When was the Northern Seven Years War ?
The events in the early chapters of Voltaire 's " Candide " are based on the Seven Years ' War ; according to Jean Starobinski , ( " Voltaire 's Double - Barreled Musket " , in " Blessings In Disguise " , ( California , 1993 ) p. 85 ) , all the atrocities described in Chapter 3 are true to life .