The Seven Years War and Britain's Global Empire

Dr John McAleer is coming to Portsmouth Guildhall on Tuesday 11 May to talk about the Seven Years War and the British Empire. The talk runs from 7pm to 8.30pm in Park Building Room 1.09, and it's part of the Dr James Thomas Memorial series, which brings in some of the country's top scholars to speak on identity, deception and more.

The Seven Years War (1756–63) is the focus here, and it's a conflict that played a huge role in how the British Empire developed. It consolidated Britain's growing status as a world superpower and laid the foundations for a truly global empire, while also sowing the seeds of future conflicts. Battles were fought across North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India, with major consequences for local societies and global politics. The talk looks at the impact on cultural, social and political levels, as well as on a developing sense of British national identity.

It's a wide-ranging subject, and the talk is designed to cover that ground rather than stick to one front. If you've ever wondered how a single war could stretch from the Americas to India and change the map of the world, this is a good place to start. It's an hour and a half, so there's plenty of room to get into the detail.

On the practical side, it's £4 per lecture, or £20 for all the lectures in the series from October to May; students and Portsmouth Historical Association members pay nothing. No booking is needed, so you can just turn up on the night. The talk runs from 7pm to 8.30pm in Park Building Room 1.09 at Portsmouth Guildhall.