How Did The Seven Years War Affect Great Britain

From 1701 to 1763 Great Britain fought in a series of wars concerning the European balance of power. These wars include the war of Spanish Succession, the war of Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years’ war. These wars had a significant effect on both Europe and North America. The war of Spanish Succession was fought over who should rule the Spanish empire after the death of King Charles II. King Charles II had no children, and several relatives had equal claim to the throne. On his deathbed, King Charles II left the throne to Philippe, a grandson of the king of France. This greatly upset the other powers in Europe because it raised the possibility of a unification of the French and Spanish empires. This would give Spain and France a disproportionate amount of power. In 1701, Great Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire joined together against France and Spain to prevent them from uniting. The Treaty of Utrecht ended the war in 1714. With the treaty, Philippe was recognized as King of Spain, but renounced his and his descendants claim to the French throne. Great Britain acquired the territories of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Gibraltar, Minorca, and parts of modern day Italy from Spain and France. The war forever changed the balance of power in Europe. It left Spain and the Dutch Empire weakened, while allowing Great Britain and France to emerge as dominant powers. After the war of Spanish Succession, Great Britain entered into a twenty-five year period of peace. That period of peace was ended in 1740 by the war of Austrian Succession. The war of Austrian Succession began when King Charles VI of Austria died and his daughter Marie Theresa ascended the throne. King Frederick of Prussia, sensing weakness in the new female leader, invaded Silesia, a possession of Austria. In return, Marie Theresa declared war against Prussia. The war gave longtime rivals France and Great Britain yet another reason to clash, as France sided with Prussia and Great Britain sided with Austria. The war of Austrian Succession ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The treaty recognized Marie Theresa as ruler of Austria and returned all wartime acquisitions to their prewar status. It did little to ease the ongoing conflict between Great Britain and France, leaving territory and trade disputes in the North American colonies unresolved. The treaty was also not properly enforced, as Prussia never returned Silesia to Austria. It acted mainly as a temporary truce while Austria prepared to take back Silesia, and France and Great Britain continued to struggle for colonial supremacy. Unlike the war of Spanish Succession and the war of Austrian Succession, the Seven Years war began in the North American colonies and later spread to Europe. Due to the ongoing conflicts between Great Britain and France that had repeatedly spread into its colonies, their border in the colonies was largely undefined and hotly disputed. The Seven Years war began with territorial conflicts between Great Britain and France regarding the valuable Ohio valley. The French had been constructing forts in the area to strengthen their claim on the territory. British colonial forces, led by lieutenant colonel George Washington, attempted to expel the French in 1751, but were outnumbered and defeated. Following the attack, Native Americans who were allied with the French began conducting raids on English settlements all across the western frontier. By the end of 1755, Native Americans had pushed the colonists out of the Ohio Valley and over the Allegheny mountains. This ended the first phase of the war. The second phase of the war began in 1756. It was marked by Great Britain declaring war …show more content…
The British, believing American colonists had caused the war, felt Americans were ungrateful for the troops and supplies they provided. The British also ridiculed their colonial militias, claiming they were incompetent and cowardly. The colonists disagreed, believing they made significant contributions to the war effort. Americans were resentful of the British for what they believed were unjust wartime policies. They hadn 't forgotten how they were forced to house British soldiers with no hope of reimbursement, or that they were forcibly enlisted into the British