Within Gibson's discussion of plantations had reappeared the image of an imperial archipelago on an Atlantic rather than simply Aegean scale. After the Seven Years War (1756–63) the framework of the British empire was increasingly global and, militarily, maritime. The subsequent loss of the thirteen American colonies barely dented its growth. However, especially during its struggle with revolutionary France, Britain's territorial priorities became increasingly oriented towards the Pacific, the Mediterranean and Asia.

Only during and after the victory of 1756–63 was the ‘distinction … into island and continent’ regularly discussed by British writers in terms of the defensive superiority of the former. In 1759 a Venetian observer commented: ‘The island … appears to be completely different from the Continent … all the inhabitants have a peculiar character, and they feel themselves superior to any other people.