<P> Britain played a small role in the inconclusive but hard fought war that convulsed central Europe, while funding its ally Austria . The goal, as defined by foreign minister John Carteret was to limit the growth of French power, and protect Hanover, which was also ruled by King George II . In 1743 King George II led a 40,000 - man British = - Dutch - German army into the Rhine Valley . He was outmaneuvred by the French but he scored a narrow victory at the Battle of Dettingen . In the winter of 1743 - 44 the French planned to invade Britain in alliance with the Stuart pretender to George's throne; they were foiled by the Royal Navy . King George gave command to his son the Duke of Cumberland . He fared poorly and Britain pulled out of the war to deal with rebellion at home, where Cumberland gained fame by decisively suppressing the Jacobite Rising at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 . Meanwhile, Britain did much better in North America, capturing the powerful Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia . The Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle (1748) favoured France, which won the most victories . Britain returned the Fortress of Louisbourg to France and the French left Belgium . Prussia and Savoy werre the main winners, and Britain's ally Austria was a loser . The treaty left the main issues of control over territories in America and India unresolved, and was little more than an armed truce, and a prelude to the more important Seven Years' War...</P> <P> The Seven Years' War (1756 - 63 in Europe, 1754 - 63 in North America) was a major international conflict centered in Europe but reaching across the globe . Great Britain and Prussia were the winners . They fought France, Austria, Spain and Russia--nearly all of the other important powers except the Ottoman Empire). The Royal Navy played a major role, and the army and the Treasury played important roles . The war appeared to be a disaster for Prussia, until its fortunes reversed at the last second . Britain swept up much of the overseas French Empire in North America and India . The financing of war was a critical issue, which Britain handled well, and France handled poorly, leaving itself so deep in debt . That it never fully recovered . William Pitt (1708--78) energized the British leadership, and used effective diplomacy and military strategy to achieve his victory . Britain used the manpower from its American colonies effectively in cooperation with its regulars and its Navy to overwhelm the much less populous French colonial empire in what is now Canada . From a small spark in 1754 in the distant wilderness (near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), the fighting spread to Europe . 1759, was the "annus mirabilis" ("miraculous year"), with victory after victory . British and Prussian troops defeated the French army at the Battle of Minden, the British captured Guadeloupe Island and Quebec, smashed the French fleet at Quiberon Bay, and (in January 1760) defeated the French in southern India . Peace terms were hard to reach and the war dragged on until everyone was exhausted . The British national debt soared to £ 134 million from £ 72 million, but London had a financial system capable of handling the burden . </P> <P> A debate erupted at the peace conference over whether Britain should keep the French colony of "New France" (now Canada) or Guadeloupe, both of which it had seized in the war . France wanted the rich sugar island as its world vision turned to maritime and tropical interests . Meanwhile, Britain was moving from commercial and maritime regulation to the assertion of territorial control over its colonies . So Britain kept the vast stretches of uneconomical Canada and France kept the rich little island . </P> <P> Britain's diplomacy failed in the war--it had support of only a few small German states that hired out mercenaries . Most of Europe was officially neutral, but the elites and public opinion typically favoured the underdog American Patriots as in Sweden, and Denmark . </P>

Revolved issues with great britain remaining since the treaty of paris (1783) and avoided war