Instead, they strengthened their position at the opposite side of the lake, where they built Fort William Henry. The army advancing on Lake Champlain fought the French near Lake George, capturing Dieskau, but decided to abandon the campaign against Fort Saint-Frédéric. The British had even less success on land. Vice-Admiral Edward Boscawen and a squadron of the British navy tried to intercept and capture the French convoy but captured only two ships. On learning of these movements, the French ordered six battalions under Baron Armand Dieskau to reinforce Louisbourg and Canada.

Other regiments would be raised in the colonies, and a four-pronged attack would be launched against Niagara, Fort Beauséjour on the border of Nova Scotia, Fort Duquesne on the Ohio River, and Fort Saint-Frédéric on Lake Champlain (in what is now New York state). Major-General Edward Braddock and two regular regiments were sent to America in 1755. Washington ambushed a small French detachment but was then defeated by a larger French force.Įven though war had not yet been officially declared, the British began planning an assault against the French in America. In response, the governor of Virginia (then a British colony) sent militia colonel George Washington to the Ohio frontier.

In 1753, the French built fortifications in the area to strengthen their claim. Hostilities began in 1754 in the Ohio Valley, which both the French and British had claimed. It therefore had few resources to spare for its colonies. France was committed to fighting in Europe to defend its ally, Austria. However, the main British war aim was to destroy France as a commercial rival, and they therefore focused on attacking the French navy and colonies overseas. In Europe, Britain sent troops to help its ally, Prussia, which was surrounded by its enemies.

The war was driven by the commercial and imperial rivalry between Britain and France, and by the antagonism between Prussia (allied to Britain) and Austria (allied to France). The Seven Years' War pitted the alliance of Britain, Prussia and Hanover against the alliance of France, Austria, Sweden, Saxony, Russia, and eventually Spain. Previous Next Causes of the Seven Years’ War

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