18Th century

The SevenYears’ War

During the Seven Years’ War in Europe (1756-1763), Britain made large imperial gains at the expense of France. The North American segment ['segmənt] of the Seven Years’ War was known as the ['segmənt]. It was launched by the British against French possessions in North America in 1754, and in 1758 the British captured the French fortress of Louisbourg, which gave them access to French territory in the St. Lawrence Valley. In the following year Québec [k(w)ɪ'bek] was captured, marking the end of the French presence in Canada. In the Caribbean, British forces captured many of the French possessions, including the large sugar-producing islands of Martinique [‘mɑ:tɪ'ni:k] and Guadeloupe [‘gwɑ:də'lu:p].

The early 18th cent. saw a reorganization and revitalization of many of the old chartered companies. In India, from the 1740s to 1763, the British East India Company and its French counterpart were engaged in a military and commercial rivalry in which the British were ultimately victorious. The political fragmentation of the Mughal (могол; потомок завоевателей Индии) empire permitted the absorption of one area after another by the British. The Treaty of Paris firmly established the British in India and Canada.

At the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which ended both the Seven Years’ War and the French and Indian War, the British handed Guadeloupe and Martinique back to France, but retained control of Canada. This was especially important to the British in guaranteeing the security of the New England colonies. From this treaty dated the colonial and maritime supremacy of Great Britain

(East India Company, British, 1600–1874, company chartered by Queen Elizabeth I for trade with Asia. The original object of the group of merchants involved was to break the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade with the East Indies. However, after 1623, when the English traders at Amboina (an island in Indonesia) were massacred (['mæsəkəd] убивать с особенной жестокостью) by the Dutch, the company admitted defeat in that endeavor and concentrated its activities in India. It had established its first factory in 1611, and it gradually acquired unequaled trade privileges from the Mughal emperors. The company was soon reaping large profits from its Indian exports (chiefly textiles). By that time the company had established in India the three presidencies. As Mughal power declined, these settlements became subject to increasing harassment (['hærəsmənt ], [hə'ræsmənt] агрессия, притеснение) by local princes, and the company began to protect itself by intervening more and more in Indian political affairs. It had, moreover, a serious rival in the French East India Company, which launched an aggressive policy of expansion. The victories (1751–60) over the French made the company dominant in India. By the East India Act of 1784 the government assumed more direct responsibility for British activities in India, setting up a board of control for India. The company continued to control commercial policy and lesser administration, but the British government became increasingly the effective ruler of India. Parliamentary acts of 1813 and 1833 ended the company's trade monopoly. Finally, after the Indian Mutiny of 1857–58 the government assumed direct control, and the East India Company was dissolved).