Austrian SUccession and Seven years war
...f power. The major rivals were Prussia/France and Austria/Great Britain. The war had soon expanded to the North American colonies and India. In India, several naval battles between the French and British (for control of trading) had took place resulting in the British control of the Indian Ocean. In the North American colonies the European war sparked the King George's War. Although few battles had involved less than 600 men, as in contrast to the huge armies in Europe, many English civilians were killed or captured by the French and Indian raids on the New England frontier towns. The King George's Army not only a reaction to the fighting in Europe, but a long-growing tension between the French and British for the profitable fur trade. After the King George's War was over, the British had aquired the French bastion of Louisbourg. When the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was drawn, the British and French had agreed to exchange Louisbourg for a British outpost in India that had been taken by the French during those overseas conflicts. Both the English and French tried to dominate the most land and trade in North America, leading to further complications militarily and economically. During the Seven Years' War, a major reversal of alliances took place. Prussia and Great Britain allied while Austria, France, Russia, and Sweden formed an alliance. The alliances set up a huge war in Europe and aboard. As soon as Fredrick II invaded Saxony (Austian ally), Britain and France fought wars in Europe, North America, and India. Two major rivals,again, in this war was France and Britain. As the war escalated in Europe, a reaction in the colonies was apparent. Even before the start of the Seven Years' War, in 1754, George Washington had clashed with the French creating a virtual state of war the French in North America. Like the alliances in Europe, Britain had formed alliances with many of the Native Americans which had turned the war to the British's side. With the help of the Native Americans, the English colonists captured many forts and French territories leading to the end of the French-Indian War or the Seven Years' War in America. The Treaty of Paris resolved the Seven Years' War (in Europe, India, and North America), resulting in France's withdrawal in all its lands in North America and the removal of its...