Why Was War Declared In 1756?

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Ben Jacques

Why Was War Declared In 1756?

War was declared in 1756 after over a year of fighting that had already been happening, the war was caused for a variety of factors including the Ohio territory dispute, previous tension and wars between Britain and France and British and French aggression. The most important being previous tensions and the Ohio territory dispute.

The Ohio territory was central to tension that had built up between Britain and France over the years previous to the war. The treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle had failed to establish borders with continuity and as a result both Britain and France saw each other as encroaching on land that was their territory. Both countries laid claim to the land and so they both met each other, for example the battle at Fort Necessity was a clear indicator that although war had not been declared both sides were beginning to fight each other. The French had built many forts in the Ohio territory which threatened the British and was seen to encroach on land that they laid claim to. The events in the Ohio territory were vital to building up tension previous to the war.

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It is also important to look at the fact that although Britain and France were not officially at war the 7 Years War is seen as a continuation of the War of Austrian Succession, both sides had become tired of fighting however there had been no decisive conclusion to the war and the underlying tensions for previous wars were still there.

The tensions that had been between the two superpowers were mainly to do with trade. Britain based its empire on naval strength; however France threatened this supremacy with a large naval and trading force of its own. The 7 ...

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