Editing War of Jenkins' Ear (section)

===Merger with wider war===
By mid-1742, the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] had broken out in Europe. Principally fought by [[Prussia]] and [[Austria]] over possession of [[Silesia]], the war soon engulfed most of the major powers of Europe, who joined two competing alliances. The scale of this new war dwarfed any of the fighting in the Americas, and drew Britain and Spain's attention back to operations on the European continent. The return of Vernon's fleet in 1742 marked the end of major offensive operations in the War of Jenkins' Ear. France entered the war in 1744, emphasizing the European theatre and planning an [[Planned French invasion of Britain (1744)|ambitious invasion of Britain]]. While it ultimately failed, the threat persuaded British policymakers of the dangers of sending significant forces to the Americas which might be needed at home.

Britain did not attempt any additional attacks on Spanish possessions. In 1745, [[William Pepperrell]] of New England led a colonial expedition, supported by a British fleet under Commodore Peter Warren, against the French fortress of [[Louisbourg]] on [[Cape Breton Island]] off Canada. Pepperrell was knighted for his achievement, but Britain returned Louisbourg to the French by the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle]] in 1748. A decade later, during the [[Seven Years' War]] (known as the [[French and Indian War]] in the North American theatre), British forces under [[Lord Jeffrey Amherst]] and [[General Wolfe]] recaptured it.<ref>Francis Parkman, ''A Half Century of Conflict II'' and ''Montcalm and Wolfe II''</ref>{{pages needed|date=November 2013}}