The global Seven Years War, 1754-1763 : Britain and France in a great power contest / Daniel Baugh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baugh, Daniel A.

Series:

Modern wars in perspective

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anglo-French War, 1755-1763.

Seven Years' War, 1756-1763.

World politics.

Great powers.

History.

United States--History--French and Indian War, 1754-1763.

United States.

Great Britain--Foreign relations--France.

Great Britain.

International relations.

France.

France--Foreign relations--Great Britain.

Great Britain--Foreign relations--1714-1837.

France--Foreign relations--1715-1774.

Great powers--History--18th century.

World politics--18th century.

Imperialism--History--18th century.

Imperialism.

Physical Description:

xv, 736 pages ; 22 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Harlow, England ; New York : Longman, 2011.

Summary:

The Seven Years War was a global contest between Europe's two most advanced monarchies of the eighteenth century: 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 Quebec. By the war's 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 and influence among contending European powers.

Daniel Baugh, a leading authority on eighteenth-century maritime history, provides a lucid, comprehensive and insightful account of the conflict. Battles and sieges are treated as inseparable from the difficulties of campaigning in far-flung and unfamiliar places; particular achievements (and failures) of the Royal Navy are highlighted. By unfolding the narrative as a series of challenges to statesmen and military officers, often presented in their own words, Baugh allows fresh evaluations of the performance of political systems and leading statesmen on both sides.

Anyone interested in the demands of war-making and the political stresses of peacemaking will gain knowledge and insight from this magisterial work. Book jacket.

Contents:

North America's emerging importance 2

Canada's utility for France 5

A global contest 8

Geography and policy 14

2 Statesmen and regimes 17

The Duke of Newcastle 18

The Earl of Hardwicke 20

William Pitt 24

The duc de Choiseul 28

Origins: the contested regions, 1748-54 35

Acadia and Nova Scotia 36

The New York frontier 44

Ohio: the French predicament 46

Ohio: the French solution 53

Virginia responds 59

A contest in India: Dupleix's project 66

4 Risking war, 1754-55 73

Unreadiness of the British colonies 73

Britain raises the stakes 79

The futile negotiation 83

Britain and Europe 91

London under pressures, Versailles under illusions 101

5 War without declaration: North America, 1755 111

The French navy gambles and wins 112

Nova Scotia 117

Braddock and disaster 124

Campaigns in northern New York 133

6 Indecision in Europe: May to December 1755 141

The seizure of French shipping, 1755 142

The Netherlands and Hanover 147

Pitt and the Russian subsidy 155

Paralysis at Versailles 162

7 French triumphs, British blunders, 1756 169

France's initial war plan 170

France and the Diplomatic Revolution 174

Admiral Byng and the French conquest of Minorca 182

Oswego destroyed 195

British and American armies 203

8 France's new war plan, 1756-57 213

Pitt attains his goal 213

War begins on the continent 221

France's new war plan 225

The trial of Admiral Byng 229

Pitt, George II and Germany 235

The French invasion of Germany 242

A Hanoverian policy 248

Louisbourg and Lake George 253

The Rochefort expedition 262

9 The tide turns, 1758 271

The French army in Germany: defeat and disaster 273

War in India: Bengal 282

Achieving naval superiority 297

Raids on the French Channel coast 306

France in distress 311

10 The Atlantic and North America, 1758 319

Sea power and shipping 320

West Africa 330

Changing conditions of warfare in North America 332

The conquest of Louisbourg 338

Ticonderoga and Frontenac 348

Mountains and Indians: the road to Fort Duquesne 356

11 The West Indies and North America, 1759 377

Martinique and Guadeloupe 377

Niagara and Lake Champlain 385

Montcalm, Vaudreuil and the defence of Canada 396

The capture of Quebec 404

12 The British victory at sea, 1759 421

Invasion threat and blockade of Brest 422

Lagos Bay and Quiberon Bay 431

France defeated: the war lost 443

13 Britain conquers afar, disunity looms at home 453

Choiseul's approach to peace, 1759-60 454

War in India: the Coromandel Coast 462

The conquest of Canada, 1760 483

Pitt and the German war 494

The Pitt-Newcastle administration undermined 501

14 The chance of peace, 1761 511

Antecedents: Spain, Austria, Russia and Ferdinand's winter campaign 512

Choiseul's two negotiations 521

Belle-Íie and Westphalia 526

The Anglo-French negotiation 536

Choiseul and the lost chance of peace 544

Pitt's resignation and the path to war with Spain 550

15 Peacemaking, 1762: concessions before conquests 559

Aftermath of Pitt's resignation 561

The German war and the Prussian subsidy 566

Martinique conquered 575

The secret negotiation 581

The defence of Portugal 590

The capture of Havana 598

Peace with bitterness 609

16 Conclusion and aftermath 621

Fundamental causes of British military success 622

Why peace was delayed 628

The significance of 1762 632

Outcomes: peace terms, finances, navies, Spain and France 639

Britain and North America 650.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780582092396

0582092396

OCLC:

704120612