1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World by Frank McLynn

1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World Reviews

• 
  Richard Derus

  History books are notably hard to write for an inattentive, probably ill-educated mass audience. Books written by historians for historians are hard to sell, because they're usually inelegantly written. Okay, they're usually BORING to the point of suicide.
  
  This is a popular history written like a standard work of today's non-fiction, with real attention to the narrative drive of the story and also a fine hand at illuminating the character of the dramatis personae. McLynn's book is very involving, and it's a rarity in that the subject matter, the role of the events of a single year in the subsequent development of the world, is handled un-portentously.
  
  The urge to shout and wave one's arms about when presenting historical facts that one knows will be important later must be nigh on irresistible. McLynn resists. He lets the story develop at the same pace as the year itself did, though inevitably the events move out of strict time sequence because the narrative is driven by the locations as much as by the time. I was impressed by the analysis in the book, the support for his contention that, had 1759 turned out differently at any point, then so would our present world. It's very hard to make that weave into a book about the past without coming across as a cranky, tendentious old fuffertut. McLynn manages to do it, so KUDOS!
  
  Why, then, only 3-1/2 stars? Because I don't think McLynn accomplished his stated aim of making a watertight case for 1759 being the final turning-point of the British march to world domination. I'm certainly not an historian, but there are some unsupported assertions in the book that could simply represent holes in my education and be facts that are Received Wisdom. But there are enough of them that I wasn't all the way convinced by the text.
  
  Recommended? Oh yes, please go get one and read it of you're an Anglophile, a Francophobe, or an aficionado of the 18th century's fascinating history. It will repay you...especially the last chapter, on the naval Battle of Quiberon Way. Exciting stuff!
• 
  Sean

  In my opinion, this book is grossly under-rated on Goodreads. McLynn is smart, opinionated but dispassionate, and a fine writer -- though be warned, your dictionary will get a workout. McLynn argues that 1759 was a pivotal year in the Seven Years War, or the French and Indian War as I was taught growing up. What's more, the outcome of this war set the stage for the independence of the American colonies and the development of the British empire in India, Canada, and the West Indies (and, ultimately, much of the rest of the globe) and the waning of the French empire. So the modern world would look markedly different if 1759 hadn't been a year of British military breakthroughs.
  
  McLynn breaks the conflict into different theaters and themes: naval action off the coasts of Portugal and France, the threatened invasion of Britain, the struggle for Canada, the war on the European continent, the role of various Native American tribes and supergroups, irregular warfare, and the conflicts in the Carribean and India. He examines the political structures of the major players, Britain and France, with an eye to internal wrangling and power struggles. His description of the various military campaigns is uniformly excellent; his ability to explain 18th century naval combat is superb.
  
  
  At the outset of each chapter, McLynn examines significant Western cultural milestones of 1759, in philosophy, literature, and so forth. These didn't read like tacked-on discursions, but helped to put the military and political events in context. I enjoyed his brief bio of Voltaire so much that I'm going to pick up a proper biography at some point.
  
  
  An excellent overview of the world's first truly global conflict.
• 
  Alan Camrose

  A clear and strong treatment of what was a landmark year for Britain, the so-called "Year of Victories".
  
  This book is a well-rounded story of heroism, military and political genius and sheer good and bad luck, depending on where we look in the historical landscape for that year.
  
  
  Frank McLynn writes compellingly and smoothly, sometimes veering towards jargon, as for example in relation to the author's descriptions of naval warfare concerning the battle of Quiberon Bay. But the narrative kept me coming back for more regardless, having a breathless tang of the howling winds and roiling sea.
  
  The mini-essays at the beginning of most chapters in this book provide enriched context in respect of the society and culture of the day.
  
  I question the inclusion of some of the material, such as the whole chapter on Rogers' Rangers in Canada, which I view as a side show to the main event, the taking of Quebec by Wolfe. That seemed to slow down and detract from the overall thrust of the book, fun as it was. The same as regards the exploits of Thurot, the French corsair, who seemed determined to invade somewhere in Britain with three soldiers and a pop-gun. Another sideshow, not needed, but amusing. These accounts would probably have felt more comfortable as long footnotes.
  
  I enjoyed the tales of politicking and corruption behind the scenes in French-held Quebec, lending an edge of intrigue to the proceedings and helping to explain the otherwise inexplicable lack of proper all-round defence of the city.
  
  All in all, well worth sticking with to provide the reader with a broad assessment of how Britain fared across much of the known world throughout 1759, fairly seamlessly navigating across New France (Canada), India and the West Indies, as well as the hothouse of British politics at home. The (relatively short) conclusion adds some flesh to the ripples created in the following decades by the events throughout 1759.
• 
  Louis Armitage

  As always McLynn writes a thoroughly analytical account of a densely complex historical time period, this time the 7 years war.
  Step by step the actions of prominent individuals and events within pivotal campaigns from Canada to India are recounted, unpicked, and scrupulously examined by the author until all roads have been explored.
  
  With McLynn you can expect a thorough account of the motives behind a protagonists actions, and a clear attempt to cut through the plethora of source material (both primary and secondary) in order to locate a middle ground and achieve realistic account of events and plausible theories as to the psyche of historical figures.
  
  Personally I appreciated the diversity of the storytelling on display, with all fronts being examined (Canada, West Indies, India, Europe, and the social, political and economic atmosphere of both home fronts in Britain, and, most significantly, France).
  
  As always, with such an analytical account of a historical topic it can sometimes be hard a read page to page, as you follow the story of the conflict in excruciating detail (sometimes day to day) and it is easy to get lost in the whirlwind of names bombarded at the reader in quick succession. However, to a historian in my opinion this is a very exciting read and useful as the way McLynn lays out his arguments reflects how one would write an essay on such topics - this more than makes up for an occasional second read of a page to understand what’s going on.
  
  I whole heartedly recommend this book to those interested in the topic, students trying to widen their horizons, or people increasing their general knowledge regarding history. If you are looking for a more relaxing light-read then maybe this isn’t the place for you.
• 
  Frazer Gowans

  Just utterly brilliant - thoroughly entertaining and extremely informative coverage of what was a global conflict in terms of range. Despite the title doesn't spare the lash on some of the incompetent British commanders - or the many French ones. It obviously focuses on the sea and land battles at various locations but the real lesson is how to raise money to fight wars and keep the momentum going - the French were hopeless at this, Pitt (the Elder) was excellent. Lessons that would be useful when the Corsican shortarse had a go a few years later.
  
  I should add I am a bit surprised by some of the comments from other reviewers on this site about it being dry and boring or that the author deliberately uses long words - I personally got through this book very quickly - I just couldn't put it down - in my opinion he is an excellent writer but "each to their own" I guess.
• 
  Susanna - Censored by GoodReads

  My principal problem with this book is that I felt as if the author often chose to use words just to prove that he knew some really big words.
  
  I don't think I finished it.
• 
  John

  This is the first book I have read by Frank McLynn, a writer of popular history whose subjects range from Marcus Aurelius to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 to the Burma theatre in the Second World War.
  
  This book on the seminal year of 1759 was packed with information and contains its share of ripping yarns about the irregular warfare of Rogers' Rangers in North America, Wolfe's taking of Quebec, and the naval battle of Quiberon Bay. While I enjoyed the book, I got the impression it had been written in a hurry and at times the narrative of events was hard to follow. Aside from a set of deficient maps, McLynn tends to introduce characters suddenly without much in the way of explanation. On a few occasions I found him confusing north with south and simply getting some facts wrong.
  
  On balance, though, I would recommend this book merely for the colorful overview it gives of the year that saw Great Britain morph from a middling European power to a global colossus.
• 
  Jason Born

  I wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, it was filled with unsubstantiated conjecture and rather weak analysis of the military situation at the time. Also, for a book about the year Britain became master of the world, the inclusion of the chapter on the rangers' raid on St. Francis seemed out of place. While the raid took place in 1759, the author himself says it had no bearing on the greater conflict. There were also several typos and he sometimes flipped between an English spelling and a French spelling of terms, seemingly on a whim.
• 
  Jerome Otte

  A very accessible history of this pivotal year of the Seven Years’ War, a year of British glory and empire building at France’s expense. McLynn divides his chapters based on the war’s different theaters at the time: North America, the West Indies (considered by Britain and France to be far more valuable than North America), Europe and India. He does a great job describing all of the decisive battles like Quiberon Bay and Québec, and provides good portraits of all the leading figures like George II, William Pitt, and Louis XV. These portraits are fairly interesting: Wolfe chasing his death wish at Quebec, Robert Rogers employing guerrilla warfare with limited success despite his subsequent legend, the socially awkward Admiral Hawke smashing the French at Quiberon Bay despite his lack of social grace and the outrageous amount of risk involved with his plan, and all of the incompetent political appointees leading the French forces to destruction. McLynn is also good at describing the strength and weaknesses of Britain and France, and, of course, the foolishness of such characters as General Braddock, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the Dukes of Cumberland and Newcastle, George Sackville, and, of course, the hotheaded and paranoid Bonnie Prince Charlie, who killed off all hopes of a Jacobite restoration through an amazing combination of stubbornness, stupidity, indecision, and clumsy political maneuvering. McLynn’s coverage of the ruthless and cynical William Pitt, Britain’s ingenious wartime prime minister is particularly good, and McLynn covers Pitt’s leadership as well as his implausible alliance with the amoral and unprincipled Newcastle, who comes across as a buffoon. Pitt occupied the public stage while Newcastle used his shady political skills behind the scene. Pitt also enjoyed an unusually secure power base since Newcastle--the only man who could topple him-- froze Pitt’s opponents out of office. Pitt was aided by his refusal to impose taxes, his manipulation of George II, and a lack of bureaucracy that seems incredible today.
  
  McLynn is strongest when covering military matters. Even when Britain came under threat of invasion, the ministry in London would not withdraw a single soldier from North America, but the French could spare only two battalions to that theater--while committing 100,000 troops to Germany, where France had no vital interests. France made the fatal mistake of devoting her energies to the European continent, instead of the overseas colonies where the battle for global supremacy would be decided. To a less catastrophic extent, Britain also made a mistake--Britain was forced to commit troops to Europe because King George II (elector of Hanover) viewed the security of Hanover as vital to British interests--in contrast to Pitt, who cared not a bit for Hanover and favored a global war against France’s empire.
  
  And although many studies credit William Pitt’s leadership for Britain’s successes in 1759, Pitt was, in reality, an able leader of a hard-working team that also contributed much to British victory. Pitt’s considerable success as a wartime statesman contrast sharply with the indecisive Louis XV, whose navy was, in any case, ill-prepared for any interventions abroad. At the time, France was nearly bankrupt due to the aristocracy’s refusal to pay taxes and beset by religious crisis, as well a government paralyzed by a rapid succession of short-term ministers, as well as power-hungry nobles who made even day-to-day administrative issues difficult to resolve. It did not help matters that French foreign policy at the time was secretive and incoherent.
  
  Most chapters have a prologue briefly dealing with cultural issues such as art and literature. Most of the time these are useful, but occasionally they digress into such topics as the type of plant life common to India. Although McLynn probably exaggerates the role the Jacobites played such a large role during 1759, this is not a major issue. The writing is also somewhat dry, although the sheer drama of 1759 is enough to move the reader along. Still, McLynn often drops the reader into a situation that hasn’t been properly introduced, and lengthy portions of narrative are often brought together by rather flimsy threads--this sometimes results in confusion, contradictions, and repetition.
  
  Still, the quality of the editing ranges from sloppy to laughable, and are frequently a distracting irritant: Martha Custis (who married George Washington in 1759) is called “Martha Curtis.” At another point, McLynn refers to a “modern Tennessee-South Carolina border,” at another he refers to the events of “1858,” and he can’t seem to make up his mind regarding the population of Guadalupe. He also expects you to know what “sauve qui peut” means, and who Marshal Grouchy was (if you’re a student of the time period you would know he was a French commander at Waterloo). At another point McLynn for some reason compares the battle of Martinique with the battle of Saratoga: apparently General Hopson was “short of water and unable to deploy his guns”--even though the battle of Saratoga was fought literally within yards of the Hudson and that General Burgoyne had no heavy artillery at Saratoga. The book also contains a good number of typos, and some very British phrases like “spectacular cropper,” “busted flush,” and “winkled out,” but , in all, this was an enjoyable and mostly readable narrative.
• 
  David Medders

  Loved this book. Author has exceptional grasp of the global complex of actions leading up to and unfolding during 1759. Remarkable picture emerges of the leaders, conflicts, and final wave of conquests that resulted in Britain's mastery of the world of that day.
• 
  Simon Wood

  THE FIRST WORLD WAR
  
  Frank McLynn is one of those history writers who get around a fair bit. No specializing on one period, or country, as the subjects of his previous books from "Napoleon", "Villa and Zapata: A Biography of the Mexican Revolution" and "Stanley: Dark Genius of African Exploration" make amply clear. In this book it is not a historical personage who is brought under McLynns scrutiny but a year: 1759; and a conflict: the war between Britain and France which raged at sea, in India, the Caribbean, Europe and North America.
  
  Each theatre of war is put into some context, with the events leading up to 1759 being summarized. Events covered include those in the Caribbean including the invasions of Guadeloupe and Martinique; the fighting between the French and the British (along with the Native Americans and Colonists on both sides) in North America leading to General Wolfe's victory at Quebec; the battle of Minden in the western part of Germany; the fighting in India around Pondicherry and Madras; and the battles at sea including those at Lagos bay and Quiberon bay. There are a number of maps, which unfortunately are less than brilliant: key places in the narrative being omitted, and one map (for Quebec) had me scratching my head a little until I figured out that the scale is out by a factor of ten!
  
  McLynn is a supremely confident narrator, perhaps too confident and definitely a little bit too opinionated for my taste, but to his credit he does lay out alternative views of key incidents. A large part of the work is taking up with historical personages, including Pitt the Elder, the Duke of Newcastle, Louis XV, Madame Pompadour. He is particularly interesting on General Wolfe, not a particularly attractive chap; and there is an interesting chapter on Rogers, of Rogers Rangers, an early foray into the murderous world of special operations.
  
  At the beginning of each of the eleven chapters McLynn sidetracks to consider the literature of the times, including such diverse writers as Adam Smith ("The Theory of Moral Sentiments"), Lawrence Sterne ("The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy"), Voltaire ("Candide") and Samuel Johnson ("The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia"). These fascinating asides put the authors and their works into historical and literary context, and were one of the highlights of the book even though McLynn is a little po-faced about Lawrence Sternes masterly shaggy-dog story.
  
  Undoubtedly 1759 was an important year in British and global history, but one is left feeling that McLynn overplays his hand with selling the books subtitle: "The Year Britain Became Master of the World". I think there is more of a case for calling it an important year on that journey, but that Britain's paramount global position wasn't achieved until after the Industrial Revolution and the Revolutionary Wars (1789-1815). A fluidly written piece of narrative history, that is skewed towards the historical figures and battles at the expense of a deeper understanding of social and economic factors. Still an interesting read.
• 
  Stephen Symes

  The year that did change the world. The French, (them again), were defeated on three continents by three separate British armies, this in a time when only wind power got you anywhere!
  I suspect I maybe one of the last individuals to want to read about Imperial British History, but in reality I wanted to read this book as it shaped the future United States of America. If this year is not studied in US history, then it is a massive mistake. The people who fought the French on the North American continent were the people who went on to shape the United States, Robert Rogers and the Rangers he formed is one example.
  
  
• 
  James

  Entertaining enough, if you like this kind of thing, but a little slipshod. No notes and an extensive bibliography that I suspect wasn't extensively consulted. He quotes Parkman a lot, but Montcalm and Wolfe isn't in the bibliography, so I would assume his quotes are lifted from another secondary source. This makes me wonder if his analysis (particularly his armchair-admiral critiques of naval battles) is 'borrowed,' as well. Frank McLynn writes about everything I'm interested in. I wish I were more impressed.
• 
  John Gordon

  A fantastic book which gives a broad and thorough insight into the events of the mid 18th century. Beautifully written, scholarly, thoughtful and elegant, this book was a delight and a pleasure to read.
• 
  Eric

  A good book about the Seven Years War (French & Indian War here in the USA), including campaigns and battles in Europe, India, The Philipines,etc. Historically, it puts the F&I war into the context of how it fit into the overall picture of how Britain became Great.
• 
  Steven

  Authors conclusion is spot on about the importance of the year 1759 in world history. Good descriptive details in the writing.
• 
  Nate

  Thus far, the main text is well researched and fairly well written. Avoid the pedantic digressions that head each chapter, however.
• 
  Noric Dilanchian

  Brilliant.
• 
  Bob

  How England kicked France's derierre.