Seven Years War: The first global conflict.
                     Seven Years 
War: The 
First Global 
Conflict
Overview
The world wars of the 20th century redrew 
borders and reshaped the culture and politics 
of the world permanently. 
Yet the conflicts spawned from the bullets of 
Gavrilo Princip’s gun were not the first global 
wars in history. 
Over 150 years before World War I broke out, 
European powers were brawling in a conflict 
that spanned five continents.  (Originally 
between between France and Britain)
The Seven Years' War would have a lasting 
influence on politics and diplomacy for 
decades, even centuries to come. Source: Reddit
Origin
The origin of the Seven Years’ War lies in both 
unresolved disputes that had been brewing in 
Europe for years and colonization of the 
Americas. 
France had laid claim to Canada and the Great 
Lakes region, while the Eastern Seaboard lay in 
British hands.
Skirmishes between the French, British, and 
their various Native American allies were 
common throughout the mid-18th century. 
Source: Reddit
Conflict
Conflict between the French and the English 
over territory, led to a conflict known as the 
Seven Years’ War.
The Seven Years’ War solidified Britain’s stance 
as the most dominant European country in the 
world. 
However, as Britain attempted to increase 
control on the American colonies, colonists 
began rebelling, eventually leading to the 
Revolutionary War.
Source: Reddit
Competition Between 
European Powers
After tobacco prices started to remain 
stagnant, plantation owners in Virginia wanted 
to move west into the Ohio River Valley to 
produce more tobacco and hopefully drive 
prices of that cash crop up. 
However, both Britain and France claimed 
ownership of the lands in the Ohio River Valley. 
The conflict between the two lead to the start 
of the Seven Years’ War.
Source: History Extra
Cooperation With Natives
Both the French and the British cooperated 
with Native Americans to use their forces in 
the Seven Years’ War. 
The French allied with the Hurons, whereas the 
British allied with the Iroquois. 
These alliances caused tension after the war in 
which the British began siding with Native 
Americans who were against colonial interest 
to move westward.
Source: Reddit
Migration After The War
When the Seven Years’ War ended, the British 
won all of France’s land holdings in colonial 
America. 
Colonists wanted to expand westward into 
these new lands in order to gain more land, 
but fearing conflicts with Native Americans, 
Britain passed the Proclamation of 1763. 
The proclamation prohibited movement west 
of the Appalachian Mountains, upsetting many 
colonists who wanted the land to increase their 
wealth. Thousands of colonists defied the law, 
moving west to claim land for themselves.
Source: Reddit
A New Dynamic
For France, the military defeat and the 
financial burden of the war weakened the 
monarchy and contributed to the advent of the 
French Revolution in 1789. 
For many American Indian populations, the 
elimination of French power in North America 
meant the disappearance of a strong ally and 
counterweight to British expansion, which over 
the following decades would lead to their 
ultimate dispossession. 
The change of control in Florida also prompted 
most of its Spanish Catholic population to 
leave.
Source: Reddit
The Albany Congress and the 
Intercolonial Defense
In 1754, the British government asked colonial 
representatives to meet in Albany, New York, 
to develop a treaty with American Indians and 
plan the defense of the colonies against 
France.
The Albany Congress was a meeting of 
representatives from seven of the 13 British 
North American colonies: Connecticut, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 
New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Representatives met daily in Albany, New York, 
from June 19 to July 11 to discuss better Source: Lumen Learning
relations with the American Indian tribes and 
common defensive measures against the 
French during the French and Indian War.
The War and Its 
Consequences
1. The French and Indian War took place in the American 
theatre of the global Seven Years’ War; the Treaty of 
Paris marked the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763.
2. The Treaty of Paris resulted in France’s loss of all its 
North American possessions east of the Mississippi 
except for two small islands off of Newfoundland, 
marking the beginning of an era of British dominance in 
North America.
3. Following the treaty, King George III signed the Royal 
Proclamation of 1763 which temporarily blocked 
colonists’ westward expansion and reserved western 
land for American Indian use.
4. The proclamation was less about respecting or 
preserving the American Indians’ rights to their land; 
rather, it gave the British Crown a monopoly on all 
future land purchases from American Indians.
Source: Lumen Learning
5. The war nearly doubled Britain’s national debt, which it 
chose to pay off by imposing new taxes on its colonies
The Royal Proclamation of 
1763
1. Following the peace treaty, King George III issued the 
Royal Proclamation of 1763 on October 7. The 
proclamation outlined the division and administration of 
the newly conquered territory. Included in its provisions 
was the reservation of lands west of the Appalachian 
Mountains to its original American Indian population, a 
demarcation that was at best a temporary impediment 
to a rising tide of westward-bound British invaders. 
2. One of the biggest problems confronting the British 
Empire in 1763 was controlling land speculators whose 
activities often led to frontier conflicts in both Europe 
and the British colonies. Many American Indian peoples
—primarily in the Great Lakes region—had a long and 
close relationship with France and were dismayed to 
find that they were now under British sovereignty.
Source: Lumen Learning
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