Losing A Continent

England's capture of Canada in 1760 was the culmination of the French and Indian War and of a century and a half of conflict between Britain and France for control of the North American continent. During that long period, there were several English military efforts to evict the French, but all failed. Therefore, at the war's start, few among the English entertained serious thoughts of totally evicting France from all of Canada. Nor did the French consider such a result a serious possibility. Drawing heavily on primary sources, Brecher tells the dramatic story of why the war's outcome differed so sharply from original expectations. He does so from the vantage point of France, while demonstrating in greater depth than has been available to date the linkages between France's American policy and involvement in the Seven Years' War.

Brecher provides an unprecedently full-scale analysis of the political, military, social, and economic conditions of mid-18th-century France and its North American colony, New France. That analysis also examines the direct connection between those internal conditions and the results for France of the war that ended in 1763. In doing so, Brecher assesses France's military strategy and major battles in Europe and America, as well as the diplomatic goals Versailles set for itself in the conduct of the war. Further, he describes why France concurred in leaving not only Canada, but also the vast Louisiana territory, to be divided between England and France's belated wartime ally, Bourbon Spain. Finally, Brecher explains the longer-term implications of the war for North American development and for the future of France. This is an important study for students and scholars of French and colonial American history and for the broad reading public, as well as those interested in the more recent Quebec problem.

Shows how a 1754 firefight in the disputed Ohio valley spread into a world war that ended ten years later with France's departure from North America and the stage set for the events of 1776 and 1789.

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Examines the international influences that set the stage for the French and Indian War, describes the phases of the war and the politics and diplomacy of war and peace, and discusses the role of the war in process of the American Revolution. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

FRANK W. BRECHER is a former career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service. He holds degrees from CCNY and Columbia University, and was a Fellow at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.