The Franco-British conflict of 1750-1815
Therborn describes it as "the first world war of human history--World War Zero"
"It was actually a series of wars, each with its own immediate rationale, including, from 1792, the French Revolution. Basically, however, it was a battle for European and global hegemony fought out by the two major imperial powers of the time"
the end result: "the emergence of the British empire as the world's first superpower, i.e., a dominating supra-regional world power"
"Though the decisive battles were fought in Europe, at Trafalgar, Leipzig and Waterloo, the most important theatres of war were in India and in North America"
("the ultimate French defeat" in North America was not a foregone conclusion: "the French were well positioned in North America inside the Eastern seaboard, from Quebec to New Orleans, and in both areas aligned with native forces")
"British victories over the French in India and in Canada were enduring victories of the English language and English law, although Louisiana and Quebec still keep traces of French law and administrative practices"
France had success with aiding US independence, but in the end "sold off cheaply a huge chunk of mid-western North America from the Canadian border to the Mexican Gulf"