Send us a text

In this episode, we watch Europe's diplomatic world turn upside down. For more than two centuries, the bourbon kings of France and the Hapsburg emperors of Austria had defined themselves inn opposition to one another, fighting over Italy, Germany, the Low Countries, and anything else that came within arm's reach. But by the 1750's the od rivalry was non longer useful. the loss of Silesia had shake Austria to it's core, France found itself stumbling into colonial confrontations with Britain, and Prussia's sudden rise had destabilized the entire continental balance. As the old order cracked, a new one began to take shape.

At the center of the transformation stood Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, the quiet Austrian statesman whose long-game thinking changed the course of European history. While Maria Theresa rebuilt her monarchy and plotted her revenge against Fredrick the Great, Kaunitz patiently cultivated an alliance that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. Inn Paris, the French court drifted between factions and indecision until Madame de Pompadour- diplomat, taskmaster, and royal confidant- emerged as the unexpected hinge betweennn the two empires. What followed was a slow, deliberate courtship conducted through carefully crafted letters, subtle flattery, and the recognition that Britain, not Austria, had become France's true rival.

As Britain edged closer to Prussia, to protect Hanover, as Russia grew increasingly hostile toward Fredrick, the diplomatic plates shifted in dramatic fashion. Inn may of 1756, Austria and France signed the First Treaty of Versailles, stunning every court inn Europe. The traditional enemies were now allies, the old alliances were dead, and a new more dangerous alignment emerged. Austria, France, and Russia now formed a continent bloc aimed squarely at Prussia, while Britain, panicked and opportunistic found itself tied to Fredrick's fate in a way no one in London fully appreciated.

For fredrick the Great, this wa the nightmare scenario that he had been predicting for years. Encircled, threatened, and running out of options, he made the fateful decision to strike first. In August of 1756, Prussian troops marched into Saxony, lighting the fuse that would ignite the Seven Year's War. The Diplomats Revolution was complete. The old word was gone. And before the continent went up in flames, the first sparks would fly far to the south on a rocky Mediterranean island callled Minorca.

If this kind of history hits your sweet spot, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. What moment shocked you most: the Versailles signatures or Frederick’s dash into Saxony?

Send us a text

There was a brief dead spot around the 8:30 mark of Episode 5. I found it, fixed it and reuploaded the episode. Please feel free to send me any feedback like that when you find those things, but hopefully, I figure out how to do this at some point, ha ha ha ha! Enjoy!

Send us a text

A neat plan met a messy world. We follow the Empire’s triangular strategy for 1755—Crown Point, Niagara, and Beauséjour—and watch how fog, friction, and human choices bent it into something far larger than a frontier war. It starts at sea, where Admiral Edward Boscawen’s strike against a French convoy near Newfoundland captured troops and sealed orders, guaranteed British control of vital Atlantic routes, and detonated the fiction of peace. That single decision rippled across continents, accelerating privateering, straining diplomacy, and starving New France of reinforcements when it needed them most.

On land, the story splits three ways. Sir William Johnson’s northern push reads like a lesson in improvisation: provincial militias and Mohawk allies under King Hendrick hold fast behind makeshift works at Lake George, blunt Baron Dieskau’s attack, and prove that colonial troops can stand without redcoats. The cost is real—the Covenant Chain frays with Hendrick’s death—and the limits are clear: Crown Point remains French, logistics remain brittle, and diplomacy grows harder. Westward, Governor William Shirley discovers that memoranda cannot conquer rivers. His march toward Fort Niagara collapses into mud, disease, and delay at Oswego. No fort falls, yet a strategic foothold takes shape, forcing France to cover Lake Ontario and seeding the infrastructure future commanders will need.

Far to the east, Colonel Robert Monckton executes the cleanest tactical win of the year at Fort Beauséjour. Artillery, naval support, and seasoned New Englanders reduce the earthworks in days, opening Nova Scotia’s door—and ushering in the Acadian deportation under Governor Charles Lawrence. The result is imperial security along the Atlantic and a lasting moral wound as thousands are scattered, families broken, and communities erased. By winter, Britain has fought a war it refuses to name: accidental victories, painful lessons, and a Navy that quietly globalized the conflict. We connect the dots between fog-bound broadsides and forest skirmishes to show how 1755’s messy beginnings shaped everything that followed.

Listen to unpack the choices, contradictions, and consequences that turned a regional struggle into the Seven Years’ War. If this deep dive sparked new questions, subscribe, share the show with a history-loving friend, and leave a quick review to help others find us.

Send us a text

In 1755, Britain decided to move its collnnia problem he od fashioned way- by sending a general. Major General Edward Braddock, veteran ion the Coldstream Guards and chosen of the Duke of Cumberland, arrived in Virginia with two regiments of regulars and an unshakable conviction that discipline and geometry could tame a continent. they could not...

This episode follows Braddock's il fated march to Fort Duquesne - the road building, the supply chaos, and the infamous battle on the Monongahela that ended in disaster. Along the way we meet his unlikely cast of future luminaries:Thomas Gage, Daniel Morgan, Charles Lee, Horatio Gates, and a young George Washington who seems to be bulletproof. It's a story of imperial hubris meeting North American reality. head on, and losing in spectacular fashion.

We unpack the tactical disaster in detail: the terrain that trapped the British column, the doctrine that doomed it, and the logistical madness that broke it before the first shots were fired. But Braddock's defeat was more than just a military blunder, it was Ann imperial reckoning. His failure shook London, terrified the colonies, and redrew the lines of Native diplomacy across the frontier. The grand design of 1755 collapsed before it had barley begun, and in its place rose the first faint sense that the colonies might be able to stanndon their own.

Next time we'll follow the other three prongs of Cumberland's grand plan- Johnson at Crown Point, Shirley at Niagara, and Mockton in Arcadia- as the empire tries once again to win by pain what it had lost by pride.

If you've been enjoying listening to The History of the 7 Years War, please rate or review the show whereever you listen to it. It helps other history fans find their way through the fog of war, and keeps our humble campaign supplied with metaphorical powder, shot, and the occasional five star rating.

Send us a text

In the summer of 1754, as French forts crept ever closer to the contested frontiers of North America, representatives from seven British colonies gathered at Albany, New York, to discuss a problem everyone could see coming- and few seemed eager to solve. The result was the Abany Congress, a rare moment of attempted cooperation in a world defined by jealousy, fear, and mutual suspicion. While emissaries negotiated with the Iroquois and delegates debated plans of defense, the shadow of imperial rivalry loomed large over every handshake and half-hearted toast.

At the center of it all stood Benjaminn Franklin, who arrived with wit, political savvy, and a bod idea: a plan to unite the colonies under a common government for mutual defense. It was, by the standards of the day, visionary - and by the standards of colonial politics, utterly doomed. In the end they were only able to agree one one thing: to do nothing.

But in that failure lay a glimpse of the future - a spark of unity that wouldn't try ignite for another 20 years. the Albany Congress may have accomplished little, but its echoes would shape everything to come.

If you’re curious how a broken meeting could prefigure a revolution, how Iroquois diplomacy shaped outcomes, and why “Join, or Die” first meant union under the Crown, this story delivers all the connective tissue.

Enjoy the episode? Follow, share with a history-loving friend, and leave a quick review telling us: would you have voted for Franklin’s plan—or slammed the door?

Send us a text

Step away from the powdered wigs and marble statues of Europe—the Seven Years' War began in the mud and mosquitoes of the American wilderness. Join us as we trek into the Ohio Country, a forgotten crossroads that sparked global conflict.

The Ohio Country wasn't empty forest—it was prime real estate. Rivers connected in every direction like an 18th-century transportation hub, making it the most strategic territory in North America. The French needed it to connect their empire; the British colonists craved it for expansion; and the Native nations who actually lived there—Shawnee, Delaware, Mingo, and the powerful Iroquois Confederacy—fought to maintain their independence amidst these imperial games.

Enter 21-year-old George Washington—ambitious, inexperienced, and deeply connected to Virginia land speculation companies. When Governor Dinwiddie sends him to deliver a message to French forts, Washington returns with intelligence and newfound fame. But his second mission turns disastrous. After ambushing a French party and allowing their leader to be executed by an Iroquois ally, Washington finds himself surrendering at a rain-soaked Fort Necessity, unwittingly signing a document admitting to assassination.

This seemingly small frontier clash convinced Britain to send regular troops, launched colonial attempts at unity with the Albany Congress, and ultimately ignited a global war fought across five continents. Before Washington became the marble man on the dollar bill, he was a muddy, defeated young officer who accidentally started a world war.

Subscribe to hear what happens next, as we head to Albany in 1754 where colonial delegates tried to forge a united front against the looming French threats. We'll see how their plans for alliance promised much, but revealed even more about the colonies' deep divisions. The Albany Congress may not have solved the crisis, but it left a legacy that would echo far beyond this war.

Send us a text

The world of 1748 balanced precariously on the edge of chaos. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had technically ended the War of Austrian Succession, but as we explore in this first episode, it was less a peace treaty and more "like cramming eight angry cats into a sack, tying it shut and walking away." From this uneasy truce would emerge the Seven Years' War—a conflict Winston Churchill would later dub "the First World War."

We journey across the chess board of 18th-century power politics to understand the key players and their motivations. In Britain, King George II dozes through royal functions while his ministers fret over colonial taxation and French encroachment. Across the Channel, Louis XV's France maintains its glittering facade despite crumbling finances and colonial vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, Maria Theresa of Austria rebuilds her empire with one eye fixed on reclaiming Silesia from Frederick the Great—Prussia's flute-playing philosopher king with an army that punches far above its weight.

The drama extends eastward to Russia, where Empress Elizabeth hosts lavish masquerades while assembling Europe's largest army, and southward to Spain and Portugal, where faded glory meets strategic importance. Each power nurtures grievances and ambitions that make conflict inevitable. And at the center of this brewing storm stands a tall, ambitious 21-year-old Virginian named George Washington, about to "blunder into the history books" and inadvertently spark a global conflagration.

This episode sets the stage for our journey through one of history's most consequential conflicts—a war fought across five continents that would redraw the map of empires and plant the seeds for revolutions to come. Subscribe now to follow the entire dramatic story of the Seven Years' War and discover how this 18th-century struggle shaped our modern world.