Summarize the British victories from 1758 to 1760 that gave victory to Great Britain over the

French in North America. In your answer, be sure to address the following questions: What
major military figures were involved in these conflicts? What strategies were used by the
colonial army, and what impact did this victory have on the American colonies?
The victory achieved by the Great Britain over France in North American was partly Commented [G1]: Inserted: e
fueled by British victories from 1758 to 1760. These victories impacted both the American Commented [G5]: Deleted:e
history and European history. Ideally, the battle for North America was linked squarely to the Commented [G2]: Inserted: a
Seven Years’ War fought from 1756 to 1763. The war was chiefly between Britain and
France and the allies both parties identified with such as Prussia and Austria for Britain and
France respectively (Russell, 1978). The primary source of contention between both sides
was the need to be the dominant power in North America. Although both countries managed
to maintain peace in the European continent until 1756, they actively created a virtual state of
conflict in North America with the pivotal point of it occurring in 1754 when the French Commented [G3]: Inserted: r
troops clashed with George Washington’s (Russell, 1978). Responding to this development,
Britain dispatched General Edward Braddock along with a thousand British troops to the
North American soil with the aim of seizing Fort Duquesne in Ohio. However, the General
was defeated following an ambush by a combination of French, Indian, and Canadian soldiers
in 1755, barely a year after he was dispatched (Parmenter, & Robison, 2007). The British Commented [G4]: Inserted: s
soldiers further suffered another defeat in 1756 and 1757 by the French in minor battles.
These victories saw France gaining more dominance in Western New England and central
New York (Parmenter, & Robison, 2007). The British were also suffering defeat in the Seven
Years’ War in Europe.
However, two developments changed the situation in favor of the British. First, most
of Ohio and Iroquois stopped supporting the French. This provided the British with the Commented [G7]: Deleted:,
opportunity to capture French forts located in Ohio (Parmenter, & Robison, 2007). The
second history-defining development that turned the tide for British troops was when William
Pitt assumed control of military affairs back in Europe in the British cabinet. Pitt mobilized Commented [G8]: Deleted:t
soldiers in the North American colonies with the promise that if they gathered enough men,
the British parliament would foot the cost that would be incurred in fighting the war
(Parmenter, & Robison, 2007). The effect of this decision was felt immediately and Anglo-
American troops captured several French forts in the land. By 1760, the French resistance Commented [G6]: Inserted: -
came to a halt and they surrendered.
The British victory had a significant impact on North American colonies. Britain Commented [G9]: Inserted: a
acquired all of France's lands east of the Mississippi with the exception of New Orleans. Commented [G10]: Inserted: e
Further, neither France nor Britain was willing to assume control of Louisiana. Thus, the
1762 Treaty of San Ildefonso was instituted where French ceded the land to the Spanish. This
saw to it that France’s empire and influence in North America were reduced while Britain Commented [G11]: Inserted: ere
gained and assumed control of eastern North America. The impact of Britain’s victory on Commented [G12]: Deleted:as
North America included the fact that the colonists learned that they could unite to overpower
a common foe, rather than living in mutual distrust (Palmer, 2014). This would then later
inspire the American Revolution against the British.
References
Parmenter, J., & Robison, M. P. (2007). The perils and possibilities of wartime neutrality on
the edges of empire: Iroquois and Acadians between the French and British in North
America, 1744–1760. Diplomatic History, 31(2), 167-206.
Palmer, R. R. (2014). The age of the democratic revolution: A political history of Europe and
America, 1760-1800. Princeton University Press.
Russell, P. E. (1978). Redcoats in the Wilderness: British Officers and Irregular Warfare in
Europe and America, 1740 to 1760. The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early
American History, 629-652.