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C. The World, 1650–1789 · The World, 1650–1789

Wars for Empire: Colonial Rivalries and the Seven Years' War

C2 C1 A1.4 A1.7About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain why European states fought a series of wars for trade and empire between 1652 and 1763.
  • I can describe the terms and significance of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713).
  • I can describe the main theatres and outcomes of the Seven Years' War in North America, Europe, South Asia, the Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific.
  • I can explain the consequences of the Treaty of Paris (1763) for Britain, France, Indigenous nations, Acadians and Canadiens.
  • I can evaluate whether the Seven Years' War was a "world war".

Words to know

balance of power
A situation in which no single state is strong enough to dominate the others; European diplomats often tried to maintain it.
theatre (of war)
A region where fighting takes place.
Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
The peace settlements ending the War of the Spanish Succession; Britain gained Acadia, Newfoundland, Hudson Bay, Gibraltar and the asiento.
Diplomatic Revolution
The 1756 switch of alliances: Austria allied with its old enemy France, and Britain with Prussia.
Le Grand Dérangement
The deportation of the Acadians by British authorities, 1755–1764.
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The treaty ending the Seven Years' War among Britain, France and Spain; France gave up Canada.
Canadiens
The French-speaking settler population of New France (Canada) at the time of the Conquest.

A note on this lesson

This lesson is about war, including the deportation of the Acadians. It is written without graphic detail. Many Acadian, Canadien, Indigenous and other families in Canada today trace their history to these events. There is no joke block in the war lessons.

Trade, empire and war

Between 1652 and 1763, the major European powers fought a long series of wars. Most began over European issues, such as who would inherit a throne, but they spread to colonies and oceans, because colonies and trade meant wealth, and wealth paid for armies. Mercantilist thinking (see the lesson on global trade) made rivals' trade a target.

The winner of this long contest, by 1763, was Great Britain, but victory created debts and resentments that led to the revolutions of the next generation.

From the Dutch wars to Utrecht

  • Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1674). England fought three naval wars against the Dutch Republic over trade. In 1664 England took New Amsterdam, renaming it New York.
  • The Nine Years' War (1688–1697) pitted Louis XIV against a coalition led by William III. In North America it was fought by French, English and Indigenous allies along the frontier.
  • The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) began when the last Habsburg king of Spain left his throne to Louis XIV's grandson, Philip. Other powers feared a combined France and Spain. In the peace treaties of Utrecht (1713), Philip kept Spain but the two crowns were never to be united. Britain gained Gibraltar, Minorca, Acadia (mainland Nova Scotia), Newfoundland (France kept fishing rights) and the Hudson Bay territories, plus the asiento, the right to supply enslaved Africans to Spanish America. France kept Île Royale (Cape Breton) and built the fortress of Louisbourg.
  • The War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) began when Frederick II of Prussia seized Silesia from the young empress Maria Theresa. New England forces captured Louisbourg in 1745; at the peace in 1748, Britain returned Louisbourg to France in exchange for Madras in India, which the French had captured. A fortress on Cape Breton was traded for a city in India: the wars were already global.
A century of wars for empire (bars to scale)Anglo-Dutch Wars (three wars)Nine Years' WarWar of the Spanish Succession (Utrecht 1713)War of the Austrian SuccessionSeven Years' War (Paris 1763)16501675170017251750The Anglo-Dutch bar spans three separate wars (1652–54, 1665–67, 1672–74).
Wars for empire filled much of the century. Each peace settled some questions and left others to the next war.

The Seven Years' War, 1756–1763

Fighting began in 1754 in the Ohio Valley, where French and British (Virginian) forces, each with Indigenous allies, clashed over control of the interior. In 1756, in the Diplomatic Revolution, Austria allied with France (and Russia), while Britain allied with Prussia. Then a general war broke out.

  • North America. Early French successes were reversed after Britain sent large forces. The British took Louisbourg (1758) and, after the battle on the Plains of Abraham on 13 September 1759, where both commanders, James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm, were mortally wounded, Quebec. Montreal surrendered in 1760. Indigenous nations fought on both sides, according to their own interests.
  • Acadia. In 1755, before the war formally began, British colonial authorities began deporting the Acadians, who had refused an unconditional oath of allegiance. More than 10 000 people were forced from their homes over the following years; many died. Families were separated. Some later settled in Louisiana (where their descendants are the Cajuns) or returned to the Maritimes. Acadians remember this as Le Grand Dérangement.
  • Europe. Prussia, under Frederick II, survived against Austria, France and Russia, helped by British money and by Russia leaving the war in 1762.
  • South Asia. The British East India Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal at Plassey (1757) and the French at Wandiwash (1760) (see the next lesson).
  • The Caribbean, Africa and the Pacific. Britain captured French slave-trading posts in Senegal and Gorée (1758), the sugar island of Guadeloupe (1759), and, after Spain joined France, Havana and Manila (1762).
The Seven Years' War: one war, many theatres (1754/56–1763)North America1754 Ohio Valley1755 Acadiansdeported1758 Louisbourg1759 Quebec1760 MontrealEuropePrussia and Britainvs. Austria, France,Russia (from 1757)1757 Rossbach,LeuthenSouth Asia1757 Plassey1760 WandiwashBritish East IndiaCompany defeatsFrench and alliesCaribbean and Africa1758 Senegal andGorée taken1759 Guadeloupe1762 HavanaPacific1762 British takeManila from Spain(returned 1764)Indigenous nations fought on both sides in North America; Indian rulers and theirarmies were central in South Asia. Fighting on several continents and the oceans between.
The war was fought on several continents at once. Each box lists only some of the key events.

The Treaty of Paris, 1763

  • France gave up Canada and the land east of the Mississippi to Britain, keeping only Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and fishing rights off Newfoundland. France got back Guadeloupe and Martinique: French leaders judged these sugar islands more valuable than Canada.
  • Spain gave Florida to Britain but got back Havana and Manila, and received western Louisiana from France (by a separate 1762 agreement).
  • In India, France kept only small trading posts.

The war also changed life for peoples who had no seat at the table. About 60 000 to 70 000 Canadiens became British subjects. Indigenous nations lost their French ally and soon fought Pontiac's War (previous lesson). Britain's huge debt led it to tax the Thirteen Colonies, and France's debt and desire for revenge led it to support the American Revolution, worsening the crisis that led to 1789.

Consequences of the Treaty of Paris (1763)Britain wins: huge empireand a huge war debtBritain taxes theThirteen Colonies(Stamp Act 1765)Royal Proclamation;Quebec Act (1774)for new subjectsFrance: lost Canada,debt, wants revengeAmerican Revolution(1775–1783)French financial crisis→ Revolution, 1789France aids the rebels (1778)
The treaty that ended one war helped cause two revolutions. This is a good example of unintended consequences.
Worked example

Modelled example: Was the Seven Years' War a "world war"?

Evaluate the claim: "The Seven Years' War was the first world war."

  1. Define the criteria: a "world war" might mean (1) fighting on several continents and oceans, (2) participation by peoples from many regions, (3) global consequences.
  2. Criterion 1, geography: fighting in North America, Europe, South Asia, West Africa, the Caribbean and the Philippines, and on the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Strongly met.
  3. Criterion 2, participants: European states, Indigenous nations of North America, Indian rulers and soldiers, enslaved and free people in the Caribbean. Met, though it was a war between European coalitions at its core.
  4. Criterion 3, consequences: Britain's global dominance, the fall of New France, Company power in Bengal, and debts that fed the American and French revolutions. Strongly met.
  5. Counter-argument: earlier wars (such as the War of the Spanish Succession, or the Dutch-Portuguese wars of the 1600s) were also fought on several continents, so "first" is debatable; and East Asia's great powers (Qing, Tokugawa) were not involved.

Conclusion: The Seven Years' War was a world war by geography and consequences, but calling it the first is questionable, and it was global mainly from a European-centred viewpoint. Setting criteria first, then testing evidence against each, is how to evaluate a claim and reach a defensible conclusion (A1.7).

Hands-on activity

Cause-and-consequence web

You need: about 20 sticky notes (or small paper squares), a wall or table, and 25 minutes.

  1. Write "Seven Years' War" on a note in the centre.
  2. On notes to the left, write causes (e.g. Ohio Valley rivalry, Diplomatic Revolution, mercantilist competition).
  3. On notes to the right, write consequences (e.g. Fall of New France, British debt, Pontiac's War, Stamp Act, Company rule in Bengal, French debt).
  4. Draw arrows (or use string) to show which consequences led to further consequences.
  5. Circle the unintended consequences in a different colour.

Look for: a web, not a list; at least one chain of three or more links (e.g. war → debt → taxes → American Revolution).

Your turn

1

Why did European wars of this period spread to colonies?

2

Name four things Britain gained at Utrecht (1713).

3

What was traded for Louisbourg in 1748, and why is this significant?

4

What was the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756?

5

What happened on 13 September 1759?

6

What was Le Grand Dérangement?

7

Why did France choose to keep Guadeloupe and Martinique rather than Canada in 1763?

More practice: warm-up

1

What did England rename New Amsterdam in 1664?

2

Which Prussian king seized Silesia in 1740?

3

When did Montreal surrender?

4

Which treaty ended the Seven Years' War between Britain, France and Spain?

5

What two small islands did France keep off Newfoundland?

More practice: on your own

1

Explain how Indigenous nations shaped the war in North America.

2

Why was the Treaty of Paris a turning point for Canadiens?

3

How did victory in 1763 create problems for Britain?

4

Why do historians call Plassey a turning point even though it was a small battle?

5

Explain one unintended consequence of the Seven Years' War.

Challenge

1

Rank three consequences of the Seven Years' War by long-term significance and justify the top one.

2

Assess the claim that the deportation of the Acadians was a military necessity.

3

Why did French leaders value Guadeloupe more than Canada, and what does this reveal about the Atlantic economy?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which treaty gave Britain Acadia, Newfoundland and Hudson Bay in 1713?

2.

What was exchanged for Louisbourg in 1748?

3.

In the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, who allied with France?

4.

What happened to the Acadians beginning in 1755?

5.

What did France keep in North America after 1763?

6.

Which was a consequence of the Seven Years' War?

7.

Why is it debatable to call the Seven Years' War the first world war?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson addresses C2 (conflict and cooperation among groups) and C1 (political developments), and practises using an inquiry tool (A1.4: a cause-and-consequence web) and evaluating a claim to reach a conclusion (A1.7).

Sensitivity: The deportation of the Acadians is presented respectfully. If your family has Acadian, Québécois or Indigenous roots connected to these events, invite your teen to share family stories.

How to help: Build the sticky-note web together. Ask your teen to explain one chain of consequences out loud.

Common difficulties: Treating the war as only a North American event; forgetting Indigenous nations' role; mixing up the treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Paris (1763). Remind your teen that the Grade 7 unit New France and British North America, 1713 to 1800 covered the Canadian side in more detail.