This presentation seeks to explain why was Britain able to win the great 18th century contest for empire and as a corollary why France lost out.

Analysis
Everyone has heard the adage “Sun never sets on the British empire”. This bears testimony to the vastness of the second British Empire. The first British Empire existed during the seventeenth century.

After the loss of American colonies the British Empire turned its attention to Asia and Africa. The military, political and diplomatic strength which the British had at their command enable them to expand the empire in the 1800s and early 1900s which climaxed at the end of World War I.

During the Seven Years’ War in Europe (1756-1763), Britain made large imperial gains at the expense of France. The North American segment of the Seven Years’ War was called the French and Indian War. This war was fought by the British against French possessions in North America in 1754. In 1758 the British captured the French fortress of Louisburg. This wrested control of the French territory in the St. Lawrence Valley. Subsequently Quebec too was captured from the French removing French influence from Canada. In the Caribbean too British forces captured many of the French possessions, including the large sugar-producing islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, which were subsequently returned to France under an agreement.

The British lost out in the American Civil War. However Britannia still ruled the waves and it was because of this supremacy at sea that the French were not able to defeat the British. Britain’s losses did not extend beyond the American colonies themselves. The British also inflicted a military defeat on the French in the Indian theatre. This was during the Carnatic Wars of 1740’s and 1750’s. At the battle of Plassey in June 1757, British defeated their Indian and French rivals. They made the East India Company as the dominant power in the important region of Bengal.

Thorough explorations of Captain James Cook in the 1770s and because of the defeat in North America the British revived interest in Australia. The beat the French to it.  Britain, under Admiral Nelson, also defeated the French in the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) and thus secured its sea route to the east. It was Nelson who stopped Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt. Winning the Battle of Nile gave the British control of the Mediterranean. This was followed by the Battle of Trafalgar where Nelson destroyed a French fleet on its way to land troops in Italy. By decimating the French navy, Nelson ended any possible threat to the British islands from Napoleon and ensured British naval superiority for much of the 19th century.

Conclusion
The military victories enable Britain win the great 18th century contest for empire. It was the better military strategy, preparedness and organization and the greater British intelligence and cunning that defeated the French on many fronts.