Western History 118: What was the outcome of the Seven Years War (1756-1763)?

A blow to the political and military strength of France and Austria, a partial Prussian reclamation of power and a significant step by Britain towards Empire.

However how did this all come about?
The Austrians never forgave the Prussians for their takeover of the mineral rich region of Silesia following the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1756 France and Austria signed the First Treaty of Versailles. The two agreed to join forces to fend off an attack by either Great Britain or Prussia. Hostility between Great Britain and France had already erupted in North America in 1754
Weary of growing French and Prussian designs on his German territory in Hanover King George II of Great Britain formed the Anglo-Prussian Alliance of 1756. The intention was to curtail French ambitions and create a wedge between France and Prussia.



Consequences of the Diplomatic Revolution (re-shaping of alliances). source: ThoughtCo.com is the World's Largest Education Resource

Hostilities between Prussia and Austria festered. The Prussian king Frederick II made the first move in Europe attacking Saxony in August 1756. His troops moved onward taking Dresden, Leipzig and Bohemia. Russia responded by allying herself with France and Austria.
Europe was now polarized into two camps that through the Diplomatic Revolution, had effectively reversed the old alliances of the War of the Austrian Succession. On one side now was the grouping of Great Britain, Prussia, Hanover and Portugal (Great Britain’s traditional ally) opposing them was France, Austria, Russia, the Spanish Empire and Sweden (France’s traditional ally). Each had minor partners as well


Battle scene from the Seven Years War source: history.com

Prussian success continued with victories at Rossbach and Leuthen (both in 1757) but the Russian-Austrian alliance retaliated and briefly occupied Berlin before the Prussian capital was relieved. An Austrian-Russian victory over the Prussians at Kunersdorf (1759) should have been a turning point but the former were unable to exploit their win. Overall the Prussian forces appeared to have the upper hand as the war dragged on and this was reaffirmed in 1762 when the Russians withdrew from the fight.

The European side of the conflict ended in 1763 with the signing of the Treaty of Hubertusburg. Archduke Joseph of Austria was confirmed as the Holy Roman Emperor with Prussian control of both Silesia and Glatz formalized. Although the Prussians had some success on the continent there were no real decisive winners on the European continent itself. Austria did face bankruptcy but Prussia failed to expand to the degree that she had hoped.

However the Seven Years War had more than one theatre of action. In North America the War was known as the French and Indian War. As already mentioned the conflict between the English and French had been underway since 1754, with the British government under William Pitt making it his priority to target France’s colonial possessions. The French intended to retaliate with an invasion of Great Britain but their naval forces were defeating at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. The victory gave the British control over Atlantic which meant that Pitt’s ambition in North America could be well supported by troop reinforcements.

The pivotal Battle of the Plains of Abraham, that cost the lives of both the British general James Wolfe and his opposing counterpart Louis Montcalm, resulted in another decisive British victory (who were allied with the Iroquois Confederation) and the eventual occupation of France’s prize North American territory in Quebec. The French and their Indian allies hit back at the Battle of Sainte-Foy but failed to retake Quebec City.


Death of General James Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham (key event in Canadian history) source: Legion Magazine

1759 was somewhat of an Annus Mirablis (a year of wonders) for Great Britain. British forces seized Fort Louis on the Senegal River in Africa and also took control of the rich island of Guadeloupe in the West Indies.

The Royal Navy enjoyed further success in the Indian Ocean that in turn would help strengthen the British hand in India. In 1757 troops led by Robert Clive aka Clive of India representing the interests of the British East India Company (an agent of Empire so to speak) would defeat the Bengals and their French Allies at the Battle of Plassey. This would prove to be a key milestone for the consolidation of British influence in the sub-continent.



Robert Clive source: Indian Express

So in a sense the Seven Years War was an early world war even more so than the Wars of the Spanish and Austrian Successions. The Treaty of Paris (1763) brought the war between Britain, and France/Spain to an end. The British were the resounding victors on the global front. They returned the Cuban city of Havana to Spain (it was captured during the war) but received Florida in return. France had to compensate Spain and did so by handing over Louisiana. All French lands East of the Mississippi in North America (not including New Orleans) were now under British control.

One could certainly make the case that the British Empire was unofficially born in 1763.

Western History 117: How did Prussia become a Continental Power?

The region of Prussia includes much of what is today now included in North-Eastern Germany, Poland and Russia . It would from the time of the late 17^th century develop into the most powerful of all the German states and eventually would become the center point for German unification. Historically the name, Prussia goes back to the 13^th century and the old Order of Teutonic Knights. The old Duchy of Prussia was born in 1525 and in 1701 the Duchy of Prussia joined with Brandenburg to form the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian capital was located in Berlin.

Prussia in a German Context Source: GHDI-Map

A key figure in early modern Prussian history was the Elector of Brandenburg  and Duke of Prussia Frederick Wilhelm known also as the Great Elector. It was Frederick Wilhelm, a member of  the Hohenzollern  family,  who strengthened Prussia’s position in the region setting in motion the eventual elevation of Prussia from a duchy to a kingdom.  As  a monarch Frederick Wilhem also opened up Brandenburg-Prussia (via the Edict of Potsdam)  to settlement by French Huguenots escaping persecution in Louis XIV’s France.

Frederick Wilhelm - Elector of Brandenburg source: wikipedia

The first king of the Prussian kingdom was Frederick I, the son of Frederick Wilhelm.  He would rule from 1701-1713 and was succeeded by his son, Frederick Wilhelm I (yes another one) who would become known as the soldier king.  The new king would reign as an absolute monarch restructuring the state along lines that were dominated by a powerful military. The Prussian bureaucracy as a mechanism of state authority was a growing feature of  Frederick Wilhem I’s rule.

Frederick Wilhelm I  - source: Britannica

Frederick II, later known as the Frederick the Great, succeeded his father in 1740. Although he continued his father’s military tradition by involving Prussia in the War of the Austrian succession (which allowed Prussia to take control of Silesia) and then later the Seven Years War (where Prussia again expanded its territory), Frederick II is considered to be one of the Enlightenment monarchs.

His forward thinking absolutist court abolished torture, reformed the civil code, advanced secondary education and restricted crown involvement in matters of justice. He also encouraged an  exchange of ideas with the philosopher Voltaire enjoying time at the court. He described it as ‘Sparta in the morning and Athens in the afternoon’.

Frederick the Great source: history.com

Frederick II passed away in 1786 leaving Prussia, especially after the First Partition of Poland in 1772, as a continental power. A century later Bismarck would build on this to complete the unification of Germany.

Western History 116: What was the Jacobite Rebellion?

George II was king of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover from 1727 to 1760. He is considered a mediocre monarch who relied heavily on his ministers, such as Robert Walpole and Charles Townsend, as well as his queen  Caroline of Ansbach for for guidance. George was the last British monarch born outside the country. The two most significant events of his reign were the Jacobite Rebellion and the War of the Austrian Succession.  We have already discussed the former so lets look at the latter.

George II Sources:BBC

The Jacobites were the supporters of the Stuart Monarch James II (Latin Jacobus). They resented the alliance that George II had with the Whigs and drew in support from the Tories. A great deal of Jacobite strength resided in the Celtic periphery – Scotland, Wales and Ireland – and they enjoyed support from many religious Roman Catholics and Anglican Tories.

Two Jacobite attempts to restore Stuart power had failed earlier in 1715 (the so-called Fifteen Rebellion) and  1719 (the Rising in the Scottish Highlands). France and Spain had assisted these respective rebellions.  A later Rebellion broke out in 1745 and was aptly named the Forty-Five Rebellion. Leading the rebels was the young Prince Charles Edward who was later dubbed the Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince Charlie. His father, the Old Pretender James Edward, who was a son of the former monarch James II. In the initial stages of the conflict the rebels were very successful, consolidating control of much of Scotland, a victory at Prestonpans followed as they drove south into England all the way to Derby. Another win was secured at Falkirk in January 1746 as the Government forces stumbled.

Bonnie Prince Charlie source: BBC

However the retreat of the Jacobite rebels to the Highlands gave forces loyal to George II time to regroup. A large force under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland destroyed the rebels at a spot near Inverness in what would become the Battle of Culloden. This effectively ended the rebellion.

Battle of Culloden Source: Historic UK

Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped to the continent disguised as a woman  where he would live out his last years. His supporters would later describe him as ‘The king over the water’.

Culloden though was a watershed moment in English history. The victory solidified Hanoverian power against the old Stuart threat and at the same time dealt a serious blow to Scottish nationalist sentiments.  Over the next hundred years (1750-1850) Scotland would be subjected to a Clearing of the Highlands – an agricultural and land revolution that would harshly impact the population causing mass emigration to North America and Australasia in particular.

What could Stephen Hawking. Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton achieve in a laboratory?

(Paraphrase of a Question asked on Quora). Once again my answer.

Hawking and Einstein were theoretical physicists so as much as they may no doubt value the importance of lab work it was not their avenue of strength nor was it the forum whereby they demonstrated their genius. Their minds were the laboratories. Not so for SIN who excelled at both the experimental and theoretical aspects of physics (remember his work with Light Dispersion).

In his case the world would be his oyster, the only limitation being the equipment and technology available at the time. The one knock though against Newton is that he had a tendency to not play well with others. In a framework where co-operation is key this would work against him