Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst

Common card · No. 206038

Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. He is credited as one of the architects of Great Britain's successful campaign to conquer the territory of New France from France during the Seven Years' War. He was also the first British governor general in the territories that eventually came to be known as Canada. Son of a lawyer from Kent, Amherst enlisted in the Grenadier Guards in 1735 and first saw active service during the War of the Austrian Succession. Early in the Seven Years' War, he conducted the successful siege at Louisbourg, and was appointed commander-in-chief in North America in its wake. Under his command, British Armed forces went on to capture Quebec City, Montreal and several major city fortresses, bringing an end to French rule in North America. He was named Governor-General of British North America in 1760 and received a knighthood a year later. In early 1763, in response...

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