Editing Louis XV (section)

===Diplomacy – end of the Seven Years' War===
The war with Great Britain continued, despite the death of King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] on 25 October 1760; the British Prime Minister [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt]] rejected French proposals for suggestions for negotiations. On 15 August 1761, France, Spain, Naples and Parma, all ruled by monarchs of the Bourbon family, signed the first "Family Pact" with a system of reciprocal guarantees of support if one or the other were attacked.  At the same time, they signed a secret treaty with [[Charles III of Spain]] engaging Spain to declare war on Great Britain if the war was not over by May 1762.  Learning of this pact, William Pitt wanted to declare an immediate war on Spain, but the new British King, George III, rejected the idea.   The military forces of Frederick the Great in Prussia had been nearly exhausted in the long war against the combined forces of Austria and Russia;  but Frederick was saved by the sudden death of the Tsarina Elizabeth in 1762, and her replacement by [[Peter III of Russia]], a fervent admirer of the Prussian King.

Choiseul had taken over direction of the French navy as well as the army in October 1761, and he pressed for an offensive to bring the war to a successful end. He persuaded the Parlements and the chambers of commerce of the major French cities to sponsor the construction of warships, and rebuilt the French Navy.  The French army launched a new offensive against the Prussians and Spain, as promised by its agreement with France, launched an [[Fantastic War|invasion in Portugal]], an ally of Britain.  However, once again the French initiatives were not enough. The French offensive in Hesse-Kassel was defeated by the Prussians, the Spanish army in Portugal made little progress, and the British took the opportunity to land on [[Martinique]] and to invade Spain's colony [[Cuba]].  Choiseul decided it was time to end the war.  The preliminary negotiations opened at the [[Palace of Fontainebleau]] on 3 November 1762, and ended hostilities between Great Britain, France and Spain. The final treaty was signed in Paris on 10 February 1763.  As a result of the War, France gave up its minor possessions in the West Indies; [[Marie Galante]], [[Tobago]] and La Desiderade, but received back [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], and [[Saint Lucia|Santa Lucia]], which, because of their sugar plantations, were considered of more value than all of its territories in Canada; France kept only the Iles of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]].  The valley of the Ohio, and the territories along the west bank of the Mississippi River were ceded to Spain. Louis formally ratified the treaty on 23 February, on the same day that his statue was unveiled on the Place Louis XV (today the [[Place de la Concorde]])<ref>Antoine (1989), pp 808–809.</ref>