Download The Duel for North America: 1608-1763

The Duel for North America:
1608-1763
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries
the major powers in Europe (Great
Britain, France and Spain) fought a
series of wars over land, power and
trade. These wars were not only fought
in Europe but also in India and North
America.
The First Three Wars
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King George II
Named after the king or queen
who ruled England during
the war
King William’s War 1689-1697
Queen Anne’s War 1702-1713
England tried to capture
Quebec with limited
success
King George’s War 1744-1748
Spain and France attacked the
frontiers of the colonies
England had some success
The French and Indian War
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In the first three wars, the
European powers saw little
value in committing regular
troops to America
But the French and Indian
War started in the Americas
and spread to Europe
The value of the colonies
increased, so large
numbers of troops were
sent to help defend them
In Europe it was known as
the Seven Years’ War
The French and Indian War
George Washington
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From the British point of
view France initiated the
war by building forts in the
Ohio R. Valley
A small colonial militia, led
by G. Washington was sent
to stop the growing French
presence
After a small victory,
Washington met defeat at
the hands of a superior
French force
The war had begun!
The French and Indian War
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At first the war went badly
for the British
In 1755, Gen. Braddock
was defeated by a
combined French and
Indian force near Ft.
Duquesne (Pittsburgh)
The Algonquin allies of the
French attacked the frontier
from PA to NC
The French and Indian War
The Albany Plan of Union
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Recognizing the need for
coordinating colonial
defenses, the British govt.
called for colonial
representatives to meet
Representatives from the
colonies met in 1754 in
Albany
The delegates from 7
colonies adopted a plan –
the Albany Plan of Union –
developed by B. Franklin
The Albany Plan of Union
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The plan provided for an
intercolonial government and
a system for recruiting troops
and collecting taxes from the
colonies
The delegates, including
Benjamin Franklin adopted the
plan but the individual colonies
spurned it
The colonies could not agree
(especially on the tax issue)
and the plan never took effect
The Albany Congress did set a
precedent for later, more
revolutionary congresses in
the 1770s
“Join, or Die.”
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A month before the Albany congress assembled, Benjamin
Franklin published this political cartoon in his Pennsylvania
Gazette
British Victory
William Pitt
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In London, the new PM,
William Pitt refocused
Britain’s war goals
Canada was attacked and
slowly key cities were
conquered by the British
army
Louisburg, Quebec (Gen.
James Wolfe) and Montreal
were taken by the British by
1760
Peace treaty was signed in
1763
French and Indian war
Treaty of Paris
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As a result of the peace
treaty (Treaty of Paris), the
British extended their
control over N. America
and French power on the
continent virtually ended
Britain acquired French
Canada and Spanish
Florida
France ceded to Spain its
huge western territory
(Louisiana) and claims
west of the Mississippi R.
Immediate Effects of the War
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Britain had unchallenged
supremacy in N. America
British navy was the
dominant naval power in
the world
American colonies no
longer had to feel the threat
of French or Spanish
attacks, especially on the
frontier
Immediate Effects of the War
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From the American point of view, no
consequence of the war was more
momentous than the change in relationship
between the colonies and British
government
Foremost was the change in how the British
viewed the colonies and how the colonists
viewed the mother country
The British View
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The British came away with
a generally low opinion of
the colonial military effort
They saw the American
militia as a poorly trained,
disorderly rabble
Failure by some of the
colonies to commit money
and troops further
enhanced the British view
that the colonists were
unable/unwilling to defend
the frontiers
The Colonial View
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The colonists took an
opposite view of their
military performance
They felt proud of their
record in the British wars
They had developed
confidence that they could
successfully defend
themselves
They were not impressed
by the British military
leadership, which did not
seem suited for America’s
terrain
Reorganization of the British
Empire
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Britain changed certain
policies in regards to its
colonies
Britain had exercised little
direct control over the
colonies and had generally
allowed its navigation laws
regulating colonial trade to
go unenforced
This earlier policy of
salutary neglect was now
abandoned by the British
Reorganization of the British
Empire
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The wars (especially the
French and Indian)
between the European
rivals were very costly
Britain felt the need to
maintain a large British
force in N. America to
guard the frontiers
British landowners were
paying high taxes for the
wars
Reorganization of the British
Empire
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King George III and
Parliament pursued a
colonial policy aimed at
solving the financial woes
of Britain
They wished to make the
colonies bear more of the
cost of maintaining the
British empire
Pontiac’s Rebellion
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In 1763, Chief Pontiac led a
major assault against
colonial frontier settlements
The Native Americans were
angered by the growing
westward movement of the
colonists
Pontiac and his allies
destroyed forts and
settlements from NY to VA
Rather than rely on local
militia, the British sent
regular troops
Proclamation of 1763
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As a further measure to
help stabilize the western
frontier, the British
government issued a
proclamation that
prohibited colonists from
settling west of the
Appalachian Mts.
It was hoped that this
would prevent any further
hostilities between the
native Americans and the
colonists
Proclamation of 1763
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The colonists reacted with
anger and defiance
After the French and Indian
War the colonists hoped to
reap the benefits of access
to more land
For the British to deny this
was infuriating
Thousands of colonists
defied the proclamation
and pushed westward
Differing Points of View
Britain
Each act was justified as a
proper method for
protecting its colonial
empire and making the
colonies pay their share of
costs for the protection
Colonies
Each act by Britain was an
alarming threat to the
colonial sense of liberty
and long established
practice of self-government