Seven Years' War
1756–1763
The first world war of the Age of Sail, fought in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, West Africa and India. It began badly for Britain at sea: in 1756 Admiral Byng failed to relieve Minorca, and was shot on his own quarterdeck for it. But under Pitt the navy kept the French fleets blockaded in Brest and Toulon and cut France off from her colonies, and 1759 became the 'year of victories'. In August Boscawen caught the Toulon fleet trying to pass Gibraltar and destroyed half of it off Lagos; in November Hawke followed the Brest fleet into Quiberon Bay in a gale, among the rocks and shoals, and destroyed it, ending the French plan to invade Britain. Quebec fell the same year. When Spain joined France in 1762, a British expedition took Havana and with it a fifth of the Spanish navy, and another took Manila. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 gave Britain Canada and left her the leading naval power in the world.
How the fleets moved
Click a route to see which ships made it, or a battle for its summary. Routes are approximate.
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British movement
French movement
Battle (size: ships engaged)
Routes are approximate.
Battles
In date order.
18–19 August 1759
Battle of LagosOff Lagos, Portugal
British victory; five French ships of the line taken or destroyed
29
vs
10 (5 lost)
20 November 1759
Battle of Quiberon BayQuiberon Bay, Brittany
Decisive British victory; the Brest fleet destroyed and the invasion of Britain abandoned
33 (2 lost)
vs
26 (7 lost)
6 June – 13 August 1762
Siege of HavanaHavana, Cuba
British victory; Havana and a fifth of the Spanish navy taken
6
vs
14 (14 lost)
Fleets
Each navy's ships in the war, from its biggest down.