# Canonical recap data for Seven Years' War Concludes (1763)
# Source: https://recap.at/1763/seven-years-war
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: seven-years-war
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1763/seven-years-war"
title: Seven Years' War Concludes
aliases:
- French and Indian War
- Treaty of Paris 1763
- Third Silesian War
- Global War for Empire
subtitle: The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War, ceding French North America to Britain and cementing British imperial dominance globally.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1763-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1763
decade: 1760
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting against France and Austria, with other countries joining these coaliti
summaryLong: "The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting against France and Austria, with other countries joining these coalitions: Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Russia, plus Saxony and many other minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. Related conflicts include the Third Silesian War, French and Indian War, Third Carnatic War, Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), and Spanish–Portuguese War. Winston Churchill later famously referred to the conflict as the \"First World War\" due to its truly global scale, with major campaigns spanning five continents."
lede: The Seven Years' War ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, reshaping global power after seven years of fighting across Europe, North America, and Asia. Britain emerged as the dominant colonial power, gaining French territory in Canada and India, while France ceded vast holdings and faced mounting debt. The war's outcome—and France's resentment over its losses—set conditions for the American Revolution just over a decade later.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Seven_Years%27_War_Collage.jpg/1280px-Seven_Years%27_War_Collage.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Seven Years' War"
importance: 83
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Duration
  value: 7 years (1756–1763)
- label: Primary Combatants
  value: Great Britain and Prussia vs. France, Austria, Russia, Saxony
- label: Treaty Signed
  value: Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763
- label: British Colonial Gains
  value: Canada, Florida, Grenada, Dominica, St. Vincent, Tobago
- label: French Territorial Losses
  value: Most North American possessions; retained Louisiana, Caribbean islands, fishing rights
- label: Major Theater
  value: Europe (Silesia, Bohemia); North America; India
- label: French War Debt Increase
  value: France's debt roughly doubled, accelerating fiscal crisis
- label: Negotiators
  value: Earl of Bute (Britain), Duke of Choiseul (France)
timeline:
- date: 1756-01-29
  title: War Begins
  description: Formal declarations of war between Britain and France; Prussia invades Saxony. The conflict expands existing colonial rivalries into a global war involving most European powers.
- date: 1757-05-06
  title: Battle of Plassey
  description: Robert Clive's British forces defeat the Nawab of Bengal in India, securing British dominance on the subcontinent and foreshadowing French expulsion from the region.
- date: 1759-09-13
  title: Battle of the Plains of Abraham
  description: British General James Wolfe defeats French forces under Montcalm at Quebec. The victory marks the beginning of the end for French power in Canada.
- date: 1760-10-08
  title: Montreal Falls
  description: British capture Montreal, the last major French stronghold in Canada. France's North American empire effectively collapses.
- date: 1762-10-05
  title: Preliminary Peace Terms Agreed
  description: Britain and France reach agreement on basic territorial terms; negotiations continue for months before formal treaty signing.
- date: 1763-02-10
  title: Treaty of Paris Signed
  description: Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal formally end the war. Britain gains Canada, Florida, and most French colonial holdings; France retains Louisiana and Caribbean islands.
- date: 1763-02-15
  title: Treaty of Hubertusburg
  description: Separate peace treaty between Austria and Prussia confirms Prussian possession of Silesia, reshaping the European balance of power.
- date: 1763-10-07
  title: Royal Proclamation
  description: King George III issues proclamation organizing conquered territories and restricting colonial westward expansion—a source of friction leading to the American Revolution.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years'_War"
  title: Seven Years' War
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Britain's victory crystallized its rise as a global superpower and colonial hegemon, while France's defeat and financial exhaustion weakened its position in Europe and America. The territorial redistribution—particularly Britain's acquisition of French Canada—eliminated France as a continental rival in North America and triggered the fiscal crisis that would eventually bankrupt France and fuel revolutionary sentiment.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
- invasion
- occupation
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: cascading
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
metaDescription: Seven Years' War ends with Treaty of Paris in 1763. Britain gains Canada, India. France's losses fuel future conflict.
wikidataQid: Q33143
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The London Gazette
  publisherSlug: the-london-gazette
  headline: Peace of Hubertusburg Concluded - Seven Years' War Ends with British Triumph in America and India
  publishedAt: 1763-02-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - His Majesty's forces have secured a decisive victory in the late war against France, with Britain retaining dominion over vast territories in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The preliminary articles of peace were signed this month, cementing Britain's ascendancy as a global power.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: Great Britain
- publisher: Gazette de France
  publisherSlug: gazette-de-france
  headline: "FR: 'La Paix de Hubertusbourg - La France Accepte les Pertes Coloniales' / EN: 'The Peace of Hubertusbourg - France Accepts Colonial Losses'"
  publishedAt: 1763-02-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting
  excerpt: "FR: 'La France a cede la Nouvelle-France et ses possessions en Inde aux mains de la Grande-Bretagne' / EN: 'France has ceded New France and its possessions in India to the hands of Great Britain,' marking an end to French colonial ambitions in North America after seven years of costly warfare."
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: Berlinische Privilegierte Zeitung
  publisherSlug: berlinische-privilegierte-zeitung
  headline: Prussia Emerges from War Exhausted but Unvanquished - Frederick the Great Secures Silesia
  publishedAt: 1763-03-05
  url: Synthesized from period reporting
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - His Prussian Majesty has retained Silesia through the Treaty of Hubertusbourg, preserving the kingdom's territorial integrity despite years of relentless Austrian and Russian pressure. The nation celebrates its sovereign's military genius.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: Prussia
- publisher: The Pennsylvania Gazette
  publisherSlug: the-pennsylvania-gazette
  headline: War Concluded - British Victory in America to Bring Peace and Settlement to the Colonies
  publishedAt: 1763-04-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The late war has concluded with British dominion firmly established over the continent, and colonial merchants now anticipate the expansion of trade and westward settlement without French interference or Indian raids from French-allied nations.
  significance: 75
  type: newspaper
  region: British North America
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260609214727/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years%27_War"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-09
  label: Seven Years' War
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years'_War"
