In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect.
U.S. President Bill Clinton 

Travel through the eras of  history and the development of the various nations that make up Canada today.

1759 Campaign | 1760 Campaign | Comments | Further Reading | Map | Pitt and his System | William Pitt | Wolfe

Comments

 Sea power is the dominant fact in the conquest of Canada.  The war in America was fought mainly by forces from Europe; and as long as British forces could cross the Atlantic freely, and French forces attempting to do so were exposed to the almost certain prospect of interception and defeat, the ultimate result was a foregone conclusion.

The Seven Years' War affords an excellent example of Selection and Maintenance of the Aim.  For Pitt the war was an American war; its object was the security and extension of the British dominions in America; and he never lost sight of this.  All his measures, in Europe and America alike, were primarily directed towards this end.  His operations in Europe were containing operations.  His eyes and his efforts were 6xed upon Quebec and Montreal, and he moved towards those objectives with single-minded energy until they were attained.

Thanks to this single-mindedness, and to British naval superiority, he was able to effect a destructive Concentration of Force in the decisive theatre.  The great military strength of France was devoted to European enterprises, while Britain, whose total military power was much smaller, was allowed to bear down the French detachment in Canada by superior numbers.  Here is a true Economy of Effort.  The British effort, it is true, was tremendous; but unlike the still greater effort of France it was put forth so efficiently as to ensure "an effective concentration at the decisive time and place".  The place was Canada, and the result was the conquest of the country.

Finally, a word on Co-operation. In this war in America the British Army and the Royal Navy worked together in a manner, which has often been cited as inter-service concord at its best.  In particular, the hand-in-glove partnership between Wolfe and Saunders at Quebec is remembered as a monumental example of what can be achieved when all selfish considerations are subordinated to the achievement of the maximum combined effort towards the defeat of the enemy.