33 Events of the Seven Years’ War
21.4.2: Events of the Seven Years’ War
The Seven Years’ War was fought between 1756 and 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire, spanned five continents, and affected Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines.
Learning Objective
Outline the progression of the Seven Years’ War
Key Points
- The Seven Years’ War was a world war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire, spanning five continents and affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines.
- Realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony in 1756 and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe. Because of Prussia’s alliance with Britain, Austria formed an alliance with France. Reluctantly, most of the states of the empire joined Austria’s cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states (especially Hanover, which remained in a personal union with Britain).
- After a series of victories and failures on both sides, by 1763, forces were depleted and the war in central Europe was essentially a stalemate. Frederick the Great had retaken most of Silesia and Saxony but not the latter’s capital, Dresden; Catherine the Great ended Russia’s alliance with Prussia and withdrew from the war; and Austria was facing a severe financial crisis. A peace settlement was reached at the Treaty of Hubertusburg, ending the war in central Europe.
- In North America, the French and Indian War (1754–1763) pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France as well as by American Indian allies.
- In the Fantastic War (1762-63) in South America, Spanish forces conquered the Portuguese territories of Colonia do Sacramento and Rio Grande de São Pedro and forced the Portuguese to surrender and retreat. In India, the British eventually eliminated French power. In West Africa, the British captured Senegal, the island of Gorée, and the French trading post on the Gambia. The loss of these valuable colonies further weakened the French economy.
- Over the course of the war in colonies, Great Britain gained enormous areas of land and influence. They captured the French sugar colonies of Guadeloupe in 1759 and Martinique in 1762 as well as the cities of Havana in Cuba and Manila in the Philippines, both prominent Spanish colonial cities.
Key Terms
- Treaty of Paris
- A 1763 treaty signed by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, and Spain with Portugal in agreement after Great Britain’s victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years’ War. The signing of the treaty formally ended the Seven Years’ War, known as the French and Indian War in the North American theater, and marked the beginning of an era of