The Seven Years' War in America
France loses the continent, and Britain loses the colonies
See it on the timeline →In depth
The Seven Years' War was the first war fought on several continents at once, and in North America it was between Britain and France for control of the interior. The war is the real turning point in the continent's political history, and it is the direct causal chain to independence: the debt produced the Stamp Act, and the victory removed the French threat that had made British protection worth paying for. For Indigenous nations the outcome was the worst possible, because the balance between two European powers had been their most important bargaining position. Pontiac's War followed immediately in 1763, and the British Proclamation Line of that year became one of the colonists' central grievances.
For children
Britain and France fought over North America, with Indigenous nations allied on both sides. Britain won, and France lost almost everything it held on the continent. But the war was so costly that Britain began taxing the colonies — and that led to the American Revolution twelve years later.
Sources
- Anderson, Crucible of War (2000)
- White, The Middle Ground (1991)
Connects to
Report a correction
Found something that does not hold? Tell us — sources help, but are not required.
Report a correctionPart of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org ·