Name: Seven Years' War - Summary on a Map（Seven Years' War - Summary on a Map）
Uploaded: 2022-07-01T12:36:20.000Z
Duration: 10 min 24 s
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情態副詞

This little-known war took place in the mid-18th century, mainly in Europe,

but also for the first time in European colonies around the world.

基礎被動語態

This is why it is sometimes considered as the first world war.

Let's retrace on a map a summary of the events and consequences of the Seven Years War.

We begin in 1740, when the Holy Roman Empire is divided into a multitude

At the very top of the hierarchy is the title of Emperor,

which has been shared for almost 300 years by the powerful Habsburg House.

But this year, Emperor Charles VI, who is also Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia

and King of Hungary - dies without a male successor.

His eldest daughter Marie-Thérèse cannot be Emperor,

but nevertheless inherits the territories of her father.

For some competitors, this is a golden opportunity to challenge the Austrian domination.

Thus the young King of Prussia Frederick II - without a declaration of war - invades the rich region of Silesia.

France, Austria's traditional enemy, takes advantage of the situation to join forces with Prussia.

Britain meanwhile backs Austria, fearing an imbalance of power in favor of the French Empire.

After five years of war, Prussia abandons its French ally by signing a peace treaty with Austria.

Prussia holds onto the territory of Silesia but recognizes Maria Theresa as the Archduchess of Austria.

Her husband, Francis of Lorraine, obtains the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

France finds itself alone against the coalition and still manages to seize the Austrian Netherlands.

A peace treaty was signed in 1748 and against all odds,

the King of France Louis XV returns the territories to Austria.

After the war, a strong rivalry develops between Prussia and Austria, which hopes to one day recover Silesia.

Moreover, the French and British Empires increasingly compete for their colonies in the world

primarily in North America, where New France surrounds British colonies.

With boundaries not clearly defined, the two powers compete for the Ohio Valley.

The first clashes taking place there are mostly dominated by the French side.

From a military point of view, Britain dominates the seas and oceans with its powerful Royal Navy

while the French army is deemed stronger.

George II, King of Great Britain and the prince-elector of Hanover, fears lose the German state in case of war.

He approaches Prussia for protection and signs an alliance,

upsetting the traditional balance of power in the region.

After centuries of competition, France and Austria join forces, and are joined most notably by Russia.

European powers meanwhile prepare for war.

France attacks first and sends its army to the British island of Menorca.

In India, Britain prepares for war by fortifying Calcutta without the agreement of the Prince of Bengal.

The latter responds by driving them out of the city.

Britain counter attacks, recovers Calcutta, dethrones the prince, and moves to attack the French colonies.

In North America, the British Empire prepares to send large military reinforcements.

In the European theater, France prepares a ground offensive in Hanover.

Prussia - which finds itself surrounded - launches the first strike on Saxony, a rich, poorly protected region.

The offensive is a success despite an Austrian counter-attack.

Prussia continues its offensive by attacking Bohemia.

But this time the intervention of the Austrian army prevents the capture of Prague

and pushes the Prussians back to Silesia.

In the West, the French offensive in Hanover is a success.

The French army now advances to Prussia which finds itself besieged.

To the east, the Russian army captures its first territories,

and in the south, the Austrian army advances towards Silesia.

Britain attempts to distract France from Hanover by initiating military raids on its Atlantic ports.

A first military expedition is sent to Rochefort but is countered by the French army.

Frederick II of Prussia sets out with his army to face the French.

A fine strategist, he wins despite having a much smaller army.

He then moves to face off against the Austrian army, and once again wins due to his strategy,

In North America, Britain stations ships at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River

to blockade and isolate the French colony.

On the European side, King George II refuses to recognise the surrender of his son in Hanover.

He raises a new army that repels the French.

After another failure on Saint-Malo, an offensive on the city of Cherbourg is a success,

This time Britain mounts a bigger offensive by sending 42,000 men to Saint-Malo.

But they suffer a serious setback faced against 7,000 French soldiers.

This failure marks the end of the raids on France.

Britain now concentrates on Hanover and the colonies.

In Africa, after the capture of St. Louis, Britain seizes the island of Goree.

In the East, while Prussia repulses the Russian army,

this time it suffers a heavy defeat against Austria, which forces it to retreat for the winter.

To do this, an army of 100,000 men would be escorted by the military fleets of Toulon and Brest.

In parallel, a new army is sent to Hanover, but the latter fails to take hold.

Meanwhile, Britain intensifies attacks against French colonies.

It captures Caribbean islands and lays siege to Quebec city.

To the east, Russia manages to join the Austrian army.

Together they overcome the army of Frederick II, which opens the way to Berlin, which is not protected.

But following disagreements, both armies stop there.

With their military fleets of Toulon and Brest defeated by the Royal Navy,

the invasion of Great Britain is abandoned.

Without military fleets, France can no longer support its colonies.

In North America, New France is in disarray.

After the capture of Quebec, Britain seizes Montreal.

The island of Dominica in the Caribbean and Pondicherry in India fall in quick succession.

In Europe, despite several attempts, France can no longer impose itself on Hanover.

On the other hand, severely weakened and facing defeat,

the king of Prussia regroups his last remaining forces into a single army.

In January 1762, the war takes a new turn with the death of Elizabeth, the Tsarina of Russia.

Her successor Peter III of Russia is an admirer of Prussia and does not want to engage in war.

In the West, the Spanish Empire takes a negative view of British domination.

An army is sent to Portugal, the Iberian ally of Great Britain, forcing the latter to send reinforcements.

But in parallel, Britain takes advantage of an opportunity to seize Cuba and Manila in the Philippines.

In Prussia, the king's army succeeds in defeating the Austrian army.

Exhausted by years of war, European powers begin peace negotiations.

Two peace treaties are signed separately.

A first in Paris between France, Great Britain and Spain.

The country retains some territories in America, the island of Goree in Africa