The Seven Years War

(1756 - 1763)

The Seven Years War was a global conflict that took place from 1756 to 1763 after a century-long struggle which involved five European superpowers as well as many of the middle powers. It affected Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. Conflict ensued after Austria expressed its desire to regain Silesia, a historical region of Central Europe, from Prussia. France formed a coalition with Austria, which grew to include the Electorate of Saxony and most of the smaller German states, as well as the Russian Empire, Spain and Sweden. The opposing coalition consisted of Great Britain, Prussia, Portugal, the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and a few other German states. This was the culminating point in a century of turmoil between France and Great Britain, who fought over dominance in North America and elsewhere. England officially declared war on France in 1756, after the French besieged St. Philips Castle on the island of Minorca, the British base in the Mediterranean. The two powers waged war on land and sea in nearly all parts of the world. As Britain grew more and more powerful, it eventually toppled France’s supremacy in Europe, forever altering the European balance of power. The Seven Years War ended in 1763 with the signing of two treaties, the Treaty of Hubertusburg, which allocated Silesia to Prussia, and the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain.

The Seven Years War was of great significance due to the massive investments of money, resources, and men. In Britain, race or enslaved status did not matter. The British government became increasingly reliant on black soldiers to defend their North American colonies, often in areas where slavery was widespread. Thousands of enslaved and free black men served the British army as foot soldiers and laborers on land, while many more were sailors aboard private ships of war and naval vessels. Black seamen had long secured employment aboard British ships that sailed the Atlantic. They found increased opportunities during wartime, shielding British America from foreign invasion, protecting its trade, and hampering that of its enemies.

There is little information documenting the experience of black soldiers during the war, but Vassa’s autobiography is an important, if not the most important, account of black naval experience during the Seven Years War. It is likely the only memoir of this time published by any 18th century writer of African descent. Vassa became involved in the war because he had been sold to Michael Henry Pascal, an officer of the British Royal Navy. Pascal arrived in Falmouth on December 14, 1754, scarcely six months before war broke out between Britain and France. Tensions between the European superpowers had been on the rise since the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in which Austria had lost the historical region of Silesia to Prussia. In May 1754, there were a series of military confrontations along the border separating British and French colonies in North America, further fuelling the friction between Britain and France. The most noteworthy of these confrontations took place in June of 1755, when Admiral Boscawen’s squadron overtook three French ships off of Cape Race, Newfoundland. Shortly after, an order was issued to British naval commanders that allowed them to block French shipping, but not until the following May was the war officially underway.

Serving as Pascal’s personal servant during the Seven Years War, Vassa had the opportunity to experience military action on both sides of the Atlantic, in Canada and in the Mediterranean. From August 1755 to December 1762, the two men spent much of their time aboard various naval vessels. In June of 1755, Pascal was appointed second or third lieutenant of the HMS Roebuck, a fifth rate 40-gun frigate. The ship was used to transport troops, which included moving soldiers from large garrisons in Scotland. Both the HMS Roebuck and the HMS Preston, a ship that Pascal would command in January 1757 as first lieutenant, were used at points in the English Channel to blockade Le Havre. The HMS Preston was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Vassa was given naval training and was tasked to haul gunpowder to the gun decks. In March of 1757, Vassa was briefly on board the HMS Savage, during which time he participated in an operation to recover the HMS St. George off the south coast of England. While onboard the HMS Preston in 1757, he and others were sent to the Elbe estuary to retrieve William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the third son of King George II, and his crew, and evaculate them to Britain. In December of 1757, Pascal was re-assigned to the HMS Royal George as sixth lieutenant. The HMS Royal George was a 100-gun first-rate ship, the largest Royal Navy ship at that time. Vassa joined him on January 12, 1758.

On January 27, 1758, Pascal became the sixth lieutenant of the HMS Namur, the flagship to be used in Admiral Boscawen’s impending assault on French Canada. The Namur was a 90-gun second rate ship that was instrumental in various naval victories for the British during the Seven Years War. Vassa accompanied Pascal on the expedition to North America. In his autobiography, Vassa gives a first-hand account of the voyage to Nova Scotia. He recounts the successful landing of British troops on Cape Breton, the events leading up to the siege of Louisburg, and the fall of the fortified city to the British. Vassa explicitly mentions Colonel James Wolfe, Captain George Balfour and Commander Laforey. Colonel James Wolfe was a British national hero, well known for his victory over the French in 1759 and for the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec in which he was a major general. Captain Balfour and Laforey were in command of the boats involved in the capture of the French ships, the Prudent and the Bienfaisant in the Louisbourg Harbour on July 26, 1758. Vassa speaks of his encounter with George Balfour, one of the naval heroes of the Louisbourg victory, indicating that Balfour was “pleased to notice me, and liked me so much that he often asked my master to let him have me.” Vassa describes the arrival of the Canadian winter, the preparations for the defence of British positions on Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island, and the blockade of the St. Laurence River. In Vassa’s account of the victory of Louisbourg, he recounts the time that General Wolfe was on board his ship. He indicates that he “often honoured me, as well as other boys, with marks of his notice; and saved me once a flogging for fighting with a young gentleman.” He confirms the popular perception of Wolfe as a well-liked, affable man. While Vassa does not provide a date for this encounter, it may have been May 28, 1758, when Major General Amherst and Brigadiers General Lawrence and Wolfe were all on board the HMS Namur. Vassa refers to frequent interactions with the General, at least some of which might have occurred as Wolfe returned to Britain on the Namur. The siege of Louisbourg set the stage for Wolfe’s victory in Quebec, where he died in battle. Following the Quebec victory, Pascal and Vassa sailed back to Britain on the Namur. Vassa describes an encounter between the Namur and several French ships west of the English Channel in turbulent weather. On April 14, 1759, the Namur and a fleet of ships sailed for Gibraltar, where Admiral Boscawen joined the crew on an operation in the Gulf of Lyons. Soon after, in 1759, the Battle of Lagos Bay ensued. Vassa describes in great detail his observations from the middle gun deck. He recounts that Lieutenant Pascal was wounded in battle, although he recovered quickly. Due to his heroic efforts, Pascal was appointed “master and commander” of the HMS Aetna. The ship was used in the capture of the French island of Belle-Isle. Pascal was tasked to deliver various materials of war to the troops who were set to storm the Palais and the citadel. The ship was then sent to Basque Road, where Commodore Sir Thomas Stanhope’s men blockaded the French in the port of Rochefort. The ship remained at this port until the summer of 1762 when it was sent back to Portsmouth. Upon Vassa’s arrival in Deptford on December 10, 1762, he was sold to Captain James Doran, who was sailing to Montserrat in the West Indies. The war came to an end in 1763. While still enslaved during the Seven Years War, Vassa’s status as an officer’s servant afforded him some privileges. He was able to travel the world extensively and attended school on board the naval vessels where he learned to read and write.

Vassa's Account of the Siege of Louisbourg

The Interesting Narrative, 1^st edition