It was General Wolfe whose victory over the French at the Battle of Quebec set in motion their loss of power in the region. The Death of General Wolfe (pictured) was done by the Anglo-American artist Benjamin West

While the apparent froideur of Barack Obama towards the British may stem from his Kenyan family's history during colonial rule it could be argued that the fractious past between France, Britain and the U.S. has resonances dating back to the War of Independence.

One of the catalysts for this would have been the 1759 Battle of Quebec when General James Wolfe took the fight to the French in what would prove pivotal to ousting France from North America.

Although he was mortally wounded in the fighting, victory that day meant that within five years Britain had taken control of nearly all of France's colonies.

However the French continued to try and maintain an influence in the region by secretly supplying the nascent independence movement with arms and expertise.

Americans, furious with the notion of taxation without representation, were desperate to rid themselves of British rule. One the most famous incidents was the 1773 tax revolt known as the Boston Tea Party.



Around 200 colonists, furious that the English crown was demanding payment of duties on cargoes of tea in three British ships, stormed the vessels in Boston harbour and threw the boxes of tea overboard.

The Tea Party reference has come to the fore once again with the grassroots political movement in the U.S. which fielded numerous candidates in recent elections, indicating the still-powerful allure of America's independence from her European allies.

French sailors aboard one of the battered battleships attempting to put out a fire after being attacked by the Royal Navy. France lost more than 1,000 men that day and historians have referred to it as their 'Pearl Harbour'

Following the French Revolution of 1789, Washington recognised the new government but remained neutral. However, in Europe, years of conflict eventually saw the U.S. become an ally of France and fight the British in the Napoleonic Wars. The wars ended with Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815.

The entente between the republics of France and the increasingly-important U.S. was symbolised with the gallic gift of the Statue of Liberty in 1884 in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.

World War I saw Britain, France and America eventually fighting on the same side - the U.S. joined the bloody conflict in 1917 one year before it ended.

In World War II France was quickly over-run by the German army. The Free French led by General De Gaulle sought sanctuary and support in London while a fascist Vichy regime led by Marshall Petain ruled in southern France.

Relations reached a nadir between Britain and France after Winston Churchill ordered the attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, a port on the North African coast. This was to stop the ships falling into German hands despite guarantees by the French that it would not. The resulting loss of life, more than 1,000 men, has led French historians to refer to the 1940 attack as their Pearl Harbour.

The front page of the New York Post in January 2003 after France and Germany refused to back the war against Saddam Hussein

In 2003 France's relations with the U.S. deteriorated after it opposed the decision to invade Iraq. Britain led by Tony Blair, on the other hand, controversially took a different view and supported the move. France was pilloried as 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' in the U.S. and the New York Post ran the headline 'Axis of Weasel'.



In contrast, George Bush went so far as to tell Congress that the U.S. had 'no truer friend' than Great Britain.



But that was then and now France is once more in the warm embrace of the U.S. Nicolas Sarkozy - who has been unabashed in declaring his love for America - has signalled a warmer relationship with the U.S., competing with the 'special relationship' enjoyed by the UK.

The phrase was originally coined more than 60 years ago by Churchill, and it reflected a bond which was especially strong between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

Obama now turning on the charm with France may be an indication that the tides of influence are once more changing. Just last year, the UK's Commons Foreign Affairs committee said it was wrong to speak of 'the special relationship' with the U.S., as the superpower was fostering other alliances.

The committee said the phrase 'the special relationship' did not reflect the 'modern' Anglo-American relationship.

For Obama his apparent coldness towards Britain may stem from his paternal grandfather being jailed.

According to his Kenyan family, Hussein Onyango Obama was arrested and jailed for two years after working as a cook for a British army officer after World War II.

They say he was tortured for information on the Kenyan independence movement.

Sarah Onyango, Hussein Onyango’s third wife and the woman Mr Obama is said to refer to as 'Granny Sarah', told reporters: 'The African warders were instructed by the white soldiers to whip him every morning and evening till he confessed.'