Seven Years' War: Encyclopedia II - Seven Years' War - Colonial theatre

Seven Years' War - Colonial theatre

For North American events, see French and Indian War.

British battled French across India, North America, Europe, the Caribbean isles, the Philippines and coastal Africa. During the 1750s up to 1763, Britain gained enormous areas of land and influence at the expense of the French. Robert Clive ran the French from India, and General Wolfe defeated the French forces of General Montcalm at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham leading in the following year to the surrender of Canada to the British. The British navy captured the French sugar colonies of Guadeloupe in 1759 and Martinique in 1762, as well as the Spanish city of Havana in Cuba.

In 1758 the British mounted an attack on New France by land and by sea. The French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island fell in 1758. And on 13 September 1759, General James Wolfe defeated the French forces at Québec. By the autumn of 1760, French America had become British.

Towards the very end of the war, in 1762, French forces attacked St. John's, Newfoundland. If successful, the expedition would have strengthened France's hand at the negotiating table. Though they took St. John's and raided nearby settlements, the French forces were eventually defeated by British troops under Colonel William Amherst.

The war ended with the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763. It contained important clauses including the cession to France of the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Colonial theatre", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki