Editing Political history of France (section)

===16th to 18th centuries===
In the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over {{convert|10000000|km2|mi2|abbr=out}}, the second-largest empire in the world at the time behind the [[Spanish Empire]]. Colonial conflicts with [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] led to the loss of much of its [[New France|North American holdings]] by 1763.

====Seven Years' War====

The [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763) was a [[World war|global conflict]] that involved most of the European [[great power]]s, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and [[Asia-Pacific]]. Other concurrent conflicts include the [[French and Indian War]] (1754–1763), the [[Carnatic Wars]] (1744–1763), and the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763)|Anglo-Spanish War]] (1762–1763). The opposing alliances were led by [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and [[Kingdom of France|France]] respectively, both seeking to establish global pre-eminence at the expense of the other.<ref>Elliott, J.H., ''Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492–1830''. New Haven: Yale University Press 2006, p. 292.</ref> Along with [[History of Spain (1700–1808)|Spain]], France fought Britain both in Europe and overseas with land-based armies and naval forces, while Britain's ally [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] sought territorial expansion in Europe and consolidation of its power. Long-standing colonial rivalries pitted Britain against France and Spain in [[North America]] and the [[West Indies]]. They fought on a grand scale with consequential results. Prussia sought greater influence in the German states, while Austria wanted to regain [[Silesia]], captured by Prussia in the previous war, and to contain Prussian influence.

In a realignment of traditional alliances, known as the [[Diplomatic Revolution]] of 1756, Prussia became part of a coalition led by Britain, which also included long-time Prussian competitor [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]], at the time in [[personal union]] with Britain. At the same time, Austria ended centuries of conflict between the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] and [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] families by allying with France, along with [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], [[Age of Liberty|Sweden]], and [[Russian Empire|Russia]]. Spain aligned formally with France in 1761, joining France in the [[Pacte de Famille#The third Pacte de Famille, 1761|Third Family Compact]] between the two Bourbon monarchies. Smaller German states either joined the Seven Years' War or supplied [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] to the parties involved in the conflict.

Anglo-French conflicts broke out in their North American colonies in 1754, when British and French colonial militias and their respective Native American allies engaged in small skirmishes, and later full-scale [[colonial war]]fare. The colonial conflicts would become a theatre of the Seven Years' War when war was officially declared two years later, and it effectively ended France's presence as a land power on that continent. It was "the most important event to occur in eighteenth-century North America"{{sfn|Anderson|2007|loc=p. xvii}}{{Attribution needed|date=July 2023}} prior to the [[American Revolution]]. Spain entered the war on the French side in 1762, unsuccessfully attempting to [[Spanish invasion of Portugal (1762)|invade]] Britain's ally [[History of Portugal (1640–1777)|Portugal]] in what became known as the [[Fantastic War]].

The alliance with France was a disaster for Spain, with the loss to Britain of two major ports, [[Siege of Havana|Havana]] in Cuba and [[Battle of Manila (1762)|Manila]] in the Philippines, returned in the 1763 [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] between France, Spain and Great Britain. In Europe, the large-scale conflict that drew in most of the European powers was centred on the desire of Austria (long the political centre of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] of the German nation) to recover Silesia from Prussia. The [[Treaty of Hubertusburg]] ended the war between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763.

Britain began its rise as the world's predominant colonial and naval power. France's supremacy in Europe was halted until after the [[French Revolution]] and the emergence of [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte. Prussia confirmed its status as a great power, challenging Austria for dominance within the German states, thus altering the [[European balance of power]].