Annus Mirabilis of 1759
Encyclopedia
The Annus Mirabilis of 1759 took place in the context of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

 and Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

's military success against French
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...

-led opponents on several continents. The term is taken from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and is used to mean year of miracles or year of wonders.

It was particularly well received by the British public as it came following several years of disasters since the beginning of hostilities in 1754 marked by the loss of Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....

 and defeats at Monongahela
Battle of the Monongahela
The Battle of the Monongahela, also known as the Battle of the Wilderness, took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh...

, Oswego and Fort William Henry
Battle of Fort William Henry
The Siege of Fort William Henry was conducted in August 1757 by French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry...

. The British had entered the year anticipating a French invasion of Britain
Planned French Invasion of Britain (1759)
A French invasion of Great Britain was planned to take place in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, but due to various factors including naval defeats at the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay was never launched. The French planned to land 100,000 French soldiers in Britain to end British...

, but ended it dominant in all theatres in which they faced France.

In North America the British drove the French out of the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...

, conquered Quebec and captured Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

 in the West Indies. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 they repulsed a French attack
Siege of Madras
The Siege of Madras was a siege of Madras, British India, between December 1758 and February 1759 by French forces under the command of Lally during the Seven Year's War. The British garrison was able to hold out until it was relieved. The British fired 26,554 cannon balls and more than 200,000...

 on Madras. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 British troops took part in a major Allied victory at the Battle of Minden
Battle of Minden
The Battle of Minden—or Thonhausen—was fought on 1 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army fielded by the Anglo-German alliance commanded by Field Marshal Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of France Louis, Marquis de Contades...

. The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 won the sea battles at Lagos
Battle of Lagos
The naval Battle of Lagos between Britain and France took place on August 19, 1759 during the Seven Years' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and is named after Lagos, Portugal. For the British, it was part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759.-Origins:...

 and Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay
The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire...

 ending any real prospect of a French invasion. Britain gained almost total supremacy of the seas, which it would retain for more than a century and a half.

The succession of victories led Horace Walpole to remark "our bells are worn threadbare with ringing for victories". Several of the triumphs assumed an iconic place in the eyes of the British public, and this was borne out by representations in art and music such as the popular song Heart of Oak
Heart of Oak
"Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies including the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy....

and the later painting The Death of General Wolfe
The Death of General Wolfe
The Death of General Wolfe is a well-known 1770 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West depicting the death of British General James Wolfe during the 1759 Battle of Quebec of the Seven Years' War. It is an oil on canvas of the Enlightenment period...

. Frank McLynn has identified 1759 as the year which prefigured the rise of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 in eclipsing France as the dominant global power. Much of the credit for the British success was given to William Pitt, the Secretary of State
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...

 who directed strategy rather than to the Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle - although recent historians have portrayed the British cabinet as a more collective
Collective
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together on a specific project to achieve a common objective...

 leadership than had previously been thought.

A similarly successful year for the British in 1762 in which they resisted a Franco-Spanish Invasion of Portugal, captured Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

 from France and Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

 and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

from Spain, led some to describe it as the "Second Annus Mirabilis".
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