Colonial Wars in 18th Century North America
I. France in Canada
A. France was late in coming to the New World
1. Much internal strife
during 1500s between Catholics and Huguenots (Calvinists)
-- St. Bartholemew's Day, 1572 -- 10,000 Huguenots executed, men, women
& children
2. Edict of Nantes
(1598): Granted limited toleration to French Protestants
a. Religious wars ceased
b. France blossomed into most feared power in 17th c. Europe led by Louis
XIV
B. French established Quebec in 1608 (a year
after Jamestown)
1. Located at the head of
the St. Lawrence River
2. Founded by Samuel
de Champlain ("Father of New France")
a. Entered friendship with local Huron Indians, the enemies of the Iroquois
b. Significance: Iroquois, in retaliation, later kept the French from expanding
into the
Ohiovalley, ravaged French settlements, and allied with the British against
the French.
C. Government
1. Eventually, the crown
ruled the region autocratically (after commercial ventures failed)
-- No popularly elected assemblies or trial by jury.
2. French population in
New France grew very slowly -- only 6,000 whites by 1750
D. New France expands in North America
1. Of
the European powers, the French were the most successful in creating an
effective trading relationship with the Indians.
a. British settlers sought to remove or exterminate them.
b. Spanish sought to Christianize them and subdued them
in missions.
c. The French became great gift givers (the key to getting
on with Indians who
based their inter-tribal relationships on gift giving) during last two
decades of the 17th
century.
i. Trade not seen as a transact ion or contract (like
in Europe).
ii. Trade seen by Indians as a continuing process.
iii. When one group stopped trading w/ another, it was
tantamount to declaring
war.
2. Beaver
trade led to exploration of much of North America:
a. Heavy demand for fur in European fashion.
b. coureurs de bois (runners of
the woods) were rough frontiersmen heavily involved in
fur trading.
c. French seamen - voyageurs -- recruited Indians into the fur trade
3. Jesuits: Catholic Missionaries
who sought to convert Indians and save them from
the fur trappers.
a. Some were brutally killed by Indians (although in
the eyes of Indians, Jesuits held
up best to torture and were thus more respected).
b. Played a vital role as explorers and geographers
4. Other explorers
a. Antoine Cadillac -- founded Detroit in 1701
-- Aimed to keep English settlers out of the Ohio Valley
b. Robert de La Salle -- Sailed from Quebec, down through the Great
Lakes, and down
the Mississippi River in 1682 with the help of Indian guides.
i. Sought to prevent Spanish expansion into Gulf of Mexico region
ii. Coined the name "Louisiana" in honor of Louis XIV
5. French establish posts
in the Mississippi region (New Orleans most important—1718)
a. Attempt to block Spanish expansion into the Gulf of Mexico
b. Forts and trading posts in Illinois country: Kaskaskia, Cahokia, &
Vincennes
-- Large amounts of grain sent down the Mississippi River for shipment
to the
West Indies and Europe
II. Clash of Empires: English, French, & Spanish
A. Four world wars between 1688 and 1763
1. King William's War (1689-1697)
-- and Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)
a. British colonials fought French coureurs de bois
and
Indian allies (except
Mohawks of the Iroquois confederacy)
b. Treaty of Utrecht (1713) ended colonial wars for nearly three
decades.
c. In American colonies, a generation of peace ensued; "salutary
neglect"
i. Whig prime minister, Robert Walpole, believed if the colonies were left
alone to run
their own affairs with minimal interference, they would produce more wealth
and
commerce, prosper, and cause less trouble.
ii. England would simply provide peace, protection, commerce, ensure
law and order
and domestic tranquility, and send more British immigrants to America to
increase
numbers of British customers.
2. King George's War (1744-1748)
(War of Austrian Succession; War of Jenkin's Ear)
a. Spain again allied with France against Britain.
b. New Englanders again invaded New France and took the strategically
important city of Louisbourg commanding the approaches of St. Lawrence
River.
e. Peace Treaty of 1748
i. England gave Louisbourg back to the French in order to help
negotiations for a cease-fire in the European war.
ii. British colonists were furious; felt vulnerable from the North.
3. French & Indian
War (1754-1763 -- Seven Years' War) --most important of the
colonial
wars.
a. Main issue was the Ohio Valley
i. British were pushing west into it; wary of French influence in North
America
ii. French needed to retain it to link Canadian holdings with the lower
Mississippi valley & Caribbean.
b. Washington’s Ohio Mission -- Battle near Fort Duquesne
-- May, 1754
i. Lt. Col. George Washington sent by Virginia gov’t to forks of Ohio River
to
prevent French from building fort there; hoped instead to build a British
fort.
ii. Washington defeated and forced to surrender his entire command but
allowed to leave with his army intact.
iii. In effect, Washington triggered a world war.
c. British retaliated by clamping down in Nova Scotia
i. Uprooted 4,000 Nova Scotians and scattered them throughout the
continent including Louisiana.
ii. French-speaking Acadians became the descendants of modern day "Cajuns"
d. War widened into hitherto largest world war: 25,000 American colonials
fought
e. Albany Congress (1754)
i. Board of Trade called leaders from all the colonies to meet in Albany
to discuss Indian problem and meet with Iroquois.
ii. British sought to make Iroquois allies; gave many gifts (including
guns)
-- Iroquois refused to commit themselves to the British
iii. Long-range purpose: greater colonial unity; strong defense against
France.
f. Albany Plan for Union
i. Benjamin Franklin created plan for colonial home
rule: dealt with defense and
Indian affairs.
-- Adopted by delegates
-- Individual colonies rejected it: not enough independence
-- British rejected it: too much independence
ii. Franklin's cartoon: "Join, or Die"
g. British General Braddock defeated a few miles
from Fort Duquesne by smaller
French & Indian forces (1755)
h. British launched full-scale invasion of Canada in 1756 but failed.
i. William Pitt (The "Great Commoner") – became leader of
British gov’t
i. Very popular among the British people; his success in the war led to
Ft. Duquesne being renamed Pittsburgh.
ii. Strategy: focus on France in North America in order to win the war.
j. Battle of Quebec (1760)
i. Pitt appointed James Wolfe to take Quebec
ii.British successful on the Plains of Abraham (near Quebec) but
Wolfe &
French commander de Montaclm were killed.
iii. One of most significant battles in British & American history.
k. Peace of Paris (1763) – In effect, France was removed from
North America.
(Technically, land west of Mississippi River still French but not yet settled.)
-- Great Britain emerged as the dominant power in North America and as
the
leading naval power in the world.
III. Friction between the colonies and Britain during
and after French and Indian War.
A. Colonies
emerged from the war with increased confidence in their military strength
--Yet, colonial military leaders angry that American promotions limited
in British army
B. British
upset that American shippers traded with enemy ports of Sp. & Fr. W.
Indies
1. Enemy Indians were aided by increased foodstuffs
2. British forbade export of all supplies from New England & Middle
colonies during
last year of the war.
3. Some colonials refused to supply troops: saw economic gain as more important
than
loyalty to Britain.
-- Only later agreed to commit troops when Pitt offered to substantially
reimburse
colonies.
C. American westward
colonial expansion increased significantly after the war
1. French barrier west of the Appalachians was removed
2. Spanish and Indian threats removed in many areas
3. Settlers no longer as dependent on British protection in the frontier.
D. Pontiac’s Rebellion
(1763)
1. Indians in Ohio Valley region angered at British treatment
of Indians during the last
years of the French and Indian War.
2. Chief Pontiac, the Ottowa chief in northern Michigan,
refused to surrender his lands
to the British although France (their ally in the war) had lost and were
now gone.
3. Chief Pontiac led an Indian alliance against whites
in the Ohio Valley & Great
Lakes region in 1763
a. 9 of 11 British forts taken; several wiped out.
b. Perhaps 2,000 lives lost during first 6 mos. of conflict,
many more driven from
their homes on the frontier back to more settled areas.
c. It took British 18 months to bring the rebellion under
control.
4. British retaliated with germ warfare: blankets infected with smallpox
distributed among
the Native Americans
5. Rebellion subdued in October, 1763
E. Proclamation of 1763
1. In response to Pontiac’s rebellion, George III signed an edict creating
royal colonies
in all newly acquired lands in the Treaty of Paris.
2. Prohibited colonials to move west of the Appalachians
a. Line drawn from Canada to Florida along the crest of the Appalachians
intended to
be temporary measure..
b. British aim: Settle land disputes with Indians fairly to prevent more
bloody episodes
like Pontiac's uprising and organize eventual settlement and defense
3. Colonials infuriated: viewed edict as being permanent.
a. Many veterans had fought in the war and felt betrayed
b. Land speculators argued that the land was a birthright of British citizens.
4. Colonials generally ignored the Proclamation
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