Global empires · 1756-1763

The Seven Years' War: a war around the world

Britain and France fight in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, West Africa and India at the same time. Students follow the war from the Ohio valley to Quebec and Plassey, and see how the Peace of Paris of 1763 redrew the map of empires.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1700 to AD 1757
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Britain and France fight in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, West Africa and India at the same time. Students follow the war from the Ohio valley to Quebec and Plassey, and see how the Peace of Paris of 1763 redrew the map of empires.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the Seven Years' War is often called the first world war.
  • Locate Quebec, Plassey and the Ohio valley and explain what happened there.
  • Describe how the Peace of Paris (1763) changed the empires of Britain, France and Spain.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1700

New France

Open the map in 1700 and look at North America. Find New France along the St Lawrence river. Then jump to 1783: is it still there?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1760

Five theatres of war

Zoom out to the whole world. Find Europe, North America, the Caribbean, the coast of West Africa and Bengal in India. There was fighting in all five. How could two European states fight all over the globe?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1757

Plassey

Turn on Historical Events and choose Battles. Find the Battle of Plassey (1757) in Bengal. Who fought there, and why would a battle in India matter to Britain and France?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The fighting began in 1754 over the Ohio valley. Why did French and British colonists both want this land?
  2. Most Native nations in the region sided with the French. Why might they prefer the French to British settlers?
  3. In 1759 Britain won battles on three continents. How would news of those victories reach London, and how long might it take?
  4. France chose to get back its Caribbean sugar islands rather than keep Canada. Why might that make sense in 1763?
  5. Britain won, but the war left huge debts. How did that lead to trouble in its American colonies a few years later?
4

Game round

10 min

Play a round of Rule History as Frederick the Great, who fought Austria, France and Russia at once in this war and was saved when Russia suddenly made peace in 1762. Discuss: how much did luck decide the war?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.