Product Description

The Seven Years' War was the world's first global conflict, spanning five continents and the critical sea lanes that connected them. This book is the fullest account ever written of the French navy's role in the hostilities. It is also the most complete survey of both phases of the war: the French and Indian War in North America (1754-60) and the Seven Years' War in Europe (1756-63), which are almost always treated independently. By considering both phases of the war from every angle, award-winning historian Jonathan R. Dull shows not only that the two conflicts are so interconnected that neither can be fully understood in isolation but also that traditional interpretations of the war are largely inaccurate. His work also reveals how the French navy, supposedly utterly crushed, could have figured so prominently in the War of American Independence only fifteen years later. A comprehensive work integrating diplomatic, naval, military, and political history, "The French Navy and the Seven Years' War" thoroughly explores the French perspective on the Seven Years' War. It also studies British diplomacy and war strategy, as well as the roles played by the American colonies, Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and Portugal. As this history unfolds, it becomes clear that French policy was more consistent, logical, and successful than has previously been acknowledged, and that King Louis XV's conduct of the war profoundly affected the outcome of America's subsequent Revolutionary War. Jonathan R. Dull is a senior associate editor of "The Papers of Benjamin Franklin" series and author of the award-winning history "The French Navy and American Independence: A Study of Arms and Diplomacy, 1774-1787".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #654746 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 445 pages

Review
"There are a great many books for English-speaking readers concerning the British Royal Navy in the 18th century, but not many that provide solid, well-researched material concerning its greatest rival, the French Navy. Dull helps fill in that gap and provides some much-needed balance with this work. Overall, this is a much-needed study for any scholar interested in this time period or in western naval and maritime history." CHOICE "A magnificent book, another tour de force in combined diplomatic, political and naval history."--N. A. M. Rodger, author of The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain

Customer Reviews

The historical howdunit
I love mysteries, whodunits, and I was gripped by this book in the same way but by the "how" rather than the "who." How did the apparently doomed French Navy survive the Seven Years' War to be a force in the American Revolution, and how did the author combine the monumental mass of information into such a coherent and compelling book? It at first seems a bit intimidating and difficult, but I was swept along by the stunning scholarship and spellbinding story. It's economically written, with not a word wasted, but all even an untutored reader needs to know is there, helpful and fascinating tidbits tucked into parentheses just when you need them. You think the world is complicated now? It looks pretty simple compared with the middle of the 18th century, but maybe if this author were to apply his military/diplomatic/political historian's tools to produce a whydunit on today's maneuvers and intrigues we'd find it far more labyrinthine than it appears.