Pittsburgh
Participants Involved in Seven Years War
Great Britain, Prussia, Portugal, with allies
France, Spain, Austria, Russia, Sweden with allies
Reasons for Seven Years War
 Continuation of War of Austrian Succession
 Abandonment of alliances, formation of new
ones.
 Austria leaves Great Britain, allies w/ France
 Prussia (army) joins Great Britain (navy)
 Colonial expansion in N. America by Great
Britain and France
 Austria & Russia fear Prussian emergence
European
Kingdoms of
1750s
Cause of
French &
Indian War
Study the map
and describe
one cause of
the French and
Indian War?
Causes of French & Indian
War
From the Diagram, list
two causes of the French
and Indian War?
Population and Economic Push
Into the Ohio Valley
The Seven Years War is related
to these other conflicts…
 King George’s War (1744-48)
 Third Silesian War (Austrian Succession)
 The French and Indian War
Remember, rivalries in Europe always spill over into the Colonies.
Mission: To rid the Ohio Valley of
the French Invaders.
Strength: 1400 British Regulars;
smaller number of Colonial Militia
Braddock “halted to level every mole hill and to erect bridges over
every brook by which means we were four days getting twelve miles”
(Washington)
Braddock’s Dilemma: Tried to fight a European style war in the
wilderness of Pennsylvania.
Braddock’s force
is routed and
retreats in
disarray. During
the battle on July
9th Braddock is
mortally
wounded.
Braddock dies
and is buried in
the middle of the
road he built and
the remainder of
his army marches
over him to hide
the grave from the
French and their
allies.
 Failed to secure Ft. Duquesne (Pittsburgh).
 Suffered over 1000 Casualties, including himself.
 Washington to the rescue again.
Britain Declares War on
France
 Alliance with Prussia (Germans).
 Prussia v France and its Allies in Europe.
 Britain fought France in the Caribbean, India,
and North America.
 British suffer many losses in the early years of
the war: Settlements are attacked; lose forts
on Lake Ontario and Lake George.
Question: What does it take to
fight a war?
William Pitt
The right person at the right
time, and in the right place can
make all the difference.
 Secretary of State
 Prime Minister
 Military Logistician
 Excellent Judge of Military
Commanders
Global Thinker
September 13, 1759 (250yrs ago)
Quebec
THE BATTLE OF THE PLAINS OF
ABRAHAM
Background
 Seven Year’s War – both Europe and North
America (1756-1763)
 In Canada, early French success, more
manpower and forts
 Later (1758-1759), British success – more money,
soldiers are allotted, power of Royal Navy
 By 1759, New France faced odds of nearly 3 to 1
in terms of ships, 4 to 1 in terms of regular
soldiers, and 10 to 1 in money
Main Players
 James Wolfe –
commander of British
invasion fleet sent to
take Quebec
 Invasion force =
13,500 men, 4000 in
strike force (mostly
regular soldiers)
Main Players
 France – Marquis de
Montcalm
 Approximately 4500
men (mostly
militiamen)
Problems with French Defense



West side of city walls facing the Plains of Abraham had no gun
reinforcements
Left undefended the south bank of the river opposite the city and shortly
after their arrival, the British established batteries there and were able to
launch attacks
Under cover of fire, Royal Navy could transport its ships up the river without
counterattack
Summer 1759
 All summer British took
garrisons all around
modern day provinces of
Quebec and Ontario
 Devastated the parishes
around Quebec city. On
the south shore of the St.
Lawrence River, the
British destroyed 1000
buildings as well as the
Canadiens’ harvest
Battle Preparations
 Wolfe wanted to force Montcalm into an open,
European-style battle, but was running out of
time – the Navy had to go back to Britain for the
winter
 However, he found a small cove called Anse au
Foulon from which a narrow goat path led up the
steps of the cliff to Quebec garrison
 French believed no force could climb the narrow
path so left it undefended
French Mistakes

French failed to establish a password for a French convoy expected to
bring supplies on the night of September 12

The British attack was a complete surprise – French sentries on the
shore thought that the boats gliding past them were part of the French
convoy (was actually cancelled) and Wolfe had those soldiers who could
speak French answer the French sentries in their own language
Ready for Attack
 In total, 3 landing ships reached the shore
 The advance force of Scottish Highlanders walked up the
steep path, two by two, and, without detection, gained
the summit of the cliffs and overpowered the French
post there
Wolfe’s Luck
 Wolfe’s risks paid off
 The sentries did not recognize the British in
time because the convoy had been expected
 His difficult landing was successful and
without problems
The Plains of Abraham
 Wolfe deployed 4500 troops on the Plains of Abraham, the
grassy field near the unarmed western walls of the fort
 Montcalm makes a fatal error- Instead of waiting for Colonel
de Bougainville to arrive with 3000 regulars stationed at Cap
Rouge, 15 km upstream, he impulsively attacks
The Battle Unfolds
 British strategies – Three quarters of men deployed in




one line in a concentration of firepower
When the French army was only 40m away, the
command to fire was given and the French were
devastated, their lines in chaos
One volley later, they retreated up the St. Lawrence
River
Battle lasted less than 30 minutes
The two forces were numerically equal, however, the
British force was composed of regulars and the French,
poorly trained militiamen
British Casualties
 Approximate
-ly 650 men
 Wolfe was
shot and
killed on the
battlefield
French Casualties
 Approximately 650 men
 Montcalm was also
wounded in battle and
died from his wounds the
next morning
 By September 18, the
fort at Quebec, short of
provisions and soldiers
and weakly fortified on
its west side, was
surrendered
Repercussions
 The battle was a serious blow to the French, but all was
not lost on September 13
 France still controlled the rest of the St. Lawrence valley
and its army was still in tact
 Contrary to popular belief, the Battle of the Plains of
Abraham did not determine New France’s fate. It was a
naval battle fought at Quiberon Bay off the coast of
France during which the British navy’s destruction of the
French fleet later prevented France from sending a
rescue force to save Canada, that sealed its fate
Repercussions cont’d
 During an attempt to recapture Quebec, the
French army ran short of ammunitions and
supplies and no ship was available to come
from France to its aid
 Almost one year later, September 18, 1760 –
the French surrendered all of New France and
the British took the final French stronghold at
Montreal
 Amherst gained fame during the Seven Years' War, particularly
in the North American campaign known in the United States
as the French and Indian War. After he served in Europe in
1757, Amherst led the British attack on Louisbourg in 1758, and
as commander-in-chief of the British army in North America,
led the successful British conquest of New France.
 In 1759, while James Wolfe besieged and eventually captured
Quebec with one army, Amherst led another army against
French troops on Lake Champlain, where he captured Fort
Ticonderoga against little resistance.
 On September 8, 1760, he led an army down the Saint
Lawrence River from Lake Ontario, and captured Montreal,
ending French rule in North America. He infuriated the French
commanders by refusing them the "honours of war" (the
ceremonial right of a defeated garrison to retain their flags);
the Knight of Lévis burned the colors rather than surrendering
them. Amherst held the position of military governor of
Canada from 1760 to 1763
 Use of smallpox-infected blankets
 The hostility between the British and Native Americans
after the French and Indian War led to one of the first
documented attempts at biological warfare in North
American history.
 In response to the 1763 uprising known as Pontiac's
Rebellion, Colonel Henry Bouquet wrote to Amherst, his
commanding officer, with the suggestion that the British
distribute smallpox-infected blankets to Indians.
Amherst approved the plan and expressed his willingness
to adopt any "other method that can serve to Extirpate
this Execrable Race." In fact, the commander at Fort Pitt
had already attempted this very tactic in June 1763. It is
the only recorded case of British soldiers giving
smallpox-contaminated blankets to Native Americans
Peace: Treaty of Paris 1763
 England Receives Canada
 French Lands East of the Mississippi
 Florida From Spain
 Spain Receives Lands West of Mississippi and
New Orleans
 France allowed to keep Sugar Producing Islands
in the Caribbean and fishing in the Grand Banks
islands of St Pierre et Miquelon.
Peace Treaties Lead to War
 Question: Who is especially unhappy about the French





loss?
The Native Americans.
British Trappers and Settlers refuse to pay Native
Americans for the use of the land in the Ohio Valley
Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa Native people puts together
a Native American Alliance and strikes back at the
British.
Pontiac fails to capture key terrain.
Pontiac’s War ends in 1765.
Cause of the American
Revolution
Pitt decides to fund the war through the British Treasury and
through loans. This relieves the American colonists from
fronting the bill for the war. However, after the war is over,
Britain must settle its debts and pay for a standing army in
America. In order to do this they decide to have the colonists
bear some of the burden for their own defense.
Cause of the American
Revolution
The Proclamation of 1763
 Proclaimed that land west of the Appalachian Mountains
temporarily off limits to settlements.
 British Halt Westward Expansion to minimize costs in
maintaining a military force to secure the Frontier.
 Colonists upset. Especially those who had bought shares
in companies or bought land in the newly captured territories.
 However, this does create a fragile peace between the
British and the Native Americans.
11 years later…
 The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great
Britain setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec.
The principal components of the act were:
 The province's territory was expanded to take over part of the
Indian Reserve, including much of what is now southern Ontario,
plus Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and parts of
Minnesota(this angered the Yankees!)
 The oath of allegiance was replaced with one that no longer made
reference to the Protestant faith.
 It guaranteed free practice of the Catholic faith.

 It restored the use of the French civil law for private matters while
maintaining the use of the English common law for public
administration, including criminal prosecution.
 The Act had wide-ranging effects, in Quebec itself, as well as
in the Thirteen Colonies. In Quebec, English-speaking
migrants from Britain and the southern colonies objected to a
variety of its provisions, which they saw as a removal of
certain political freedoms. French-speaking Canadiens varied
in their reaction; the land-owning seigneurs and clergy were
generally happy with its provisions.
 In the Thirteen Colonies, the Act, which had been passed in the
same session of Parliament as a number of other acts
designed as punishment for the Boston Tea Party and other
protests, was joined to those acts as one of the Intolerable
Acts. The provisions of the Quebec Act were seen as a new
model for British colonial administration, which would strip
the colonies of their elected assemblies, and promote the
Roman Catholic faith in preference to widely-held Protestant
beliefs. It also limited opportunities for colonies to expand on
their western frontiers, by granting most of the Ohio Country
to the province of Quebec.
 Thus, it can be said that a piece of legislation
intended to govern the French in Quebec
ended up causing the war that gave birth to
the United States of America! PLUS…THE
FRENCH GENERAL LAFAYETTE HELPED
AMERICA FIGHT ENGLAND FROM 177883…AND WIN!!!
“MERCI BEAUCOUP LES QUEBECOIS ET LES
FRANCAIS POUR LE VICTOIRE AMERICAINE
DANS LA GUERRE REVOLUTIONAIRE!”