An Admiral’s career reaches a sticky end as he’s shot to encourage the others to do better. A remarkable politician, denied advancement repeatedly, finally breaks through to power. Another war spreads across the world but, with fine leadership, this time Britain will spend the money necessary to make sure it’s truly decisive.

It’s the beginning of the Seven Years’ War and the time of William Pitt the Elder.

Illustration: William Pitt the Elder in 1754, from the studio of William Hoare

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License