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Catholic Victory in the Seven
Years War by John Lipka
 Author
says: what if Great Britain was defeated in the Seven Years War? muses
John Likpa. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not
necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
February 10th 1763,
on this day the signing of the Treaty of Paris by the
Kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain (with Portugal in agreement)
marked the beginning of an extensive period of Catholic dominance outside
Europe. Because in combination with the separate Treaty of Hubertusburg
signed by Prussia, Austria and Saxony, the so-called "Peace of Paris"
concluded the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War, an outcome
which particularly favoured the French and Spanish.
Peace of Paris on Catholic TermsThe
fighting between Great Britain, France, and their respective allies in North
America (known in the United States as the French and Indian War) had broken
out in 1754, two years before the general conflict, as part of an Imperial
rivalry.
In hindsight, it was clear that the premature loss of the talented General
James Wolfe at Louisbourg was a catastrophic setback for the British. As
portrayed in the iconic painting "The Death of General Wolfe" (pictured),
artist Benjamin West symbolised the loss of such a ruthlessly talented
officer which ultimately cost the British the War (West had originally
planned to replace Wolfe with Britannia to further emphasise the point).
Ordered to capture Quebec, their forces were thrown into such dissarray that
France was able to seize New England, New York City, New Jersey and
Pennslyvania. With the south also seized by Spanish forces, all of colonial
continental North America was now in French and Spanish hands.
Ironically, the Catholic allies suffered their own near-fatal setback at the
outset of the Seven Year's War. The delayed arrival on the Russian Throne of
Czar Peter III was too late for his potential ally Frederick the Great who
had already committed suicide. And because France did not want Russian power
overly extended on the risk of offending their friends the Ottomans, it
would be agreed that Russia only gained East Prussia at the Treaty of
Versailles (with the rest of Prussia being divided between Austria regaining
Silesia, Saxony-Poland gaining Prussian Saxony (Anhalt) and Brandenburg).
Author
says based on an original idea by John Lipka, discussions with David
Atwell and significant content repurposed from Wikipedia. To view guest
historian's comments on this post please visit the
Today in Alternate History web site.
John Likpa, Guest Historian of Today
in Alternate History, a Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In
History That Never Occurred Today. Follow us on
Facebook, Myspace and
Twitter.
Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit
differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items
explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist
superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy
Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting
fictional blog.
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