Watch The Battle for North America | Part One

On 13 September 1759, on the Plains of Abraham near the city of Quebec, an outnumbered British army fought a battle that would change the history of the world: the Battle of Quebec. For the past three years, Britain and France were locked in a bitter struggle for dominance in the Seven Years War: the world’s first truly global conflict that involved every great European power and spanned five continents, leading some historians to call it World War Zero. One of the most famous theatres of this war was in North America.

Today we take it for granted that Americans speak English, not French, but it could have been very different if events in 1759 had had the alternate outcome. Deep in the heart of French territory in the Americas was Quebec, the nucleus of that nation’s power in the New World. From there the French had inflicted wave after wave of defeats on the British in the years preceding 1759. Yet that year the British decided to launch a bold operation into the heart of New France to quell this threat. It sent a fleet of nearly 200 ships, carry 10,000 men, under the command of General James Wolfe, on a treacherous mission through unchartered territory with the task of taking Quebec.

It was a bold strategy; just reaching New France’s capital seemed an impossible task. It thus required Britain to use its industrial strength, naval supremacy and a scientific approach to fight a campaign unlike any that had gone before. In time this new method of warfare would enable Britain to forge the largest empire in history, with London at its very centre. Yet its future success all depended on victory at Quebec.

In ‘The Battle for North America’, historian Dan Snow explains why the Battle of Quebec deserves to be on your list of history’s most decisive battles. He sets sail up the St Lawrence River, retracing the route taken by the British fleet, and discovers how this pivotal battle shaped the future of the British Empire and North America.

Part 1 of 2.

#DanSnow #HistoryHit #BattleForNorthAmerica

[scottcook]

Dan Snow (and his father) have created some of the best historical battlefield documentaries I have ever seen!

[edwardjohn]

God Bless you Sir for teaching us the history. God Bless Great Britain 🇬🇧

[mattmobily]

History Hit should be congratulated for filling the hole left by The History Channel after its obsession with reality TV and ancient alien pseudoscience.

[francissoulard]

my grand-grand uncle 6 generations before mine died at la Batailles des Plaines d'Abraham, his name was Jacques Soulard; he was a militianman from the small village St-Roch-des-Aulnaies.

[dougreimer]

As a 🇨🇦 I found this very insightful. The battle for Quebec has been a core element in the teaching of early
Canadian history. I've never seen it presented so we'll.

[michaelbevan]

I’ve been living in Canada for the past 5-6 years, I’m already hooked to this.

[Hellbillyhok]

I was born in Ontario in 1971 to Scots parents, we moved back to Scotland in 1976 I'd always had a calling to go back to Canada so after my 20th birthday i went to B.C and lived for 4 years, i then went traveling the world for years after it, i never did get a chance to go back to see the Eastern provinces where all this happened, ive got a big family now back in Fife 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 but as soon as i can afford to go back im making a pilgrimage to all these places back East hopefully before i meet my maker, i love Canada 🇨🇦

[scottmurray]

I like it when you have to do the same 'blind' drills as these men. You get to know the difficulty, technical savvy and discipline which had to be so fine tuned. I would have been as slow too and no doubt dropped my firearm. I had no idea the St Lawrence was so treacherous, the sailing scene and depth sounder experience was fantastic. Thank you for a great video.

[avtobasiladze]

I have never seen such a great documentary film.Thanks History Hit for this product

[realscience]

Real important history for North America……this and the fight for Newfoundland!
Great show…where’s part two?

[nickoppedisano]

I was on the HMCS Ville de Quebec in 2002 and we tried to go to port in Levi across from Quebec City. A change in tide slam us across the jetty and ripped a hole in our hull 50 feet long. Still a dangerous place to sail.

[shahansindhi]

I remember watching animated versions of the battle where both English and French commanders fall, and that was inspirational.

[andrewwebb-trezzi]

Saunders and Wolfe were both great men. May they Rest In Peace.

[ryangerrard]

George Washington fighting for the British, well well well 😂, James cook mapping the Saint Lawrence? Loved this!

[nonsibi]

Little known today, the British campaign to take Quebec City in 1759 was the SECOND such effort. Exactly 69 years earlier, in the fall of 1690, Quebec City was attacked by a large combined British naval & infantry force. Under the command of Sir William Phips, governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and with the support of King William III, this entirely New England force of about 62 vessels and several thousand infantry beseiged the French in Quebec City and fought a three-day infantry battle as well as a lengthy naval bombardment. In the end, the seige failed and the British force retired down the St. Lawrence River, having learned that a much larger force would be needed to ever take the citadel. The French, for their part, also learned that they would need to greatly strengthen their defenses if they were to hold onto New France.

[alongfortheride]

"a rocky outcrop of barren land always assaulted by wind and rain and banks of fog" describes pretty much the bulk of Nova Scotia. But seriously, it is really nice for about 5-8 weeks each year.

[squared]

Im watching this for my upcoming british America GCSE This is very insightful and enjoyable!

[freedomloverusa]

You should do a Vid about how the British took Havana in 1762, it was epic beyond words, the artillery duel among the Spanish and British armies, and especially the final British bayonet assault in the Morro Castle.
I personally met several families of British descent in the Havana town of Guanabacoa.

[tinaharrison]

Loved this selection of videos history hits is brilliant thank you all

[Maya_Ruinz]

Great documentary, this was a conflict I never would have learned in school that definitely needed to be taught. As an American we don’t get much history about Canada but their history is very much connected to ours, it’s a shame really our history isn't seen culturally as a more unified history. Those cliffs along the St. Lawrence are really a site to behold, they knew how to pick the perfect spot for a defensible city.