William Pitt

•William Pitt was born in Westchester on November 15, 1708.•Pitt was a British Whig statesman.•He entered parliament in February 1735.•He joined the formidable band of discontented Whigs, known as the Patriots.•In a very short time, Pitt became one of its most prominent members.

• William Pitt, the English Prime Minister, determined that the best way for England to defeat the French in Europe was first to conquer the French in the New World.

• William Pitt came out of retirement in 1758 and took over the British war effort.

• He is most well known for being the Secretary of State during the French and Indian War .

• He assumed leadership of the British Ministry in December 1756.

•Pitt’s goal was to finance an army on the continent to drain French men and resources so Britain will be able to concentrate on Canada and the West Indies.•Pitt adapted Britain’s war strategies to fit the territory and landscape of the American frontier.•He directed additional war efforts in the North American war theater.

•Pitt built up Britain's navy and selected talented commanders on both sea and land.

• During the war, Pitt made a great contribution by furnishing Frederick the Great with an annual subsidy of 700,000 pounds.

• Pitt also relieved Frederick the task of defending western Germany against France.

• His aggressive new policies for the war were crucial to the war being in Britain’s favor in the second half of the war.

• He gave colonists much greater independence in pursing the war effort which increased the enthusiasm among colonialists toward the war.

• Pitt’s first success during the war is an expedition sent out to capture the powerful fort at the eastern extremity of New France.

• Afterwards, in July 1758, Louisburg fell in.

• Then, in November of 1758, there was a victory in the extreme west of the American war zone.

• In 1759, the French fort at Niagara was taken, which was a strategically important site.

• Along with the French fort at Niagara, Quebec, France’s major city in the new world, was also taken.

• Followed by the capture of Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga.

• After the capture of Fort Duquesne, they renamed it Pittsburgh, after William Pitt.

• William Pitt’s leadership and France’s continued neglect of the North-American theater, eventually turned the tide of the war in favor of the British.