Seven Years' War

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"...We need more land! The French understand this, and endeavor to prevent such growth... This is why we ride, to offer them one last chance. The French will leave... or they will die!"

―Edward Braddock, on the cause of the war, 1755.

The Seven Years' War (1754/1756–1763) was a conflict between the colonial empires of Great Britain and France for global hegemony. The war spanned across their territorial possessions in multiple continents, including Europe, North America, and even reaching colonies in Africa and India. It involved other belligerents like Portugal, Spain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Iroquois who allied with either power. The theater in North America was called the French and Indian War, after the primary opponents the British colonists faced.

The war began in 1754 as the result of shifting political borders and alliances in Europe, coupled with the efforts of several nations to secure lands beyond Britain's Thirteen Colonies. The war did not begin on an international scale until 1756 and ended in 1763, and it is from these years that the conflict gets its name, even though it technically lasted for nine years.

Fighting broke out in both Europe and North America; theaters ranged from Canada to the West Indies and from the eastern Atlantic coast to the Russian city of Moscow. In Europe, the war was largely fought with sieges and arson attacks, along with several open battles. The conflict also spread into parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, such that during the final years of the war, it was fought on virtually every known continent at the time; for this reason, the Seven Years' War has sometimes been referred to as the first "world war" in history.

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War was fought primarily along the frontiers, separating New France from the British colonies spanning Virginia to Nova Scotia. The conflict involved Templar manipulation, mainly by the newly-founded Colonial Rite, who fought on the side of the British. In contrast, the Colonial Assassins allied themselves with the French and the native tribes that supported them, and helped them in several conflicts, most notably the Siege of Fort William Henry.

During the initial stages of the war, the British general and former Templar Edward Braddock planned an expedition to take the French-occupied Fort Duquesne. However, the expedition ended in failure when Braddock and his men were ambushed by French regulars, their native allies, and Templars led by Haytham Kenway, who sought to end the atrocities perpetrated by Braddock's troops against the natives.

The River Valley saw much fighting during the war, with the British and French alike setting up numerous camps, building forts, and battling each other for dominance in the region. The Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Cormac would help turn the tide in favor of the British, capturing several forts and settlements under French control. Shay also used his flagship, the Morrigan, to secure a number of key British victories at sea, including at the Siege of Louisbourg, where he commanded the Man O' War HMS Pembroke.

Several key historical figures were involved in the war, including the future President of the United States, George Washington. Notable Templars such as John Pitcairn and Charles Lee also participated in the conflict, and cemented their reputation as great military commanders. The French Assassin Pierre Bellec was similarly active during the war, being a soldier in the French colonial militia at the time. By the war's end, the Assassin-Templar War had intensified dramatically, and the Colonial Templars had all but destroyed their Assassin counterparts.

By 1760, France had started to lose the war in the North American theatre and sold the west side of New France, which included the colony of Louisiana, to the Spanish Empire. However, Spain would not start to formally govern the colony until a few years after the war's conclusion.

Meanwhile, the British took over French Canada, along with most of the French islands in the Caribbean and the western part of Spanish Florida. However, while they were governed by the British, these territories were separate from the main Thirteen Colonies. After the war, all that remained of France's colonial empire in North America were Haiti and the two Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Aftermath

The war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, granting the victorious Great Britain and her allies several holdings throughout the Americas. The Thirteen Colonies had successfully conquered New France and expanded into unharmed Native American territory, where they continued to displace the natives. Some indigenous tribes were forced to migrate as far west as Spanish Louisiana, where they presumably assimilated with the local tribes.

Despite their victory, Britain's mounting costs from the war, and her efforts to recoup the costs from the colonies, eventually contributed to a growing colonial resentment; years later, this would set the stage for the American Revolutionary War in 1775.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed III (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Forsaken
• Assassin's Creed: Memories (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue
• Assassin's Creed: Unity (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (indirect mention only)