Füssel, Marian Der Preis des Ruhms

A World History of the Seven Years' War. "My misfortune is that I am still alive.... Of an army of 48,000 men, I have now, as I write this, not 3,000." When Frederick the Great wrote this on 11 August 1759, the terrible battle of Kunersdorf was behind him. The horror of this single day is emblematic of an 18th century world war whose events between 1756 and 1763 affected all of Europe, but also the overseas empires of France, Great Britain and Spain or the Indian tribes of North America. Marian Füssel, Professor of Early Modern History at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, presents a major, exciting account of this world war.

Marian Füssel teaches as Professor of Early Modern History at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.

Contents I. Prologue: A global conflict at close quarters World history at close quarters | Divided paths of research | Witnesses and testimonies | Structures and events II. Geopolitics between Empire and Empire War and Globalisation | Aims and Interests | Armies and Resources | Becoming a Soldier: Motives and Passages | The Good Policies of War? Practices of Warfare | "for some acres of snow" or The World in Flames III. A Fire is Lit Jumonville's Death | Braddock's Defeat at Monongahela | War in the Woods: "American" Practices of Violence | The Convention of Westminster and the Diplomatic Revolution | The Conquest of Menorca and the Death of the Admiral | The Black Hole of Propaganda: Calcutta June 1756 IV. War theatre without fronts: The Empire as a theatre of war Signs of war | The invasion of Saxony | Lobositz: the experience of battle | Whose victory? | Reading the Battle | Pirna: The Surrender of the Saxon Army | At the Imperial Diet: The Politics of Procedure V. 1757 - The Year of Battles "Always Battling" | From Prague to Kolin | Zittau: A City Fire with Consequences | Russian Advance: Groß-Jägersdorf | From Hastenbeck to Zeven Monastery | A Hussar's Play in Berlin | Roßbach: A Strange Bataille | Soubisiades: Reactions to Roßbach | Fresh Wind in the West | Leuthen: The Victory of Experience | Fort William Henry. A Controversial "Massacre" | Plassey: Clive of India VI. Perceptions and Experiences of Everyday Warfare (Not) a Religious War? A consecrated sword and lots of paper | Heat and cold | Hunger and thirst | At the borders of language and understanding VII. 1758 - Expansion of the battle zone? An Alliance with the Ottomans? | The Pomeranian War | "We are on the Frantzose Hunt". Duke Ferdinand's campaign in 1758 | Dangerous "descents": British raids on the French coast | Deep in the West| Of lions and pineapples: Ticonderoga and Louisbourg in 1758 | Zorndorf or The dissolution of violence | The media battle and its audience | Hochkirch: A nocturnal raid | On the road in Pomerania | On the coast of Africa: St. Louis and Gorée | Burning sugar and tropical diseases: The Battle for the Caribbean | India 1758-1759 VIII - Annus Mirabilis The Wind Turns | Cannons and Roses: The Battle of Minden | Candide on the Battlefield | Kunersdorf: The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg | Québec: The Fall of Nouvelle-France | Unequal Naval Battles: From the Szczecin Lagoon to Quiberon | The "Finckenfang" of Maxen | Peace at last? The missed chance of Augsburg IX With sword and pen: A media war A new Carthage? | The "King of the Presses" in the "Newspaper War" | The War of the Poets | The War of Images | Consuming and Remembering War | News as a Commodity | World Knowledge? The Global War as Media Event X. Urban environments in a state of emergency Occupation between corruption and cooperation | 1760: The spaces become tighter | Dresden in flames | Surprise in Berlin | Fighting in north-west Germany | Montréal surrenders | Between boom and depression: Boston, New York, Philadelphia | Among vultures: The Fischer Corps between the Lower Rhine and East Frisia | Visiting enemies: Captivity in War | Mars among the Muses: Universities at War XI. 1761 - Missed Chances and New Alliances Embattled Hinterpommern: The Three Sieges of Kolberg | Along the Peene: The End of the Pomeranian War | Martinique and Control of the Caribbean | Wandiwash and Pondicherry: Towards British Supremacy | The King's Sleep: No Peace for the Indians | The Fantastic War: Spain vs. Portugal XII. Between Mosquitoes and Monsoons:The Grip on Spain's Colonies Battle for the "Key to the New World:" Havana 1762 | Plundering in the Service of Empire: Manila 1762 | Latin America as a Theatre of War XIII. The Second Miracle The Death of the Tsarina | The Enduring Mirage of an Alliance on the Bosporus | Last Stands XIV. 1763 - Peace at Last The Road to Peace: Fontainebleau | The Peace of Paris | The Peace of Hubertusburg | Europe Celebrates Peace | Precarious Promises XV. Consequences of War The Empire at Home: Social and Cultural Repercussions on Europe | Winners and Losers: Losses, Reparations and Profits | Economies of War | Hero-Machines | Courts Martial | War Returnees | Reforms and Revolutions: Political and Cultural Consequences XVI Epilogue: Decisions - Signatures - Perceptions The Miracle of Warfare | Security as the Engine of Politics | Disease and Violence | Intertwining and Disentanglement | Modes of Writing War | The War of the Senses Thanks Notes List of References List of Illustrations Index of Persons