What Was the Seven Years’ War?
The Seven Years’ War, fought from 1756 to 1763, pitted the major European military powers of the time against each other through a labyrinthian series of alliances and geopolitics, like an 18th-century equivalent of World War I. The factors leading to the war were complex enough that the English author William Makepeace Thackeray wrote in his novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, “It would require a greater philosopher and historian than I am to explain the causes of the famous Seven Years' War… its origin has always appeared to me to be so complicated, and the books written about it so amazingly hard to understand, that I have seldom been much wiser at the end of a chapter than at the beginning.” Let’s piece it together more simply here.
Who Fought in the Seven Years’ War?
The two alliances during the war were Austria, France, Russia, Saxony (now a state in Germany), and Sweden on one side; Great Britain, Hanover (also now a state in Germany), and Prussia on the other. These alliances were formed in the wake of the War of the Austrian Succession (which started in 1740) and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (which ended it in 1748), and they represented a major alignment shift, known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Former allies Great Britain and Austria became at odds due to the inefficacy of Great Britain’s military assistance to Austria in preventing Silesia (modern-day Poland) from falling to Prussia: Austria viewed Great Britain’s aid as inadequate, and Great Britain believed that its support to Austria was an investment that was not gaining enough return. Prussia, which had been aligned with France, became aligned with Great Britain due to the latter’s desire to preemptively defend Hanover from risk of invasion by France.
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Why Was the War Fought?
The Seven Years’ War was very much about land — specifically, reclaiming territory or expanding empires, depending on the country. Longtime enemies France and Great Britain were fighting for commercial and colonial supremacy in North America and India. Austria wanted to reclaim its former province Silesia from Prussia, and exact revenge in the process: In the words of Austrian ruler Maria Theresa, “Prussia must be given a trouncing.” Russia saw Prussia as a threat to its territory and aligned with Austria accordingly. Sweden joined the anti-Prussia coalition to protect its military presence in the Baltics, and in hopes of currying favor with Austria and France. (As Swedish historian Patrik Winton put it, “Swedish politicians hoped that the coalition would lead to a quick victory without having to get too involved in the fighting, but that Sweden still would be rewarded for its support. Swedish military action was thus primarily designed to show the allies that Sweden participated in the war.”) Prussia sought to continue the territorial expansion it accomplished in the War of the Austrian Succession, specifically eyeing Saxony and Polish West Prussia.
When and Where Did the Fighting Take Place?
Part of what makes the Seven Years’ War convoluted is its wide geographic range, somewhat fuzzy timeline, and a sense of separation between the participants: The war was at its core a fusion of one war between France and Great Britain, and another war between Austria and Prussia. While the official time frame of the Seven Years’ War is 1756 to 1763, related battles took place before 1756, particularly in North America. The North American theater of the war has been commonly referred to as the French and Indian War, as Indigenous peoples in North America largely allied with the French against the British (though the Iroquois Confederacy aligned with Great Britain). The conflict began in 1754 as a series of military skirmishes between the French and British over undefined territory in the Ohio Valley. The moniker “French and Indian War” not only sounds outdated today, but is also confusing, as the French and British also fought separate battles during the Seven Years’ War in India.
The military action in continental Europe began with the French seizing the British territory of Menorca in June 1756. Two months later, Prussia invaded Saxony, which triggered the aforementioned alliances. The alliance-activating nature of Prussia’s invasion of Saxony is the reason why it’s considered the start of the Seven Years’ War, even though the French invasion of Menorca and two years of colonial North American battles between France and Great Britain predate it. War between France and Great Britain was not officially declared until 1756. The other major theaters of the war include the Caribbean, Central America, the Philippines, and West Africa, as well as warship battles at sea.
What Was the Impact of the Seven Years’ War?
Two peace treaties ended the Seven Years’ War. The Treaty of Paris was signed on February 10, 1763, between Great Britain, France, Hanover, Portugal, and Spain; five days later, the Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed between Austria, Prussia, and Saxony. The Treaty of Paris represented a major loss of territory for France, as it resulted in France relinquishing all of its North American territories east of the Mississippi River (except New Orleans), all land gains in India and the East Indies since 1749, and some of its West Indies territories, ceding them to Great Britain in most cases. The Treaty of Hubertusburg was a status quo antebellum agreement, restoring the conditions that existed prior to the Seven Years’ War: Silesia remained a Prussian territory, and Saxony regained its sovereignty.
These treaties resulted in the enhancement of Great Britain as a global power. The war also led to the rise of George Washington, who was a 22-year-old major during the first North American military battles between Great Britain and France, and eventually became commander of the Virginia colony’s military regiment. Ultimately, the exorbitant expense of the Seven Years’ War resulted in Great Britain levying increased taxes upon the American colonies, fostering conditions that led to the American Revolutionary War.
