CHAPTER VII 



THE THIED ANGLO-FRENCH DUEL, AND 



ENGLISH VICTORY ; AND THE BEGINNINGS 



OF PERMANENCE, 1763-1818 



The next THE diplomatic and military history of the ensuing half- 

 tur wit- P er id (1764-1818) may be briefly outlined. There were 

 nessedtwo two great wars. In 1775 war broke out between England 

 f^f-ga an d the American colonies; France (1778), Spain (1779), 

 1793-1815, and Holland (1780) joined the colonists, and England faced 

 'important ^ e wor ^ * n arms - It was primarily a civil war between the 

 treaties, or mother country and its colonies, and the adherence of France, 

 Spain, and Holland did not alter its essential character. Its 

 centre of gravity was in the New World. In 1783 American 

 Independence was recognized, the Treaty of Versailles was 

 concluded, and the war ended. Between 1793 and 1815 the 

 third and greatest Anglo-French duel occurred. Like the 

 two previous duels (1689-1713, 1742-63) it exceeded twenty 

 years in its duration ; it was divided into two unequal parts 

 by a Treaty, which is known as the Treaty of Amiens 

 (1802-3), an d it was essentially world-wide in its scope. In 

 this duel France faced the world in arms, and England was 

 only protagonist ; its centre of gravity was Europe, and the 

 adherence of the United States to the enemies of England 

 (1812-14) was only an incident and addition to the original 

 war. Peace was concluded by the Treaties of Ghent (1814), 

 Paris (1814), and Vienna (1815), and by a convention with 

 regard to the American fisheries (1818). England gained 

 South Africa, the Indian Ocean, and undisputed supremacy 

 in India ; while France and the United States gained, or 

 regained fishing-rights upon the coasts of British North 

 America and Newfoundland similar to those which had been 



