STRUGGLE FOR EMPIRE
I. British Trade Policies
A. Introduction to Mercantilism -- economic theory of the 16th-18th centuries
1. This theory dominated European thought and promoted economic regulation
(commerce, industry and labor) by a government in order to increase the power of
the state at the expense of other nations.
2. Mercantilism provided a favorable climate for the growth of capitalism.
3. Its objectives included:
a. Accumulate an adequate stock of precious metals (gold, silver) either by mining
or trading because a nation's wealth = accumulated metals.
b. Protect home industries against foreign competition;
c. Enable home industries to compete successfully in foreign markets by assuring
the supply of necessary raw materials (from colonies) and low production costs
(subsistence labor);
d. Create a prosperous and powerful national state or self-sufficing empire.
4. Necessary Components
a. A "favorable" balance of trade was defined as an excess of exports over
imports;
b. Colonies were essential sources of raw materials and markets for finished
products;
c. A large population was needed in order to insure an adequate labor supply, an
increasing market, and sufficient man power for the military;
d. Manufacturing was favored over agriculture, processing over raw materials,
the mother country over the colonies ;
5. The government assumed the authority to pass laws which regulated trade
between the colonies and other countries and between the colonies and the mother
country
a. Such laws limited colonial manufacturing, favoring England over its colonies.
b. Under its authority to regulate trade, Parliament aided the Enclosure Movement
.
(1) English farmland was enclosed with fences for the pasturing of sheep in order
to produce wool for the growing textile industry;
(2) Peasant farmers became drifters from city to city, seeking employment but
only a few were absorbed into other industries, giving a false impression of too
much population for colonies.
B. Critics of Mercantilism
1. Advocates of laissez-faire, active by the mid-18th century, opposed British
Mercantile practices.
2. The chief critic was an economics professor from Glascow, Adam Smith ,
[Wealth of Nations (1776)] named the economic system mercantilism and
included among his ideas:
a. All parties in a free mutual trade could gain;
b. A nation's wealth is not the sum total of its precious metals;
c. A free market produces a more representative government;
d. There should be no monopolies or price-fixing;
e. Unbalanced budgets lead to wars;
f. Taxation with representation.
II. Mercantilism Implemented
A. Early Attempts 1620
1. Parliament under the Stuarts left colonial economic development up to the crown.
2. By agreement, in exchange for 1 shilling per pound tax, tobacco would not be
grown in England.
B. During the Interregnum 1650-60
1. In an attempt to stop Dutch control of English trade, Parliament
a. banned foreign ships from trading in English colonies without a special license;
b. required goods coming into England, Ireland or the colonies from Asia, Africa
or America be shipped on ships owned by and sailed under English masters and
mostly English crews;
c. required that European goods into England, Ireland and the colonies be shipped
on English ships or on ships of the country of origin;
d. required that foreign goods into England be ships fromthe place of production;
e. prohibited importing fish from foreign sources; and,
f. excluded all foreign ships from English coasting trade.
2. Because of hardships imposed on the colonies and a lack of English ships to
replace Dutch ships, some colonies (VA, MA, RI, CN) announced their intention
of still trading with the Dutch.
C. After the Restoration 1660 - principle regulatory trade measures relating to the colonies
included Acts of Trade and Navigation (1660-1767):
1. Navigation Act 1660
a. No goods or commodities regardless of point of origin could be imported into
or exported from any English colony except in English-built or owned ships with
a master and 3/4 English crew;
b. Certain enumerated items (sugar, tobacco, indigo) grown in the colonies could
be shipped only to England or her colonies.
2. Act of Frauds 1662 limited the provisions of the Act of 1660 only to English-built
ships bought after 1662.
3. Navigation Act 1663
a. This benefit to English merchants further required that the shipment of
European goods destined for the colonies be shipped from England on Englishbuilt ships.
b. Certain specified items were exempted (salt for fisheries in New England and
Newfoundland, and perishable items such as wine from Madeira and the Azores
and provisions, servants and horses from Scotland and Ireland).
4. Navigation Act 1673
a. Assessed duties on enumerated items at the port of clearance if shipped from
one plantation to another;
b. Provided for the appointment of customs commissioners to collect the duties.
5. Navigation Act 1696
a. All colonial trade limited to English-built ships;
b. Gave provincial customs officers the same powers as in England;
c. Required posted bonds on enumerated commodities even when plantation
duties were paid;
d. Enlarged the responsibility of colonial naval officers; and,
e. Voided all colonial laws which were contrary to the Navigation Acts.
6. Expanded Enumerated Articles 1705 (shipped only to English ports)
a. Rice (in Carolina) and molasses (the mainstay of the West Indies economy)
b. By the time of the Revolution the only key item not enumerated was salt fish.
D. Other Restrictions to Regulate Industry
1. Laws which benefitted the Colonies
a. Bounties were paid for 11 years on naval stores (pitch and tar per ton, rosin and
turpentine, hemp, masts, yards and bowsprits) and bonuses on indigo production
b. Tobacco from Spain was frozen out of the English market.
2. Additional restrictions
a. Colonists could not trade with Asia -- East India Company had the monopoly.
b. The colonies were encouraged to trade with one another, although Scotland was
considered foreign until the Act of Union in 1701.
c. The colonies could not produce anything to compete with England's industry
(1) Wool Act 1699 forbade the export of wool products from any American
colony either overseas or from intercolonial trade, and restricted Irish woolen
manufacture, resulting in many Irish immigrants to the American colonies
because of the depression created by this action;
(2) Hat Act 1732, because of stiff competition from the French, prohibited the
exportation of hats from one colony to another, limited the pursuit of this trade in
the colonies to those who had served a seven-year apprenticeship, limited the
number of apprentices to two per shop, and barred the employment of Negro
apprentices. (Sporadic enforcement);
(3) Molasses Act 1733, protected British West Indies planters by levying a duty of
9d per gallon of rum and spirits, 6d on molasses and 5s. per hundredweight on
sugar to the continental colonies from foreign sources. (Unenforceable);
(4) Iron Acts 1750, 1757 forbade the building of rolling and slitting mills, tilthammer forges and steel furnaces in the colonies, but permitted pig and bar iron
to enter England duty free;
d. By 1767 all non-enumerated goods destined for Europe had to be shipped first
to England, although in reality this was already being done to a large extent.
3. Triangular Trade
a. New England fish and lumber or Middle Colonies flour were sent to the West
Indies (English or foreign) in exchange for sugar, molasses, or rum which was
then hauled to London for English goods for the American colonies.
b. New England to the West Indies for rum shipped to West Africa for slaves.
c. Boston was the main port of entry for the New England and Middle colonies.
E. Agencies Created to Aid Enforcement of Trade Laws
1. The king's Government
a. Privy Council operated as the crown's major advisors, like a cabinet.
b. Lords of Trade , Committee for Trade and Plantations of the Privy Council,
from 1660-95.
c. Secretary of State , in charge of foreign policy, was over colonial governors
who were responsible to him for colonial defense.
d. Board of Trade functioned from 1696-1782, supervising trade/
(1) It reviewed colonial legislation to determine if a law was prejudicial to trade,
or in conflict with imperial policy the laws of England.
(2) Of 8,563 acts, 469 were disallowed (more from PA than elsewhere).
e. Treasury Board 1673-76
(1) Its colonial functions were greatly expanded as a result of the Navigation
Laws.
(2) Under its jurisdiction was the commissioners of customs .
(3) Naval officers to enter and clear vessels were appointed to enforce the Acts of
Trade.
f. Vice-Admiralty Courts Established
(1) After the act of 1696, courts were established with jurisdiction over the Acts
of Trade and ordinary maritime cases.
(2) Admiralty courts established by Townshend Acts 1767 centered final control
in America.
2. Beliefs Prevalent in the English Government
a. Divine Right of Kings - authority was centralized in the monarch who might
delegate his powers, which he derived directly from God;
b. Virtual Representation - Every Englishmen was represented by Parliament,
which represented the best interests of the empire;
c. Limited Suffrage - limited voting to adult males with sufficient property, about
1 of every 6;
d. Unwritten Constitution - no formal document to which Englishmen could point,
but a series of documents and precedents made up the English "constitution";
e. Anglican or Church of England - official, established, tax-supported church in
England with the king as its head (later the Archbishop of Cantebury);
f. Basic English Rights - English colonists were comfortable with English
political institutions; English colonial charters had to guarantee in every case that
all citizens had basic English rights.
F. Beginnings of Colonial Government
1. Components
a. Royal Governor -- chief representative of the crown in the royal colonies
(1) He was guided by policies formulated by the Board of Trade.
(2) He usually served until his death or until recalled by the one who appointed
him.
(3) His authority was gradually undermined by colonial assemblies and the home
government.
b. Council
(1) It was appointed to advise the Governor.
(2) All councils (except PA) helped determine the laws of the colony.
(3) It sometimes functions as a supreme court, combining in a single body, the
function of the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
c. Assembly
(1) From the beginning, colonists were allowed limited representative government
(2) These legislative bodies exercised much local control, often running the affairs
of the towns
(3) The distance between Britain and the colonies coupled with periods of seemingly great neglect gave colonists some valuable experience in self-government.
(a) By mid-1700s, many had such experience running local and colonial affairs
(b) Although colonists were English and proud of their citizenship, over a period
of 100 years some colonial patterns of government changed.
G. Relationship Between the Governors and Colonial Assemblies
1. Assemblies often conflicted with appointed governors over expenses -- power of
the purse.
a. The people retained the right to audit the accounts of any public official, which
enabled them to decide even the salary of the governor.
b. Because the Governor usually lost in a conflict over expenditures, his reliance
on local legislatures resulted in a measure of cooperation between the two.
2. The power of colonial assemblies increased because in actual practice, these
assemblies had more power in running their affairs than equivalent assemblies in
other colonies or in England.
3. Changes Within the Colonial Pattern of Government
a. Colonial agents were appointed by the legislatures to lobby in England while in
England the power of Parliament was increasing at the expense of the Crown.
b. Voting rights were gradually extended in the colonies because property
ownership was greater and more people were self-sufficient which let more adult
white males vote.
c. The lower houses strengthened their power with the result that by the mid1700s, a theory of government was beginning to develop.
(1) Individuals had a right to an elected privilege.
(2) Authority was perceived to rest with the land owner, with an individual citizen
or with a voter, not with the King.
(3) Virtual representation was gradually replaced with a concept of actual
representation as colonial legislatures became in the colonists' mind equal to
Parliament, because no colonial representatives went to Parliament.
(4) The colonists came to believe that their rights had been clearly defined in the
original written charters, which created a desire for a written document, spelling
out citizen rights -- a written rather than an understood traditional constitution.
(5) A complete change had occurred by the 1750s from that of the early 1600s.
4. Changes within the Colonies
a. Within each colony struggles for political control took place usually between
older sea-coast towns, and newer, less populated frontier areas over issues like:
(1) Indian control - a constant threat to the frontier areas, but less so on the coast
as colonies spread inland;
(2) representation - frontier areas often felt that they were under represented as
they increased in population which created a constant struggle over
reapportionment;
(3) money - urban merchants desired payment in gold or silver in order to
purchase goods from England while farmers, with assets tied to the land and little
cash to pay for needed goods, desired paper money as a medium of exchange.
b. Not only did the colonies struggle within themselves, they often did not work
well together although some attempts at intercolonial government did occur, like
the Confederation of New England , an agreement of the News England colonies
to work together - Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticutt, and New Haven.
5. Changes within Colonial Society
a. Social structures tended to be more flexible, making it easier to move into a
higher social structure than on the Continent.
(1) By the mid-1700s, a class structure existed in America but it was based on
economic status and remained very fluid.
(2) It was easy to move up or down the social ladder, especially for white males.
b. Workers were valued more, because of their scarcity, allowing even the rigid
rules of apprenticeship to be relaxed.
(1) The role of the servant and laborer changed -- those who worked with their
hands were seen as valuable assets in a frontier society.
(2) Laws and regulations governing the relationship between master and servant
were not strictly enforced because a laborer was valued by what he could do.
(3) Because of the availability of land, all sons gained land for their own families,
and the idea of an inherited aristocracy was greatly lessened.
c. Initially, colonial women fared better because of scarcity, having more
authority
(1) Although the wife was seen as a helper in the family whose skills were
necessary, her role was defined within the context of a family.
(2) Protestants emphasized the value of the individual soul which demonstrated
that in God's eyes at least, a woman's soul was worth that of a man's.
(3) Protestant daughters, at least in New England, were better educated because of
this interest in their souls.
(4) Because of their's father's encouragement, colonial women developed a greater
sense of self-worth and were greater achievers.
d. The emphasis on reading the Bible left a strong desire for education at least in
the upper colonies
e. Rise of Religious Toleration
(1) Most colonies began with a tax-supported established church (not PA, RI, DE)
(a) New Jersey was more political than religious.
(b) New England began with the Puritans but gradually was split equally with
Anglicans.
(c) Several other colonies later added the Church of England.
(2) On the eve of the Revolution, a feeling had developed that an established
church was not necessary and in the states where an established church existed,
laws were usually not enforced
(3) Several reasons for this change of attitude were given:
(a) the stress on rugged individualism;
(b) many colonial churches developed along congregational lines, choosing their
minister;
(c) colonies let several in who were not members of the Church of England;
(d) distance between the Church of England and the colonies was too great
i) Church of England provided few ordained ministers to the colonies and gave no
bishop, leaving the day-to-day running of the Anglican church in laymen's hands.
ii) The first Anglican minister did not arrive in South Carolina until forty years
after the colony was founded.
(e) England's Act of Toleration 1649 allowed other groups to worship in England
and was extended to the colonies as well.
(4) Only three colonies had established churches supported by state taxes when
the Revolutionary War began - MA, NH, CN - old Puritan or Congregational
form.
III. Anglo-French Colonial Rivalry to 1763
A. Rivalry over Fisheries 1497-1604
1. Although John Cabot and his crew were the first Europeans to have visited the
Newfoundland coast, the French had fished these waters since 1504 and were in a
dominant position by 1540.
2. After 1560 Portuguese and Spanish fishermen entered these waters.
3. Until 1578, England remained dependent upon Iceland fisheries.
4. English fishermen introduced "dry fishing" in the Newfoundland area, which
freed them from a dependence upon sources of solar salt from France and
Portugal.
5. France sought land bases on which to dry their catch, but the best bases in
Newfound-land were already taken by England.
B. Beginning of Fur Trade 1534-99
1. Following Cartier's discoveries, France developed the first contacts with the
Indians.
2. As French land bases increased, the fur trade on the St. Lawrence was developed
by the 1580s.
3. As the beaver pelt came into demand for hatmaking, the extinction of the beaver
forced the fur trade into the interior.
C. French-Indian Relations 1609-27
1. French entry into the St Lawrence area challenged its control by the Five Nations
of the Iroquois.
2. Other Indian groups promised the French a steady supply of furs for help in
ousting the Iroquois from the area, making the Iroquois allies with any European
nation against France.
3. The English attacked French outposts in the area and captured Quebec in 1629,
but the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye (March 1632) returned Acadia and the St
Lawrence to France.
D. Acadian Developments 1632-70
1. Civil wars, factionalism and struggles with English settlers lessened competition
from France with New England's fish and fur trade.
2. Under the Treaty of Breda (July 1667) Acadia was again returned to French
control.
3. Following Champlain's return to Canada (1632-35) a period of expansion settled
in, with increased exploration of the interior and the reestablishment of Jesuit
missions.
4. The Dutch with the Iroquois (1642-53) disrupted the French fur trade.
5. Although the Iroquois were victorious, because of overextension, they signed a
peace treaty with the French in Nov 1653.
6. After this peace, the French government pressed for colonization in the area of the
Great Lakes, renewed their war against the Five Nations until further peace was
made (1666), and explored south of Lake Erie, penetrating deep into present Ohio
(1669-70).
E. Expansion into the Mississippi Valley (1673-83)
1. The French penetrated as far south as Arkansas down the Mississippi (1673).
2. Father Louis Hennepin (1640-1701) was the first to describe Niagara Falls (1678).
3. Hennepin also discovered St. Anthony's Falls in Minnesota in 1680.
4. Rene Robert Cavelier, Seiur de la Salle later paddled down the Mississippi to its
mouth (1682), claiming the entire region for France, which he dubbed Louisiana .
F. Struggle for the Hudson Bay (1668-88)
1. Prince Rupert, cousin to the king, chartered a syndicate (1670), Governor and
Company of Adventurers of England into Hudson's Bay .
2. A French force under Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville (1661-1706) captured
three English posts on James Bay in 1686 and established two other posts of their
own.
3. Desiring to establish a base of operations against the Spanish, La Salle sailed from
France with a small fleet to the Gulf of Mexico, but failing to find the mouth of
the Mississippi, landed at Matagorda Bay TX in Jan 1685, trying instead to reach
Canada on foot, before his men murdered him on the Brazos in 1687.
4. With encouragement from the English, the Iroquois again raided and wrecked the
fur trade in the Ohio and St. Lawrence Valleys (1684-89).
IV. Struggle for Empire
A. First Two Intercolonial Wars - Although beginning in Europe (England vs France + Indian
Allies), neither side was committed seriously yet to providing many troops in North America, the
value of which was not yet perceived.
1. William III (1685-1702) - War of League of Augsburg (May 1689-Sept 1697)
a. Advantages
(1) French - centralized control, strategically placed forts, the most formidable
army on the European continent at the time, numerous Indian allies and fur traders
with extensive knowledge of the forests and trails in the area of conflict.
(2) English - numerical superioity (100,000+ in New England to 12,000 in New
France 1688), allies among the Iroquois, naval superiority (esp when allied with
the Dutch) and trading and financial superiority.
b. Outbreak of Hostilities
(1) European phase - when William III joined the League of Augsburg and the
Dutch in resistance to Louis XIV's invasion of the Rhenish Palatinate (Sept 1688),
war began.
(2) In America, the English and French fought on Hudson Bay and the Iroquois
and French fought in the St Lawrence area.
(3) The only successful English colonial operation was the seizure of Port Royal
(May 1690) by an expedition from Massachusetts under Sir William Phips
c. The inconclusive Treaty of Ryswick (Sept 1697) turned the question of the
Hudson Bay over to a commission.
2. Anne (1702-14) - War of Spanish Succession [Queen Anne's War ] May 1702 Apr 1713
a. Outbreak of Hostilities
(1) To prevent cooperation between France and Spain after Charles II of Spain
(Nov 1700) died, Grand Alliance , established in Sept 1701, declared war on
France in May 1702.
(2) In New England, the war followed a similar pattern as the previous conflict.
b. Treaty of Utrecht April 1713
(1) Newfoundland, Acadia and Nova Scotia were ceded to Britain, although
France retained Cape Breton Island and the St Lawrence islands. (Inexact
boundaries for Acadia, Hudson Bay and the interior paved the way for later
conflicts).
(2) Britain also received the Assiento , a contract allowing the South Sea Co. to
import into the Spanish colonies 4,800 Africans per year for 30 years and one
trading ship per year.
B. Interlude Between the Wars
1. French Expansion On the Mississippi 1718-29
a. Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded New Orleans in Nov 1718.
b. Many settlers from Canada settled along the Missouri and Illinois rivers
(1720s).
c. Hostility from Indians in present Mississippi, Alabama and the Carolinas kept
the French confined to the Louisiana valley.
2. Yamassee War on the Carolina Frontier 1715-28
a. Yamasse Indians raided northwest of Port Royal, resenting the Carolinian
trading practices.
b. Ultimately the Carolinians defeated these Indians and almost eliminated the
Creeks.
c. They established new forts in 1718 as a defence against the French and
Spanish, even though the Spanish protested.
d. A brief Anglo-Spanish War (Feb 1727 - Mar 1728) motivated the Carolinians
to march into Florida to destroy a Yamassee village near St. Augustine in March
1728.
3. Under George I (1714-27), the colonies were neglected the most in what has been
called the Period of Salutary Neglect .
4. Founding of Georgia 1732-52 - James Edward Oglethorpe (1696-1785), a Tory in
Parliament, desired to provide relief for English pauperism, and Georgia was
created as a buffer state between Spanish Florida and the profitable Carolinian
colonies.
C. Additional World Wars
1. George II (1727-60)
a. A minor eruption (1739), War of Jenkin's Ear between the Spanish and English
in the Caribbean and Georgia soon expanded into another serious war.
(1) Britain, aroused by alleged mistreatment of its merchant seamen, esp Robert
Jenkins , (abuses provoked by English abuses of the Assiento and by English
logwooders on the Honduran coast and the unsettled Florida border), declared war
on Spain in Oct 1739.
(2) Oglethorpe, with the protection of friendly Indians to the west, attacked
Florida and laid siege to St. Augustine in 1740.
(3) Spanish counterattacks were unsuccessful.
b. This erupted into King George's War (War of Austrian Succession ) 1740-48
when Frederick II of Prussia invaded Silesia (Dec 1740) after Emperor Charles VI
died in Oct.
(1) France and Prussia invaded southern Germany in June 1641.
(2) Second Family Compact between France and Spain (Oct 1743) freed France to
pursue war with England (Mar 1744), but neither side prosecuted the war
vigorously in the Americas
(3) The inconclusive Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Oct 1748) restored the status quo
ante bellum and returned Louisbourg to France.
2. Fourth and Final War for Empire - Seven Years War (French and Indian War )
a. Background - To strengthen their hold on Nova Scotia, Lord Halifax sent 2,500
settlers in 1749 to found the town of Halifax
(1) The English slowly migrated into French territory in the Ohio Valley.
(a) Ohio Valley traders from PA, led by George Crogan and Conrad Weiser who
developed friendly relations with local Indians, and English land speculators, esp
from VA, led by Christopher Gist (1750) and who secured the rights to 1/2
million acres in the Ohio Valley, soon created tension with the French who
already claimed the area.
(b) The French sent Celoron de Bienville into the Ohio Valley (1749) while
strengthening their forts at Toronto and Detroit and establishing new posts.
(2) In 1752 the French attacked English trading posts throughout the Ohio valley.
(3) The government of Virginia dispatched 21-year-old George Washington to
protest these attacks and to determine French intentions.
b. Hostilities Began (April - July 1754)
(1) The English attempted to build a fort at the Forts of the Ohio, but the French
seized the site and erected Ft. Duquesne.
(2) Washington and an advance party of 150 built Ft. Necessity at Great
Meadows, later reinforced and resisted a larger French force before finally
capitulating.
c. Albany Congress (June - July 1754)
(1) Delegates from New England, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland met at
Albany to make a treaty with the wavering Iroquois.
(2) Benjamin Franklin 's (PA) Plan of Union (aka Albany Plan ) called for a union
of all colonies except Georgia and Nova Scotia.
(a) A grand council elected by the colonial assemblies (from 2 to 7 delegates
depending on the amount contributed to a general treasury) would have legislative
power (subject to approval of the president general and crown).
(b) The council would have jusidiction over Indian affairs as well as purchase of
new lands not with the boundaries of already existing colonies.
(c) But Franklin's plan was rejected not only by the home government, but also by
the colonies, who did not want to give up individual powers.
(d) The Board of Trade proposed that a single commander-in-chief be selected
and a commissary of Indian affairs be appointed to handle Indian matters.
d. Battle of the Wilderness (July 1755)
(1) General Edward Braddock (1695-1755) was sent to Virginia as commander in
chief of British forces in America.
(2) As head of 1,400 British regulars and 450 colonials under LTC Washington,
he led an expedition against Ft. Duquesne
(3) Near the fort, British forces were surrounded by 900 French and Indian forces,
defeated, and Braddock was mortally wounded.
(4) Washington led the remnant of English forces back to Ft. Cumberland
(5) In response, the British uprooted 6,000 Acadians in 1755 (July-Oct), forcing
many to flee to as far away as Louisiana
e. War Spread to Europe
(1) French and Indian War began in the colonies, undeclared for two years,
erupted on the continent, Seven Years War (England + Prussia vs France + Spain
+ Austria + Russia).
(2) Initially, the British suffered serious setbacks in Europe and in America.
(3) The bloodiest fighting occurred in Germany, where the French were
successful in the first months of the war.
(4) By 1757, Prime Minister William Pitt (1708-78), the "Great Commoner,"
com-mitted the government to unlimited warfare, reinforcements in America, and
subsidies to colonial allies (which required higher taxes and loans).
f. Further English Reversals in America 1757-58
(1) French forces in America were commanded by Louis Joseph, Marquis de
Montcalm (1712-59), who arrived in Canada in May 1756.
(2) British forces, commanded by John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun, arrived in
July, although he was hampered by a lack of enthusiasm from colonial
assemblies.
(3) The British suffered the loss of several forts including Fort William Henry,
after which the surrendered British forces were set upon by the Indians.
(4) A planned attack upon Louisbourg was abandoned, after a hurricane destroyed
the British fleet, and a British assault on Ticonderoga in July 1758, led by the new
commander James Ambercromby (1706-81), was routed with heavy English
casualties.
(5) Fortunately for the British colonies in America, the French used so much
effort in Europe, that they did not adequately defend their colonies in North
America.
g. English Successes 1758-59
(1) In July 1758, the British under MG Jeffrey Amherst (1717-97) and BG James
Wolfe (1727-59) with 40 ships, 9,000 British regulars and 500 colonials took
Louisbourg.
(2)Ambercromby was replaced by Amherst in Sept.
(3) Other actions forced the French to abandone Fort Duquesne by Nov.
(4) Pitt's Three-Prong Military Campaign shifted the struggle away from the
French West Indies to an assault on French Canada.
(a) Capture Ft. Niagara and reinforce Oswego, cutting the West from St.
Lawrence
(b) Strike through Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence Valley
(c) Attack Quebec amphibiously
(5) Ft. Niagara fell to a British force of 2,000 (July 1759), Oswego was reinforced
the British sailed up the St. Lawrence to engage the French, and the French had to
abandon their posts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
(6) The British under Wolfe (4,500 troops) launched a successful assault above
Quebec on the Plains of Abraham (Aug 1759)., a plateau above the city, engaged
the French forces under Montcalm (3,000 troops) and forced Quebec's surrender
by Sept (both military leaders killed).
3. George III (1760-1820)
a. The new monarch inherited this conflict, but British fortunes turned in their
favor.
(1) Battle of Quebec had resulted in the fall of Montreal after which Canada's
governor surrendered the entire province (Sept 1760).
(2) MAJ Robert Rogers (1731-95) took possession of Detroit and other Great
Lakes' posts (1760-61).
b. Spanish involvement 1761-62
(1) Spain, fearing an upset of the balance of European power, allied with France
(2) Martinique, St. Lucia, Grenada, all French possessions, fell to the British and
the Spanish lost Havanna in Aug 1762 and Manila in Oct.
(3) To compensate Spain for its loss of Cuba, France gave to Spain in the secret
Treaty of Fontainebleu (Nov 1762) all territory west of Mississippi and the Isle of
Orleans.
c. Treaty of Paris Feb 1763
(1) The West European and colonial phases of the 7 Years' War ended by this
treaty, whereby France ceded all claims to Acadia, Cape Breton, Canada and the
islands of St. Lawrence.
(2) France further yielded all territory east of the Mississippi, except the city of
New Orleans.
(3) France retained fishing rights off the coast of New Foundland and kept the
islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.
(4) Britain returned to France the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the
French West Indies and was restored St. Vincent, Dominica and Tobago.
(5) The status quo ante bellum was followed in India.
(6) In exchange for East and West Florida, Cuba was returned to Spain and
British forts on the Honduran coast were destroyed, although English logwooders
could still operate in the area.
d. For all intents and purposes, France was out of North America and the dividing
line was the Mississippi River with the British on the East and the Spanish on the
West.