English or French, in his own day.

The Seven Years' War ended in terms of the deepest humiliation
for France--a "Carthaginian peace." She was compelled to renounce
to England all of Canada with the islands of the St. Lawrence, the
Ohio valley and the entire area east of the Mississippi except
New Orleans. Spain, which had entered the war on the side of France
in 1761, gave up Florida in exchange for Havana, captured by the
English, and in the West Indies several of the Lesser Antilles
came under the British flag. It is hardly necessary to point out
that the loss of these overseas possessions on such a tremendous
scale was due to the ability of the British navy to cut the
communications between them and the mother country.

Naval administration in England at this time was corrupt, and the
admirals, with the notable exception of Hawke, were lacking in
enterprise; they were still slaves to the "Fighting Instructions."
But in all these respects the French were far worse, and the British
government never lost sight of the immense importance of sea power.
Its strategy was sound.

_The War of American Independence_

The peace of 1763 was so humiliating that every patriotic Frenchman
longed for the opportunity of revenge. This offered itself in the
revolt of the American colonies against the North Ministry in 1775.
From the outset French neutrality as regards the American rebels
was most benevolent; nothing could be more pleasing to France than
to see her old enemy involved in difficulties with the richest and
most populous of her colonies. For the first two or three years
France gave aid surreptitiously, but after the capture of Burgoyne
in 1777, she decided to enter the war openly and draw in allies
as well. She succeeded in enlisting Spain in 1779 and Holland the
year following. The entrance of the latter was of small military
value, perhaps, but at all events France so manipulated the rebellion
in the colonies as to bring on another great European war. In this
conflict for the first time she had no enemies to fight on the
Continent; hence she was free to throw her full force upon the
sea, attacking British possessions in every quarter of the world.
The War of the American Revolution became therefore a maritime war,
the first since the conflicts with the Dutch in the 17th century.

While Paul Jones was in Paris waiting for his promised command,
he forwarded to the Minister of Marine a plan for a rapid descent
in for