SEVEN YEARS WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE

Unintentional WAR? FACTORS THAT PREPARED THE GROUND FOR WAR I The Seven Years’ War is the struggle between England and France to establish an empire that spread all over the world. Although Americans call these wars ‘French’ or ‘Native’ wars, the Seven Years’ War can be described as the first world war. There were intense conflicts between England and France not only in North America, but also in the Caribbean, South Asia and West Africa. Although England won the wars, its gains were only short-lived. Some of the factors that paved the way for war are: A. Mercantalism: Before 1756, European powers needed gold to pay their mercenaries. To achieve this, a Foreign trade surplus was necessary. Therefore, they were trying to establish their own empire. B. Incomplete Partition of North America: France owned the North America and England owned the region that would later be known as the east coast of the USA.

But who would get the vast wilderness that begins with the Ohayo Valley? The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) did not solve this problem.  Military facts:  Only England and France had the military power to expand worldwide.  Although England had a navy that would double the strength of France’s navy, France’s land army was much stronger than England’s. D. Chronology of the War:  In 1752 and 1753, France destroyed a small trade center belonging to England in the Ohayo Valley and built two castles of its own in its place.  Although England made three expeditions to expel France from the Ohayo Valley in 1753 and 1754, they were unsuccessful. Autumn 1753: A unit setting out from Virginia attacked the French Le Boeuf Castle, but failed. February 1754: The military unit in Virginia established a fort in Pittsburgh, but the castle was captured by the French and its name was changed to Fort Duquesne.June/July 1754: The Virginia army led by George Washington was defeated by the French and surrendered.  At the beginning of 1755,

England sent two battalions under the command of General Braddock from England to America to drive the French from the Ohayo Valley. Although England claimed that General Braddock was brought in for defensive purposes Only, the French knew this was not the case and believed that the Ohayo Valley was theirs.  In May 1755, France sent 6 battalions of naval forces, one-third of the war fleet, to America, stripped of their weapons.  In June of the same year, British Admiral Boscawen wanted to capture these 6 battalions off the coast of Nivfandlend.  Negotiations between the two countries were interrupted and war broke out on May 18, 1756.  This war started as a result of illusions. Three types of misperceptions can be observed: Misperceptions regarding both one’s own and the other’s intentions and actions.Misperceptions about the other’s possible response following their own actions: While states thought their own actions would lead to the other’s cooperation, they actually created  

Resistance. England’s sending of Braddock led to France unexpectedly escalating the situation by sending 6 battalions. In response to this move by France, England further escalated the situation.  Misperception of the value of the issue causing the conflict: This value was greatly exaggerated by both French and British leaders.  REASONS OF

THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR  Misperceptions: Did these cause a spiral as described by

Jervis?  Misperceptions of England:  Structure of the Status Quo – ‘Ohayo is ours!’ Virginia Governor Dinwiddie described the Ohayo Valley as a ‘British Property’ in his correspondence with England (in one he even described the French as ‘occupiers of British property’). However, Ohayo Valley was not the property of England because its status was not Determined.  Movements of France –England had exaggerated the aggressiveness of France’s behavior. According to Dinwiddle, the French were preparing for a larger conquest of North America by invading the eastern Alleghani region (which they did not). The governor of Masasuchez, Shirley, told London that France had occupied Masasuchez. However, this was not true. Dinwiddie had told London that the French had attacked British soldiers in the Ohayo Valley. But the French were fighting mercenaries of the Ohayo Company, not troops of the British government. Those who built the castle for the Ohayo Company were misidentified as ‘our people’ and the castle as ‘our castle’. They were not personnel or property of the British government.  Intentions of the French: England exaggerated France’s intentions regarding expansionism. Dinwiddle had told London that the French would conquer all of North America, although they had no such intention.  England’s Actions – England failed to realize how aggressive its own actions were.Dinwiddle did not inform London about the castle construction he had started in the Ohayo Valley. Dinwiddie also did not inform London about how he supported the natives fighting against the French. Such misperceptions feed on each other in the following ways: misperceptions about the status quo, misperceptions about the other’s actions, misperceptions about the other’s intentions, misperceptions about how the other will respond to punitive policies. This process probably occurred İn this case.  Although we have little information about these, we can say that France has similar misperceptions.  Beliefs and misperceptions that may be considered in addition to the above (did they arise as a result of the above?)  Both sides viewed the other as expansionist.  Both sides thought that a harsh policy would stop the other side. But the other side’s response was to escalate the situation.  England thought that France would do nothing against Braddock’s two battalions.However, France’s response was to send 6 battalions against  France also thought that England would not respond to 6 battalions. But England’s response was to attack these battalions.  Both parties were reluctant to resolve the issue through negotiations because:  They Thought that inviting for a meeting was a sign of weakness. They felt that making concessions would damage their credibility. They believed that the talks would be inconclusive anyway. However, since there was no discussion, misperceptions on both sides continued.  England had overestimated the value of the points of disagreement. England thought that it could establish control over North America by defeating France. In reality, England’s victory cost it North America. The colonies, thinking that they would be invaded by France, began to distrust the protection of England.This made them less eager to comply with England’s wishes. After all, they revolted in 1775-1776. The army led by Washington attacked the British troops.  Failure to Resolve Disputes: There Were gaps in the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Four windows of vulnerability/opportunity: a. England was finding that its military superiority over France was waning. British administrators believed that England was now more prepared for war than France. They also knew that France was building a battle fleet. France also saw England’s power increasing. The French saw that England was forming alliances in continental Europe (for example, with the Spanish) and was expanding into the Ohayo Valley.  Britain’s sending of two battalions under Braddock opened the tactical window the French needed: ‘Before the war begins and Britain blocks the seas, we must send forces against North America. Then we can’t do it!”  The French sending 6 battalions opened a Two-way window for England: ‘We can destroy a third of the French navy!’ and ‘IfIf we don’t attack, France will have the upper hand in North America!’ Note: The windows mentioned in c and d were windows opened by governments without realizing it.  Race over accumulated resources and race for security  The expectation of a limited and low-cost war.  RESULT: ENGLAND WINS THE WAR, ENGLAND LOSES ITS COLONY IN AMERICA  escalation in the SEVEN YEARS’ WAR: Although British leaders tried hard to prevent the war in North America, they failed. MAJOR WARS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY  Seven Years’ War: England-France, 1756-1763. England won.  The Seven Years’ War: In Continental Europe, 1756-1763. Austria, Russia, France Against Prussia. It ended in a bloody battle. 

The American Revolution, 1775-1783. American colonies opposite England. The United States gained independence, but this could be described as a side war rather than a major war.  France’s Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792-1815. Opposite France are Austria, Prussia, Russia, England and others.France lost. The French monarchy was restored and several million people died. Reasons: Revolutionary France and its oligarchic neighbors feared that each would overthrow the other. When France thought it had a short-lived advantage, it attacked the others. In addition, France believed that it could spread the revolution throughout Europe with these wars. Simply put, security fears and perceived offensive superiority Opportunities and windows brought war.  Crimean War, 1854-56. England, France and the Ottoman Empire against Russia. England, France and the Ottoman Empire defeated Russia; There were 825,000 casualties. The main reason: a complex set of misperceptions.  ‘The Russians are coming!’ England and France had unrealistic fears about Russia  They had illusions about Russia’s power: ‘Russia is the most powerful state in Europe!’ It was a state and not even close to being at the top. He had illusions about Russian expansionism: ‘Russia has the intention of disintegrating the Ottoman Empire!’ However, it did not.  ‘The French are coming!’ Based on the events of revolutionary France between 1792 and 1815, Russia had false fears about  

France and believed that these fears were shared by Austria and England.The Turks are collapsing!’ Russia incorrectly interpreted the weakness of the Ottoman Empire at that time as collapsing. However, it took decades for the empire to disintegrate. Other causes:  War of religions – 1690-1852 ‘War of the Monks’. The race between Catholics and Orthodox to protect and control the holy places in Jerusalem and Palestine. While France supported the Catholics, Russia supported the Orthodox. The host Ottoman Empire was also given the duty of referee. This is where the problem started.  Russia’s bullying tactics against the Ottomans convinced others that Russia had aggressive intentions. French leader Napoleon III, an insecure and irresponsible demagogue, Used religious sentiments to rally the French people to his side – a sign that France was in the early stages of democratization?  Russia wanted to reach an agreement regarding the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and wanted it to be a Russia-Britain agreement. However, since England thought that the collapse of the Ottoman Empire was not imminent, it perceived Russia’s offers as a veiled threat. This caused alarm bells to ring in England about Russia’s intentions. Germany’s Wars of Unification, 1864-1871. Prussia fought with Denmark in 1864, with Austria in 1866, and with France in 1870-71, with 250,000 casualties. Prussia won them all.  World War I, 1914-1918. The Triple Entente (England, France, Russia) against the Central Powers (Germany And Austria), 20 million people were killed. The Allied Powers won. 8. World War II, 1939-1945. The Grand Alliance (Britain, France, Poland, USSR, USA and others) against the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan). Between 35 and 60 million people were lost. The Allies won. 9. Cold War, 1945-1989. NATO, Japan and others against the Soviet Union. Hot wars within the Cold War: Korea 1950-53 (2-4 million casualties), Vietnam 1945-75 (2.5 million casualties), Afghanistan 1979-92 (1 million casualties), Angola 1975-91 (1 million casualties ). 99 (200,000 missing) and others. NATO won. 10. The War of Civilizations (War on Terror)? 2001-.

FRENCH REVOLUTION

 In 1789, a struggle began in France due to The conflict between classes. When the negotiations did not yield positive results, a bloody policy was followed. The people revolted all the way to Paris. European states wanted to take advantage of France’s internal turmoil. “Coalition Wars” take place between France and the world states. As a result of the wars, when France lost the last war, the 6th Coalition War, the states came together to discuss the situation of France at the Vienna Congress. Since the interests of the congress were taken into consideration, the events that took place afterwards revealed that no matter what decision was made, the congress was not enough.The Glorious Revolution aimed to revive England’s tradition-based political system. Therefore, the Glorious Revolution is a gradual political revolution that represents the achievement of the “ideal order” that needs to be returned, that is, the principles of Magna Carta. The American Revolution was a “revolution of freedom” based on the idea of representation and freedom and shaped by reference to the British political tradition after the War of Independence; The French Revolution, on the other hand, was, in reference to Edmund Burke, the first passionate critic of the idea of the revolution, “excessive immorality in habits… insolent irreligion in opinions and practices… overturned laws, overturned courts, impotent industry, ceased commerce… a plundered church… civil and military anarchy… national It is a “Revolution of the Mind” that can be defined as “bankruptcy”.

SOURCES

https://search.app.goo.gl/SKxzB7p 

http://www.yildirimkoc.com.tr/usrfile/1539458486b.pdf

Https://search.app.goo.gl/ZLV5XiR https://acikerisim.uludag.edu.tr/bitstream/11452/15289/1/628422.pdf https://search.app.goo.gl/22V69tY 

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