The French Navy and the Seven Years' War

Abstract

The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) has been termed the first true world war, due to the geographical extent of the conflict (five continents were involved), the widespread participation by European states and their overseas colonies and allies, and the duration and ferocity of the fighting. Despite this, it has never captured the wholehearted attention of historians and the public. Much of the uninterest can be ascribed to a few key factors: the baffling diplomatic complexity of the conflict, its lack of a propelling ideology or a larger-than-life charismatic leader, and—with the exception of France's loss of Canada—its seemingly indecisive outcome. Recent decades have seen a number of excellent scholarly studies of the war, most of which have focused on the “French and Indian War” campaigns in North America. Comprehensive studies of the entire conflict are relatively few, however, and most date from the early twentieth century. In The French Navy and the Seven Years' War, the historian Jonathan R. Dull goes for the big picture, picking a high vantage point and giving his readers a remarkably detailed look at the political, diplomatic, military, and naval events of the war.