King George’s War 1744–8

1n 1744, the French and British were at war in Europe again, this time over the Austrian Succession. King George’s War (1744–48) was the name given to its French and British theatre in New England and Nova Scotia. In 1744, French Acadian soldiers, led by François du Pont Duvivier, made a failed attempt to recapture Annapolis Royal (British Port Royal). The following year, the French took Saratoga, causing the British to leave their settlements in Albany. In 1745 the French fortress of Louisburg was taken by the Americans, with the French, travelling from Europe, failing to retake it in 1746, when storms at sea and illness forced them to turn back. The war ended in stalemate and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. The treaty was marked by restitution of conquests, with the British returning the Louisburg fortress to the French.