Chapter 6
The Duel for North
America, 1608–1763
p112
• Theme: As part of their worldwide rivalry,
Great Britain and France engaged in a great
struggle for colonial control of North America,
culminating in the British victory in the Seven
Years’ War (French and Indian War) that drove
France from the continent.
• Theme: Before the Seven Years’ War, Britain
and its American colonies had already been
facing some tensions, as can be seen in
sporadic British efforts to enforce trade laws
and colonial reaction to the peace treaty in
1748.
• During the Seven Years’ War, the relationship
between British military regulars and colonial
militias added to the tensions.
• The French defeat in the Seven Years’ War
created conditions for a growing conflict
between Britain and its American colonies.
• The lack of a threatening European colonial
power in North America gave the American
colonists a sense of independence that
clashed with new British imperial demands,
such as stationing soldiers in the colonies and
the Proclamation of 1763.
What divided the colonies in 1754?
Essential Question
• How did an American identity develop during
this period?
• How was America different/similar 1775 vs.
1700?
• How did Americans differ among each other in
1775?
• In light of these two questions, was there, by
1775, an American character and/or culture?
Some Developments
• Huge surge in colonial population (2 million
inhabitants)
• Print Revolution
• Influence of Enlightenment and Pietism
• Wealthy colonists and influx of European
goods lead to new material culture
• Social Tensions
– Limitations on available land in New England
– Groups (such as German, Dutch and Scotts-Irish)
attempt to maintain religious and cultural
identities while competing for political power
• Increasing interest in western lands leads to
conflict with Native Americans
Spirit, Ch.5 Docs A1-4
• How would the authors each respond to the
question, “Was there an American character?”
What evidence would they use?
• Crisis of legitimacy. Suspicion  distrust of
government
• Pluralism, constantly complicated by new arrivals.
Pluralism as a fact, and then as a way of seeing
American  leads to tolerance
• Social mobility possible and valued
• In light of the above, American character is not a
fixed thing, but rather a culture/society with its
constituent conflicting parts/people
(values/lifestyles). This all leads to a broader
conception of national character.
• Specific aspects-individualistic, yet community
-sense of rights/rights in conflict/insistence
on preserving rights/emphasis on rule of law
-religion (or not)/multi-faith/practical
necessity of tolerance
French Settlement
• 1598 Edict of Nantes
– Granted limited toleration to Protestants in France
and ended religious wars
– France became the most powerful nation in Europe
• 1608 Quebec established
-New France comes under the direct control of
the king
-no representative assemblies or the right to a
trial by jury
• Detroit founded by Antoine Cadillac to
prevent English penetration into the Ohio
Valley
• Louisiana explored by Robert de La Salle to
prevent Spanish penetration into the Gulf of
Mexico region
– New Orleans established as a fort (1718)
Map 6-1 p99
Map 6-2 p100
European Rivalries
• King William’s War (1689-1697)
• Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713)
– Colonists fought French coureurs de bois
• Indians recruited by each side
• Spain allied with France
• Colonists captured Port Royal in Acadia
• Treaty of Utrecht (1713)
– Britain received Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and
Hudson Bay
• King George’s War (1744-1748) (War of
Austrian Succession)
– Spain allied with France
– Colonists capture French fortress of Louisbourg
– In the treaty of 1748, Louisbourg was given back
to the French which upset the New Englanders
Map 6-3 p101
Map 6-4 p102
Table 6-1 p101
Table 6-2 p103
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
Seven Years’ War (1756-1763)
• Began as rivalry over Ohio Valley
• Washington sent to Ohio territory by governor
of Virginia
– Washington attacked French troops
– Surrendered at Fort Necessity
• Became a global war
• 1759 Quebec fell to the British
Map 6-5 p104
Map 6-6 p105
Albany Plan of Union
• 1754 British government summoned an
intercolonial congress in Albany, NY
• Seven colonies sent delegates
• Purpose was to keep Iroquois allied with the
British
• Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan for colonial
home rule that was adopted by the delegates
but which never came to fruition
p106
Map 6-7a p108
Treaty of Paris (1763)
• France eliminated from North American
continent
• Spain received as compensation transMississippi Louisiana and New Orleans
• Great Britain emerged as the dominant power
in North America and the leading naval power
in the world.
Map 6-7b p108
Consequences
•
•
•
•
Colonial self-esteem raised
Colonists received military experience
British no longer seen as invincible
Tensions developed between British officers
and colonists. Colonists were looked upon
with contempt
• British officials upset that colonists did not
fully support the common cause
• War did encourage some colonial unity
• French and Spanish threat to the colonies was
eliminated/reduced
• Indians lost the ability to play off the
Europeans against each other
• Colonists had a new sense of destiny as a
growing people with a continent open before
them
Proclamation of 1763
• 1763 Pontiac’s Uprising
– Ottawa chief Pontiac led several tribes against the
British in the Ohio country, killing over 2000
soldiers and settlers
• Proclamation prohibited settlement in the
area beyond the Appalachians
• Colonists defied the proclamation and pushed
westward
– Attempt to prevent another uprising
Map 6-8 p110