The Duel for North America
Chapter 6
France Finds a Foothold in Canada
 Like England and Holland, France was a
latecomer in the scramble for New World real
estate.
 The edict of Nantes in 1598 granted limited
toleration to French Protestants.
 Religious wars ceased and France became the
mightiest and most feared nation on the
European continent.
France Finds a Foothold in Canada
 France was led by King Louis XIV who was
enthroned at the age of 5.
 King Louis took an interest in overseas
exploration.
 Samuel de Champlain “Father of New France”
led the settlement in the New World in
Quebec.
France Finds a Foothold in Canada
 Champlain entered into a friendship with the
Huron Indians and fought alongside them
against the Iroquois.
 Two volleys from the French “lightning sticks”
scared off the Iroquois.
 From that day, the Iroquois hampered French
penetration of the Ohio River Valley.
France Finds a Foothold in Canada
 The government of New France (Canada) was
almost completely autocratic.
 The people elected no representative
assemblies.
 There was also no trial by jury as enjoyed in the
English colonies.
The Clash of Empires
 The earliest contests among the Europeans for
control of North America, known to the British
colonists as King William’s War (1689-1697)
and Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) pitted the
British colonists against the French coureurs de
bois (“runners of the woods”) and whatever
Indian allies they could find.
The Clash of Empires
 Because neither side considered North America
worthy of a large detachment of troops of regular
troops, so the combatants waged guerilla warfare.
 After many defeats along the frontier, the British
scored a decisive victory at Port Royal in present day
Nova Scotia.
 The peace terms, signed at Utrecht in 1713, the British
were awarded Acadia (Nova Scotia), Newfoundland,
and Hudson Bay.
George Washington Inaugurates War with France
 The Ohio River Valley becomes a major bone of
contention between the French and the British.
 It was the key for the westward expansion of
the British colonists.
 It was also the key to the link between Canada
and the lower Mississippi Valley of France.
George Washington Inaugurates War with France
 In 1749 a group of British colonial speculators
(mostly Virginians) secured the right to 50,000
acres in the Ohio River Valley region.
 The French were in the process of building a
chain of forts along the Ohio River (Fort
Duquesne along the Monongahela and
Allegheny Rivers in present day Pittsburgh).
George Washington Inaugurates War with France
 In 1754, the Governor of VA sent 21 year old surveyor
George Washington to secure the land claims of the
Virginians.
 Washington was the lieutenant in charge of 150 VA
militiamen who quickly killed the leader of the French
troops near Fort Duquesne.
 Washington’s triumph would not last as his troops were
surrounded in Fort Necessity by French reinforcements
who, after a ten hour siege, forced Washington to
surrender on July 4th, 1754
George Washington Inaugurates War with France
 Washington was allowed to march his men
away with full honors.
 Fearing an uprising in Nova Scotia, the British
uprooted 4,000 French Acadians in 1755.
 These deportees were sent as far south as
Louisiana, where their descendants are now
called “Cajuns” and number nearly 1 million.
Global War and Colonial Disunity
 The French and Indian War was the first AngloFrench colonial war to start in America.
 Also known as the Seven Year’s War, it was
fought not only in America, but in Europe , the
West Indies, the Philippines, in Africa, and on
the ocean.
 The Seven Year’s War was a seven-seas war.
Global War and Colonial Disunity
 One problem that had effected the colonists
during previous wars was their overall inability
to become a unified force.
 This changed when delegates of 7 of the 13
colonies met in Albany, NY and gave 30
wagonloads of gifts, including guns, to the
Iroquois Indians in exchange for their help
against the hated French.
Global War and Colonial Disunity
 The longer range goal was to achieve colonial unity
and bolster the common defense against the French.
 The most important man at the Albany Congress was
Benjamin Franklin who adopted a premature plan for
colonial self-rule.
 The Albany delegates adopted it the plan, but it was
spurned by the individual colonies and also in
London.
Global War and Colonial Disunity
 The colonists felt that the plan of self-rule did
not give them enough independence, whereas
the British officials thought it gave too much
independence.
 The disappointing result confirmed one thing for
Franklin; all people agreed on the need for
union, but their “weak noodles” were “perfectly
distracted” when they attempted to agree on
details.
Braddock’s Blundering and Its Aftermath
 The opening clashes of the French and Indian War
went badly for the British colonists.
 Gen. Edward Braddock took at detachment of 2,000
British regulars to capture Fort Duquesne.
 Part of his force were colonial militiamen (known as
“buckskins”) who fought from behind trees, much to
the contempt of Gen. “Bulldog” Braddock.
Braddock’s Blundering and Its Aftermath
 Braddock’s troops moved slowly to cut a path through the
dense wilderness toward Duquesne.
 The British encountered a much smaller French and Indian unit
who quickly retreated into the wilderness and reigned
murderous fire upon the British.
 George Washington, an aide to Braddock, had 2 horses shot
from under him, and had four bullets pierce his coat.
 Braddock was mortally wounded as the British were routed.
Braddock’s Blundering and Its Aftermath
 The Indians went on a bloody warpath, scalping people
throughout the countryside.
 Local authorities offered bounties on Indian scalps
 $80 for women, $130 for warriors
 The British tried to attack several Canadian outposts
simultaneously instead of focusing their efforts on Quebec and
Montreal.
 Defeat after defeat in America and Europe heavily affected the
British colonists.
Pitt’s Palm of Victory
 In the hour of crisis, Britain brought in William Pitt,
who was popularly known as the “Great
Commoner” who was revered by the common
people.
 Pitt dismissed his old, cautious generals in favor of
young, energetic leaders.
 Pitt picked up a victory in the siege of Louisbourg
and then moved on to the Quebec-Montreal area.
Pitt’s Palm of Victory
 The Battle of Quebec in 1759 was one of the most significant
engagements in British and American history.
 When the Montreal fell in 1760, the French flag flew in Canada
for the last time.
 After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, French power was thrown
completely off the continent of North America.
 It did leave behind a French population that is a strong minority
in Canada to this day.
Pitt’s Palms of Victory
 Great Britain thus emerged as the
dominant power in North America,
while taking its place as the leading
naval power of the world.
Restless Colonists
 The colonists had fought bravely alongside the well trained
British regulars.
 More importantly, the militiamen had seen that the British,
supposedly the best army in the world, was anything but
invincible.
 Contempt grew during the war between the arrogant British
and colonials.
 The British refused to recognize any American militia rank
above captain, much to the dismay of “Colonel” George
Washington.
Restless Colonists
 The Colonists felt they deserved to be praised
by the British for taking a chance, instead of
being mocked as “scum” who fled to the
“outhouses of civilizations”.
 The British were further upset that the
American shippers were illegally shipping to the
West Indies and Spain.
Restless Colonists
 The curse of colonial disunity continued throughout the
hostilities for many reasons;
 Geographical barriers like rivers
 Conflicting religions (Catholic and Quaker)
 Varied nationalities (German to Irish)
 Differing types of colonial governments
 Boundary disputes
 Backcountry settlers vs. aristocratic bigwigs
Restless Colonists
 The French and Indian War did, in some ways,
help bring the colonists closer together.
 Eventually they discovered that they were all
fellow Americans who generally spoke the
same language and shared common ideals.
 Barriers of disunity began to melt, although a
long and rugged road lay ahead before a
coherent nation would emerge.
War’s Fateful Aftermath
 Because the colonists had needed security from the
mother country, they had to lean on England during the
French and Indian War.
 Now that the French were no longer a threat, the colonists
looked forward to moving away from the reach of the
British government.
 The French, although saddened by their loss of America,
tried to console themselves in the thought that maybe one
day the hated English would also lose America.
War’s Fateful Aftermath
 Pontiac’s Uprising of 1763 tore a violent
campaign through parts of present day Ohio
and Detroit, Michigan with the aide of other
tribes and a few French traders who had
remained in the area after the war.
 The goal was to drive the British settlers out of
the area west of the Appalachians.
 Around 2,000 soldiers and settlers were killed.
War’s Fateful Aftermath
 The British retaliated by engaging in a primitive form
of biological warfare.
 Blankets infected with smallpox were distributed to
the Indians, which , effectively crushed the uprising.
 The coast was now clear for settlers to move past the
Appalachians and settle in the “west”.
 A few brave settlers had already moved into Kentucky
and Tennessee.
War’s Fateful Aftermath
 Out of the clear sky, the British in London issued the
Proclamation of 1763, which flatly prohibited
settlement in the area beyond the Appalachians.
 Most people think it was a punishment to the
colonists, but in actuality, it was a way to prevent
another uprising by the Indians.
 In complete defiance of the proclamation, the settlers
clogged the westward trails.