Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:31:21-2:34:05

Where the Second Hundred Years' War begins

The label describes a long Anglo-French rivalry whose starting point depends on whether historians emphasize 1689 or the settlement after the War of the Spanish Succession.

Anglo French RivalryNapoleonic WarsNine Years WarSecond Hundred Years WarSeven Years WarWar Of The Spanish Succession
Watch at this timeFull video guide
Question

If the Napoleonic Wars end the Second Hundred Years' War, when does that longer conflict begin?

Short answer

It depends on the historian: either around 1689 and the Nine Years' War or around the post-Spanish-Succession settlement of 1714.

Notes

The starting date is a historiographical choice. One frame begins in 1689 with William III, the Glorious Revolution's aftermath, and the Nine Years' War; another emphasizes the post-Spanish-Succession settlement around 1714. The long sequence then gathers European and colonial conflicts under different regional names, including King William's War, Queen Anne's War, the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary era, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. The often-forgotten Carnatic Wars show that this rivalry also unfolded in India. Historians define the period by connecting these formally separate wars.