The Seven Years’ War, is supposedly the first world war involving, Europe, The Caribbean, South America, India, The Philippines, and West Africa. This war which included every major European power, supposedly started from a small skirmish in what is known today as the Battle of Jumonville Glen which took place in the present day state of Pennsylvania.
The British being led by George Washington and his Native American allies led by Tanacharison were moving to support Fort Necessity. But unknown to them, it had had been captured by the French which they eventually encountered led by Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville and a battle ensued. The battle lasted only 15 minutes with Jumonville being allegedly murdered brutally. Washington then moved on to capture Fort Necessity and was successful but was forced to surrender to Jumonville’s brother who attacked the fort a little while later. Britain and France continued having skirmishes especially in 1755 in which General Braddock of the British was defeated. Britain in an effort to avoid a full-scale war changed it alliances in what came to be known as “The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756.”
Later in 1756, Great Britain declared war on France when it attacked the island of Minorca in the Mediterranean which expanded the battlefield to Europe. Britain’s ally Prussia which was ruled by King Frederik III and had the largest army in the world saw the war as an opportunity to gain territory and attacked immediately so as not be on the defensive. He attacked a country called Saxony that was supported by Austria which he eventually overran. This invasion strengthened the anti-Prussian alliance but Britain supported Prussia and sent troops and money to support them. The battle over Europe quickly escalated and 1757 was marked mostly by Prussian successes, but 1758-1760 resulted in defeat after defeat for the Prussians. Meanwhile, from 1756-1758 France maintained the upper hand in the North American theater until 1759.
During this time Prussia was in real difficulty but the support of Britain, the neighboring ally of Hanover, and the determination of King Frederik III kept them fighting. But Frederik’s position became dire after his defeat at the Battle of Kunersdorf by the Russians, where he lost half his army. The Russians and the Austrians saw an opportunity, and advanced to attack Berlin and had a chance at destroying Prussia. But both forces became wary of advancing beyond their supply lines and withdrew. King Frederik called the withdrawal the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg which was eventually followed by a Second Miracle of the House of Brandenburg in which the Russian Empress died and her son who liked Prussia made a treaty called the treaty of St. Petersburg in 1762. Austria was then left to face Prussia alone.
Also, Britain was making some advancement. They gained territories in the Caribbean from Spain which included Havana the capital of Cuba, and most of Florida. In India, they made considerable advancements, capturing virtually all the French forts on its coast and although the forts were returned at the end of the war, Britain became the predominant European force in India. In the Philippines, they captured the capital city of Manila and in West Africa the French colony of Senegal. Virtually, all these achievements were done in the year 1759 was known as Annus Marabilis (the Year of Miracles) to Britons because of the miraculous string of victories by Great Britain during that year compared to the other years of failure. The British, also managed to destroy the French fleet leaving Great Britain master of the seas.
The capture of Ticonderoga, Quebec, and Fort Niagara effectively ended French resistance in North America. Meanwhile, in Europe, Prussia had Austria in its sights while Britain weary of the war and wanting to secure its gains threatened to withdraw its troops from Prussia. As result Austria, Prussia Britain, and France signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763 which returned the lands on mainland Europe properties to status quo ante bellum (this meant that all states will return to their original size before the war). As a result of this war, Britain emerged the greatest nation in Europe albeit in debt and France left in disgrace because of it losses and debts.
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