ABSTRACT
In Britain, the politics of the Seven Years' War drew on the direction of public political concern in Britain, to an extent that was not matched on the Continent. Although war news was also important, in Britain, the objectives of the conflict were crucial in public debate, and strategic culture was thus centrally linked to questions of public politics. The strategic culture was changed, indeed transformed, during and by the Seven Years' War, as much as causing it, or setting its alignment. The focus on France encouraged an important shift in the public imagination of Britain as an imperial power. In the Diplomatic Revolution, the Anglo-Prussian Convention of Westminster of 16 January 1756 helped drive France towards Austria. Enthusiasm for imperial expansion reflected both political positioning, and the strengthening of the public engagement with such expansion as a way to define and ensure commercial strength and maritime destiny.
