated: The War Lost
Chapter 13 Britain Conquers Afar, Disunity Looms at Home
Choiseul’s Approach to Peace, 1759-60
War in India: The Coromandel Coast
The Conquest of Canada, 1760
Pitt and the German War
The Pitt-Newcastle Administration Undermined
Chapter 14 The Chance of Peace, 1761
Antecedents: Spain, Austria, Russia, and Ferdinand’s Winter Campaign
Choiseul’s Two Negotiations
Belle-Île and Westphalia
The Anglo-French Negotiation
Choiseul and the Lost Chance of Peace
The Path to War with Spain
Chapter 15 Peacemaking 1762: Concessions Before Conquests
Aftermath of Pitt’s Resignation
The German War and the Prussian Subsidy
Martinique Conquered
The Secret Negotiation
The Defence of Portugal
The Capture of Havana
Peace with Bitterness
Chapter 16 Conclusion and Aftermath
Fundamental Causes of British Military Success
Why Peace was Delayed
The Significance of 1762
Outcomes: Peace Terms, Finances, Navies, Spain and France
Britain and North America
Abbreviations and Short Titles
Notes on Sources