Great Britain in the Seven Years' War

After a period of political instability, the rise of a government headed by the Duke of Newcastle and William Pitt the Elder provided Britain with firmer leadership, enabling it to consolidate and achieve its war aims.

The peace terms were unpopular with many, however, as they largely retained the status quo, which led the people of states such as France, Britain and Austria to believe that they had not made sufficient gains for their efforts in the war.

The British Prime Minister, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, had acceded to the premiership in 1754 after the sudden death of his brother Henry Pelham and led a government made up largely of Whigs.

Despite enjoying a comfortable majority in the House of Commons, Newcastle was extremely cautious and vulnerable to attacks led by men such as William Pitt, the leader of the Patriot Whigs.

One of the most significant geopolitical actions of the time was the slow movement towards Imperial unity in North America started by the Albany Congress, although a Plan of Union proposed by Benjamin Franklin was rejected by delegates.

[17] As war in Europe appeared increasingly inevitable, the Newcastle government sought to take the initiative—and make sure that the strategic island of Menorca (historically called "Minorca" by the British) was secured before it fell into French hands.

The major war in continental Europe that the British had hoped to avoid exploded in August 1756 when Frederick the Great attacked and overran the Austrian ally Saxony.

Following the disastrous Battle of Hastenbeck Cumberland was forced to sign the Convention of Klosterzeven by which Hanover would withdraw from the war—and large chunks of its territory would be occupied by the French for the duration of the conflict.

Pitt had been a long-term advocate of Britain playing as small a role on the European continent while concentrating their resources and naval power to strike against vulnerable French colonies.

A compromise was eventually established in which Britain would keep troops on the European continent under the command of the Duke of Brunswick, while Pitt was given authority to launch several colonial expeditions.

Pitt had long been an advocate of amphibious strikes or "descents" against the French coastline in which a small British force would land, capture a settlement, destroy its fortifications and munitions supplies and then withdraw.

This proved to be the last of the major landings attempted on the French coast—though the British later took control of the Belle Île off the coast of Brittany which was used as a base for marshalling troops and supplies.

After the British ambushed a column of the Nawab's troops which was approaching Calcutta on 2 February 1757, the two sides agreed the Treaty of Alinagar which brought a temporary truce to Bengal.

[33] Several of the triumphs assumed an iconic place in the mindset of the British public, reinforced by representations in art and music, such as the popular song Heart of Oak and the later painting The Death of General Wolfe.

After failing to make enough headway, and losing troops rapidly to disease, they were forced to abandon the attempt and move to the secondary target of the British expedition, Guadeloupe.

Pitt had reversed his previous hostility to British intervention on the continent, as he realised that the theatre could be used to tie down numerous French troops and resources which might otherwise be sent to fight in the colonies.

[42] Brunswick's army had enjoyed enormous success since winter 1757, crossing the Rhine several times, winning the Battle of Krefeld and capturing Bremen without a shot being fired.

Brunswick was pressured into action by this threat; the French command was also eager to end the campaign with a swift victory to free up troops which would allow them to take part in the proposed invasion of Britain.

It was subject to several changes, but the core was that more than 50,000 French troops would cross the English Channel from Le Havre in flat-bottomed boats and land at Portsmouth on the British coast.

Many of the Highland communities that had strongly supported the Jacobites in 1715 and 1745 now had regiments serving in the British army, where they played a key role in Britain's success that year.

At times Prussia veered close to total collapse, notably after the Battle of Kunersdorf, was now heavily dependent on continued British financial assistance and only survived due to the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg.

[62] Bute began to champion the idea that Britain should disentangle itself from the German war, and suggested to Frederick the Great that he might make peace with Austria by giving them back Silesia.

Pitt strongly advocated a pre-emptive strike which would allow them to capture the annual plate fleet, denying Spain of its vital resources of wealth which were shipped in.

Portugal's long border with Spain was considered vulnerable and easy to overrun, rather than the more complex efforts that a siege of the British fortress of Gibraltar would require.

During the siege, the Spanish lieutenant governor had agreed to a four million payment in silver dollars to the British known as the Manila Ransom in exchange for sparing the city but the full amount was never paid when word of what had happened in the Philippines reached Europe.

[75] As an initial test of his strategy Pitt gained support for a British expedition proposed by a New York merchant Thomas Cumming to take the French trading station at Fort Louis on the Senegal River which they did with relative ease, carrying back a large amount of plunder to Britain.

Britain held a dominant position at the negotiations, as they had during the last seven years seized Canada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Pondicherry, Senegal, and Belle Île from the French and Havana and Manila from the Spanish.

[80] Despite France's losses, Choiseul was satisfied not to have been forced to hand over more territory in the Caribbean and was delighted that he had been able to maintain a French presence in Newfoundland (Saint Pierre and Miquelon), guaranteeing continued access to the valuable fishery there.

A separate peace agreement between Austria and Prussia was concluded at the Treaty of Hubertusburg on 15 February returning Central Europe to the status quo ante bellum.

France and Spain both considered the treaty that ended the war as being closer to a temporary armistice rather than a genuine final settlement, and William Pitt described it as an "armed truce".