Seven Years War

On 29 August 1756, Frederick the Great invaded Saxony, igniting the Seven Years' War in Europe. Prussia survived a suicidal war against three empires not merely through tactical genius, but through allied paralysis and a stroke of Russian luck.

On 10 February 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War. France traded a continent for a sugar island, Britain collected an empire, and the bills came due within a generation.