ABSTRACT
For centuries England and France were intermittently engaged in deadly warfare. The Hundred Years’ War began in 1337, when Edward III of England claimed the throne of France, and lasted until 1453. The responsibility for causing it, the writers of the French textbooks place squarely on the shoulders of England and England’s king: their general opinion is that it was brought on by Edward’s ambition. The Seven Years’ War began in Europe in 1756. But the vital struggle between England and France was colonial, in India and in North America, and had its beginnings some two years earlier than the continental conflict. From the point of view of most of the French writers of historical texts the primary cause of the struggle in North America lay in the covetousness of England. England, it is maintained, was jealous of the French colonies and disquieted at their prosperity.
