The Seven Years War was a world war which took place from 1756 to 1763.
All European nations were involved in the war. The battles of the war took place not only in Europe but all over the world.
That was because European powers had colonies in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the East Indies by this time.
France and Britain were the main European powers who fought against each other in this war. The Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Spain and Sweden sided with France.
Prussia, Portugal and a number of other European confederacies sided with Great Britain.
Both sides want to expand their colonies at the expense of the other. This resulted in many battles between France and Great Britain.
Before 1756, Great Britain and France were fighting each other in North America over the expansion of their colonial territories.
In 1756, France defeated Great Britain in many important battles. In 1757, Great Britain financed a new war campaign and also secured many allies among European powers.
Britain sided with Prussia against its war against France in Europe. Although Britain had faced defeats in North America, it was able to defeat France’s allies in mainland Europe. This tilted the war in Britain’s favor.
By 1763, Britain and its allies had defeated France and French allies. In Europe, French allies were defeated by Prussia. In India, French forces were defeated by the British forces. In North America, France didn’t succeed much either because Spanish attempts to take aid to France failed. This forced France to agree to a peace treaty with Great Britain.
The war officially ended when the Hubertusburg Treaty and the Treaty of Paris were signed in 1763.
According to the Hubertusburg and Paris treaties signed by France and Britain, France lost control of Canada. France also had to give Louisiana to Spain while Florida and Canada came under British control.
Overall, French influence in the American colonies greatly decreased while Britain was able to gain control of 13 American colonies, becoming the most influential power in the Americas.
In short, France lost the war and France’s influence in Europe, Americas and India decreased significantly.
By the late 18th century, European powers had colonies on Asia, Africa and the Americas. When the Seven Years War broke out, France and Britain fought the war on all three of these continents, apart from their battles in Europe.
In North America, Britain faced defeats at the beginning of the war. But the tide turned and by 1763, Britain had expelled France from all eastern American colonies. In India, Britain defeated France and ended French influence in the region.
In West Africa as well, Britain defeated France and took important French colonies. In Philippines, Britain had limited success and British forces remained in Manila until the end of the war.
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