EMPIRE
UNDER
STRAIN
DESPITE THE FREQUENT RESISTANCE,
COLONISTS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES
LOYAL!
THE FRENCH AND
INDIAN WAR
The War raged from
1750’s-1760’s.
In Europe the war was
known as the SEVEN
YEARS WAR!
The war brought
Americans closer to
British authority than
ever before.
It showed the
underlying tensions of
the colonial
relationship.
BACKGROUND
1750S
French settlements were expanding in North America.
It stretched from Louisiana to Canada.
The French built fortresses, missions, trading posts, and towns to hold
this vast area.
Native Americans
French and English knew they needed help from the natives.
Native alliances and allegiances were determined by which
side offered more.
English offered better quality and more plentiful goods.
French offered tolerance of native ways
They adjusted their lives to match the Natives.
Result: French had a better and closer relations than the English.
SMALLER WARS
King William’s War- 16891697: Mostly indecisive
clashes.
Queen Anne’s War- 17011711: More indecisive
clashes. The Treaty of
Utrecht ended this
conflict.
English gained
Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland.
King George’s War- 17441748: The Native
Americans began to have
poor relations with both
the English and the
French.
THE GREAT WAR FOR
EMPIRE (FRENCH AND
INDIAN WAR)
1754
Governor of Virginia- Sent troops under George Washington to capture Fort
Duquesne.
Washington was forced to surrender.
This attack was the start of the French and Indian War.
This war lasted for nine years.
1754-1759
The Colonists fought largely on their own and were defending themselves.
1757
English Secretary of State- William Pitt
He planned and controlled the British Army.
To replenish the army, British commanders began to use impressments.
The Colonists were forced to join the British army.
Officers seized supplies, equipment, and shelter from the colonists without compensation.
How Do You think the Colonists Reacted?
THE GREAT WAR FOR
EMPIRE (FRENCH AND
INDIAN WAR)
1758
Pitt agreed to reimburse the colonists for what the army took.
He returned control of military recruitment to colonial
assemblies.
Also he dispatched large numbers of additional troops to
America.
Mid 1758
British regulars and colonial militias were seizing one French
stronghold after another.
September 1759
Quebec fell to the British
September 1760
The French surrendered in Montreal.
BRITISH TACTICS
British used population dispersal
to keep areas firmly under their
control.
They would displace the French
throughout the colonies.
Scalp bounties were offered for
evidence of a dead native.
THE FORMAL END OF
THE WAR
Peace of Paris 1763
Was the Treaty to
end the war.
Terms:
British gained more
islands in the West Indies,
colonies in India, Canada,
and all of the French
territory east of the
Mississippi.
Spain gained
French lands west of the
Mississippi.
EFFECTS OF THE WAR
Expanded England’s territorial claims.
Enlarged their debt.
British leaders resented the colonists for
starting the war.
Colonist made very few contributions
Parliament began to feel that they needed
to have more direct control over the
Colonists.
AFTER THE WAR
England had huge debts.
England wanted the colonists to pay
for those debts.
Colonial assemblies were not eager to
impose taxes.
Parliament soon decided that taxation
was the only way to raise the needed
money.
1760
George III
King of England
Determined to be an active
and responsible monarch.
He was psychotic, insane,
and insecure from time to
time.
Result: British Government
became unstable.
1763
King George III- Named
George Grenville to be the Prime
Minister.
He quickly increased
authority over the colonies by
permanently stationing troops in the
colonies.
He also passes a series of
acts aimed at controlling the colonies.
THE ACTS
Sugar Act 1764
Raised the duty on sugar.
Aim: Wanted to eliminate
the sugar trade between the
colonies and the French
and Spanish West Indies.
Currency Act 1764
Colonial assemblies were
to stop issuing paper money.
Mutiny Act 1765
Colonists were to assist in
provisioning and
maintaining the
army.
Stamp Act 1765
Placed a tax on printed
documents, like newspapers,
pamphlets, almanacs,
deeds, wills, and licenses.
REACTION TO THE
ACTS
Most Americans found ways to get around with the new laws.
Colonists:
The political laws were worse than the economic
ones.
The British government was challenging the basis of colonial
political power: control over public finance.
To the colonists: Home rule was not something to be fought
for but something familiar to be kept.
The revolution was a movement to conserve liberties
Americans believe they already possessed.
1765
Riot broke out in
Boston.
Sons of Liberty:
Terrorized
British stamp agents,
and burned stamps.
Many agents
hastily resigned and
the sale of stamps in
the colony ceased.
A separate mob
attacked the Lt. Gov. of
Mass and virtually
destroyed his house.
THE BOSTON
MASSACRE
Colonial harassment had grown intense that the British felt it
was necessary to place troops throughout Boston.
March 5, 1770
Mob of dockworkers called liberty boys began pelting British
soldiers at the Custom House with rocks and snowballs.
British commander feared an attack on the house so he lined
his troops up in front of the building to protect it.
A scuffle broke out.
A soldier got knock to the ground.
Several soldiers fired into the crowd killing five bystanders.
Those killed were hailed as martyrs and the British viewed as
murders.