The First Global War: Britain, France, and the Fate of North America, 1756-1775

(Hardback)

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By 1756 the wilderness war for control of North America that erupted two years earlier between France and England had expanded into a global struggle among all of Europe's Great Powers. Its land and sea battles raged across the North American continent, engulfed Europe and India, and stretched from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific waters. The new conflict, now commonly known as the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763, was a direct continuation of the last French and Indian War. This study explores the North American campaigns in relation to events elsewhere in the world, from the ministries of Whitehall and Versailles to the land and sea battles in Europe, Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean. Few wars have had a more decisive effect on international relations and national development. The French and Indian War resulted in France's expulsion from almost all of the Western Hemisphere, except for some tiny islands in the Caribbean and St. Lawrence. Britain emerged as the world's dominant sea power and would remain so for two centuries. Finally, within a generation or two the vast debts incurred by Whitehall and Versailles in waging this war would help to stimulate revolutions in America and France that would forever change world history.

Reviews

Nester has more than adequately told the story of the war in North America.-The International History Review
The book will be an asset to those who wish to consider military strategy in the war and the impact of imperial relationships between eigtheenth-century France and England in North America.-The Historian
"Nester has more than adequately told the story of the war in North America."-The International History Review
"The book will be an asset to those who wish to consider military strategy in the war and the impact of imperial relationships between eigtheenth-century France and England in North America."-The Historian

Author Bio

WILLIAM R. NESTER is Professor in the Department of Government and Politics at St. John's University in New York. He is the author of eleven books which explore various aspects of international relations and political economy and two books on the American frontier.