Mercantilism, Salutary
Neglect & the French and
Indian War
Mercantilism and the Empire
• European kingdoms in 17th century adopt the
economic policy of mercantilism
– trade, colonies, and the accumulation of wealth as
basis for a country’s military and political strength.
– Colonies exist to provide raw materials to the parent
country for the growth and profit of that country’s
industries.
Most raw materials go to England  England turns a
larger profit on manufactured goods.
Acts of Trade and Navigation
• England implements mercantilism with the Navigation
Acts (1650 – 1673), which established three rules for
colonial trade:
1. Trade to and from the colonies only done by English or
colonial-built ships, operated by English / colonial crews.
2. All goods imported into the colonies could pass only
through ports in England.
3. Specified or “enumerated” goods from the colonies could
be exported to England only. Tobacco was the original
“enumerated” good, but over a period of years, the list
was expanded to include most colonial products.
Impact on the colonies
Positive effects
• New England shipbuilding
prospered.
• Chesapeake tobacco had
a monopoly in England.
• English military forces
protected the colonies
from potential attacks by
the French and Spanish.
Negative effects
• Colonial manufacturing
was severely limited.
• Chesapeake farmers
received low prices for
their crops.
• Colonists had to pay high
prices for manufactured
goods from England.
•Describe how the policy
of mercantilism
impacted the colonies
and their relationship
with Britain:
Effects of Navigation Acts, cont’d
• Regulations largely unnecessary since England was
the colonies’ primary trading partner
• Economic advantages from Navigation Acts offset by
their negative political effects on British-colonial
relations
• Resentment develops in the colonies (regulatory laws
imposed by the distant government in London)
• Colonists defied Navigation Acts by smuggling in
French, Dutch, and other prohibited goods.
Enforcement of the Acts
• British government lax in enforcing the acts
• British agents notoriously corrupt
• Occasionally the crown would attempt to
overcome colonial resistance to its trade laws
• In 1684, it revoked the charter of
Massachusetts Bay because that colony had
been the center of smuggling activity
Brief experiment: the
Dominion of New England
• James II succeeds throne in 1685
• Determined to increase royal control over the colonies
• Combines them into larger administrative units and
eliminates their representative assemblies
• Combines New York, New Jersey, and the various New
England colonies into a single unit called the Dominion of
New England
• Sir Edmund Andros sent from England to serve as governor
of the dominion
• Andros instantly hated for levying taxes, limiting town
meetings, and revoking land titles.
• James II equally unpopular in England, mostly for his lack of
respect for Protestantism
The Glorious Revolution &
its Effects
• The Glorious Revolution of 1688 deposes James and replaces him with
two new sovereigns, William and Mary
• Ends Dominion of New England: Massachusetts, New York, and the
other colonies again operated under separate charters.
• Despite Glorious Revolution, mercantilist policies remained in force
• By the 18th century, there were more English officials in the colonies
than ever before.
• England only appeared to exert more control though – actually
instituted a policy of salutary neglect (relaxed enforcement of policy in
return for colonists’ loyalty)
• Restrictions on colonial trade, though poorly enforced, were widely
resented and resisted.
• Describe how the policies
of James II and the
Glorious Revolution
impacted the colonies and
the relationship with
Britain:
The “French & Indian War”
a.k.a. the Fourth Intercolonial War
a.k.a. the American portion of the
Seven Years War
a.k.a. …look, the British and the
French were just always at war, ok?
North America in 1750
• French and British longtime
rivals on the world stage,
including the Americas
• French & Indian War actually
just one chapter in a larger war
Though Spain was still a major landowner in the Americas,
the map above shows that the claims of the British and
French overlapped more, resulting in greater tensions
• Ohio River Valley was the major area
of contention
• Most colonists considered themselves
British / favored Great Britain
• France has claims on entire Mississippi
River Valley
• Named Louisiana in honor of King
Louis XIV
• French focused on furs and missionary
work / never really colonized.
• The nature of French colonization
meant that they had generally
friendlier relations with the Natives
• In turn, Natives were happy to use the
French to ward off the British
• By 1754, 70,000 people lived in New
France. The British claimed 1 million.
The War Begins
• 1754: French build Fort Duquesne at
the point where the Allegheny and
Monongahela rivers join to form the
Ohio River (modern day Pittsburgh)
• British already granted this land
(200,000 acres) to British settlers.
• Virginia militia – under the command
of 22-year-old George Washington –
establish Fort Necessity 40 miles
south of Fort Duquesne.
• Washington attacked, French
counterattacked, Washington
surrendered and returned home.
The war had begun.
The Ohio River Valley
• British plan a simultaneous attack on many French
forts in North America
– General Braddock personally leads expedition against Fort
Duquesne.
• Both sides recruit Native Americans, but French in
greater numbers
– Most natives saw a French victory as advantageous to them
• British are defeated time and again, with particularly
large casualties at the Battle of Monongahela
(including General Braddock)
Braddock being shot, Washington is trying to help him.
• British begin turning the tide under the skilled William Pitt.
• Colonists like Pitt because he agrees to pay their costs in
fighting the war, if they remain loyal and help to fight
• The Iroquois, sensing a strategic alliance, side with the
British
• In 1759, British attack and defeat the French in Quebec
during the middle of the night.
• Because of their inferior numbers, the French could not
recover from this defeat and soon lose the war
Describe the
causes and fighting
of the French and
Indian War:
Treaty of Paris, 1763
• Great Britain claimed all of
North America east of the
Mississippi River, including
Florida (due to Spain’s
alliance with France during
the war)
• Also gained exclusive rights to
the slave trade in the
Caribbean
• Spain gained French lands
west of the Mississippi,
including the city of New
Orleans
• Natives found British to be unreasonable
and feared settlers crossing the
Appalachians would drive away their game
• Led by Pontiac, leader of the Ottawa tribe,
natives capture 8 British forts and attack 2
others
• British gave them smallpox infected
blankets during peace negotiations, and the
virus spread rapidly
• Proclamation of 1763 – British ban
colonists from moving west of the
Appalachians, though colonists largely
ignore it
Effects of the War
Britain
Colonies
• Increased empire in America
and the rest of the world
• Went into debt
• Contempt for colonists
• Felt the need to station troops
in colonies to deal with Native
Americans and former French
subjects.
• United them against a
common enemy (the British)
for the first time
• Washington and other military
men note successful tactics
used during the war by both
sides.
•Describe the
results and effects
of the French and
Indian War: