The Battle of the Plains of Abraham was one of the most important battles of the Seven Years’ War. The Decisive Victory for the British gave them control of a key strategic stronghold, Quebec City, while also reducing the number of French troops and their morale. For this independent assignment, I have chosen to answer the question, how would a different result in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham have affected the remainder of the Seven Years’ War in North America?
The Seven Years’ War was a conflict that took place from May 17th, 1756 to February 15, 1763. It was fought between many of the major powers of the world at the time, such as Great Britain, France, Russia, Spain, Prussia, Portugal, and The Holy Roman Empire. The war took place on 5 continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For my inquiry project, I chose to focus on the most relevant conflict to Canadian identity, The St. Lawrence theatre. The battles in this theatre were fought between the French and British and their respective allies. Many of these battles focused on the strategic placement of forts near the St. Lawrence river.
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham took place on September 13, 1759 in what is now a historic area in The Battlefields Park in Quebec City. The battle was fought between British and French forces, led by James Wolfe and Louis-Joseph du Montcalm respectively. The battle commenced when the 3400 French soldiers opened fire on the 4400 British soldiers. The French volleys were largely ineffective, and the British soldiers returned fire from closer range. The second British volley scattered the French troops, who surrendered the fort and town of Quebec. The British lost 58 troops and took approximately 650 casualties. The French lost 116 troops and took between 700 and 900 casualties. The result of the battle was a decisive victory for the British Army.
The battles that followed The Battle of the Plains of Abraham were mostly small battles and raids with the exception of one battle even larger than The Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The larger battle, The Battle of Sainte-Foy, was the only battle that was fought by soldiers what had fought in The Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The majority of the soldiers who fought in The Battle of the Plains of Abraham left North America to fight on other fronts of the Seven Years’ War. However, the British maintained over 11000 troops in the area around the newly captured Quebec. Had The Battle of the Plains of Abraham failed, the additional 11000 troops could have been used to assault Quebec.
So, how would a different result in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham have affected the remainder of the Seven Years’ War in North America? A different result in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham would not have affected the remainder of the Seven Years’ War in North America. The additional 11000 British troops would have easily overrun the French defenses and would have captured Quebec quickly after the initial loss. The British would maintain superior strategic positioning and superior manpower in the region.
April 5, 2018 at 4:36 pm
You had a great document of learning Carter! I thought that one thing you did very well is that you had a unique inquiry question. It wasn’t just pure research that you were doing, but looking into what would happen if events in history were changed, and that made your blog post more interesting to read. I was also surprised that the events in the future wouldn’t have changed if the outcome was different! Another thing you did well in this post was describing the events that happened in a very clear manner. I knew pretty much nothing about the Battle of the Plains of Abraham before reading about this post, but I wasn’t confused at all when reading this blog post, and now I feel like a have a better understanding of the battle. My connection to this post is that my research was on if the execution of Thomas Scott was fair or not. The execution of Thomas Scott first came from a raid that was happening, and that’s why they captured him. This raid that they were planning would be similar to the raids that you were talking about in your blog post, so there could have been similar situations going on in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
April 6, 2018 at 4:54 am
I like your strong arguments, Carter! It’s interesting how you identified this event as one of the most important Battles of the Seven Year’s War, yet you came to the conclusion that a different outcome would not have impacted the course of history. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the butterfly effect and whether you think that could possibly apply o this situation? Can you think of a counter argument for your question?
April 6, 2018 at 8:04 am
I really enjoyed reading your post carter. It gave me a lot of insight into the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Seven Years’ War. One thing I really liked about your post is how you gave us only the facts we needed to know in order to understand your inquiry. Another strong point is that you used those facts to guide us through your thinking of how it would have affected the war had it not happened. A connection I made is of historical significance and how certain historical important events may not be all that significant, such as how the Chinese workers were treated when constructing the CPR where the significance was insignificant directly, but of historical importance.
April 12, 2018 at 9:07 pm
I really like how creative you got with your question, and how you explored Cause-and-Effect very efficiently. It was very enjoyable to read, and I got a new angle of learning on how history is effected by choice and events.
I wish there was a bit more on the ‘what would have changed’ aspect, but I understand that there wasn’t much that would have changed.
Thank you for posting this wonderful inquiry question!