Seven Years' War - Summary on a Map

Seven Years' War - Summary on a Map

Seven Years' War - Summary on a Map

Let’s retrace on an animated map a summary of the Seven Years’ War, often called World War Zero.
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Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geohistory
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English translation \u0026 voiceover: Rahul Venkit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD1X…
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Original French version:    • La guerre de Sept Ans - Résumé sur ca…  
Russian version:    • Семилетняя война - на карте  
Arabic version:    • “حرب السنوات السبع - ملخص “أول حرب عا…  
Spanish version:    • La guerra de los siete años - Histori…  
Portuguese version (Brazil):
Japanese version:    • 七年戦争  
German version:    • Der Siebenjährige Krieg - Zusammenfas…  
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Music: Nothing Easy - Causmic (YouTube library)
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Software used for editing: Adobe After Effects
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Chapter
0:00 Introduction
0:22 War of the Austrian Succession
2:04 Diplomatic Revolution
3:09 The Seven Years’ War
3:57 French and Prussian rule
4:56 Turning point
6:02 Annus Mirabilis of 1759
6:53 French and Prussian defeats
7:30 End of the war
8:19 Treaties of Peace
9:00 Consequences


Content

0.58 -> This little-known war took place in the mid-18th century, mainly in Europe,
5.48 -> but also for the first time in European colonies around the world.
9.88 -> This is why it is sometimes considered as the first world war.
14.12 -> Let’s retrace on a map a summary of the events and consequences of the Seven Years War.
26.62 -> We begin in 1740, when the Holy Roman Empire is divided into a multitude
31.76 -> of territories ruled by prince-electors.
34.66 -> At the very top of the hierarchy is the title of Emperor,
38.48 -> which has been shared for almost 300 years by the powerful Habsburg House.
43.68 -> But this year, Emperor Charles VI, who is also Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia
49.36 -> and King of Hungary - dies without a male successor.
53.4 -> His eldest daughter Marie-Thérèse cannot be Emperor,
56.98 -> but nevertheless inherits the territories of her father.
60.76 -> For some competitors, this is a golden opportunity to challenge the Austrian domination.
66.4 -> Thus the young King of Prussia Frederick II - without a declaration of war - invades the rich region of Silesia.
74.61 -> France, Austria's traditional enemy, takes advantage of the situation to join forces with Prussia.
81.12 -> Britain meanwhile backs Austria, fearing an imbalance of power in favor of the French Empire.
88.06 -> After five years of war, Prussia abandons its French ally by signing a peace treaty with Austria.
94.74 -> Prussia holds onto the territory of Silesia but recognizes Maria Theresa as the Archduchess of Austria.
101.82 -> Her husband, Francis of Lorraine, obtains the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
108.22 -> France finds itself alone against the coalition and still manages to seize the Austrian Netherlands.
114.34 -> A peace treaty was signed in 1748 and against all odds,
119.08 -> the King of France Louis XV returns the territories to Austria.
127.28 -> After the war, a strong rivalry develops between Prussia and Austria, which hopes to one day recover Silesia.
134.54 -> Moreover, the French and British Empires increasingly compete for their colonies in the world
139.98 -> primarily in North America, where New France surrounds British colonies.
145.14 -> With boundaries not clearly defined, the two powers compete for the Ohio Valley.
150.2 -> The first clashes taking place there are mostly dominated by the French side.
155.32 -> From a military point of view, Britain dominates the seas and oceans with its powerful Royal Navy
160.96 -> while the French army is deemed stronger.
163.97 -> George II, King of Great Britain and the prince-elector of Hanover, fears lose the German state in case of war.
171.54 -> He approaches Prussia for protection and signs an alliance,
175.22 -> upsetting the traditional balance of power in the region.
178.66 -> After centuries of competition, France and Austria join forces, and are joined most notably by Russia.
185.38 -> European powers meanwhile prepare for war.
191.88 -> France attacks first and sends its army to the British island of Menorca.
196.7 -> In India, Britain prepares for war by fortifying Calcutta without the agreement of the Prince of Bengal.
203.59 -> The latter responds by driving them out of the city.
207.04 -> Britain counter attacks, recovers Calcutta, dethrones the prince, and moves to attack the French colonies.
213.5 -> In North America, the British Empire prepares to send large military reinforcements.
219.28 -> In the European theater, France prepares a ground offensive in Hanover.
224.22 -> Prussia - which finds itself surrounded - launches the first strike on Saxony, a rich, poorly protected region.
231.18 -> The offensive is a success despite an Austrian counter-attack.
239.58 -> Prussia continues its offensive by attacking Bohemia.
243.2 -> But this time the intervention of the Austrian army prevents the capture of Prague
248.26 -> and pushes the Prussians back to Silesia.
251.2 -> In the West, the French offensive in Hanover is a success.
254.98 -> The French army now advances to Prussia which finds itself besieged.
259.28 -> To the east, the Russian army captures its first territories,
263.16 -> and in the south, the Austrian army advances towards Silesia.
267.4 -> Britain attempts to distract France from Hanover by initiating military raids on its Atlantic ports.
274 -> A first military expedition is sent to Rochefort but is countered by the French army.
279.54 -> Frederick II of Prussia sets out with his army to face the French.
283.78 -> A fine strategist, he wins despite having a much smaller army.
288.48 -> He then moves to face off against the Austrian army, and once again wins due to his strategy,
294.28 -> despite having fewer soldiers.
300.06 -> In North America, Britain stations ships at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River
304.86 -> to blockade and isolate the French colony.
307.76 -> On the European side, King George II refuses to recognise the surrender of his son in Hanover.
314.38 -> He raises a new army that repels the French.
317.8 -> In parallel, new raids are organized.
320.56 -> After another failure on Saint-Malo, an offensive on the city of Cherbourg is a success,
325.96 -> and the city is looted.
327.96 -> This time Britain mounts a bigger offensive by sending 42,000 men to Saint-Malo.
334 -> But they suffer a serious setback faced against 7,000 French soldiers.
339.2 -> This failure marks the end of the raids on France.
342.68 -> Britain now concentrates on Hanover and the colonies.
346.32 -> In Africa, after the capture of St. Louis, Britain seizes the island of Goree.
351.46 -> In the East, while Prussia repulses the Russian army,
355.08 -> this time it suffers a heavy defeat against Austria, which forces it to retreat for the winter.
364.62 -> France plans to invade Great Britain.
367.199 -> To do this, an army of 100,000 men would be escorted by the military fleets of Toulon and Brest.
374.289 -> In parallel, a new army is sent to Hanover, but the latter fails to take hold.
379.919 -> Meanwhile, Britain intensifies attacks against French colonies.
384.21 -> It captures Caribbean islands and lays siege to Quebec city.
388.18 -> To the east, Russia manages to join the Austrian army.
392.289 -> Together they overcome the army of Frederick II, which opens the way to Berlin, which is not protected.
398.94 -> But following disagreements, both armies stop there.
402.72 -> For France the situation is complicated.
405.48 -> With their military fleets of Toulon and Brest defeated by the Royal Navy,
409.56 -> the invasion of Great Britain is abandoned.
416.12 -> Without military fleets, France can no longer support its colonies.
420.68 -> In North America, New France is in disarray.
424.36 -> After the capture of Quebec, Britain seizes Montreal.
427.82 -> The island of Dominica in the Caribbean and Pondicherry in India fall in quick succession.
433.999 -> In Europe, despite several attempts, France can no longer impose itself on Hanover.
439.82 -> On the other hand, severely weakened and facing defeat,
443 -> the king of Prussia regroups his last remaining forces into a single army.
452.26 -> In January 1762, the war takes a new turn with the death of Elizabeth, the Tsarina of Russia.
459.44 -> Her successor Peter III of Russia is an admirer of Prussia and does not want to engage in war.
466.02 -> He quickly signs a peace treaty.
468.25 -> In the West, the Spanish Empire takes a negative view of British domination.
473.149 -> Spain then goes to war with France.
475.389 -> An army is sent to Portugal, the Iberian ally of Great Britain, forcing the latter to send reinforcements.
482.46 -> But in parallel, Britain takes advantage of an opportunity to seize Cuba and Manila in the Philippines.
489.42 -> In Prussia, the king's army succeeds in defeating the Austrian army.
493.9 -> Exhausted by years of war, European powers begin peace negotiations.
502.88 -> Two peace treaties are signed separately.
505.349 -> A first in Paris between France, Great Britain and Spain.
509.58 -> France loses almost all its colonies.
512.42 -> The country retains some territories in America, the island of Goree in Africa
517.14 -> and 5 posts in India, provided they do not fortify or send armies there.
522.4 -> Spain recovers Cuba, Manila and gets Louisiana in exchange for Florida and peace with Portugal.
529.5 -> On the other hand, the Treaty of Hubertusburg is signed between Prussia and Austria.
535.26 -> Prussia liberates Saxony, in exchange for which it retains Silesia.
543.47 -> The human toll of war is heavy with 1.3 million people dead.
547.97 -> More than half of them are civilians.
550.55 -> European powers are weakened by war and forced to increase taxes to repay their debts.
556.66 -> The first colonial empire of France is dismantled.
559.92 -> The country invests in its military industry, mainly its naval fleet to catch with Britain.
565.9 -> Austria is forced to abandon Silesia, but saves face by liberating Saxony.
571.44 -> Prussia, although greatly weakened, is now respected and even feared.
576.3 -> Finally, Britain becomes the major world power.
579.52 -> But its empire is also indebted by war.
582.88 -> It intends to take advantage of its colonies to repay debts through new taxes, causing great discontent.
590.11 -> On the other hand, Native American tribes unite to demand the departure of the British
594.89 -> from the former French colony and demand an independent state.
599.21 -> The government tries to calm the situation by creating in a rush an Indian reservation.
605.01 -> But this again prevents British colonists from expanding their territories in the West, increasing frustrations.
611.82 -> This sows the seeds of separation between the British government and its colonists.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVFTZu4GaA0