Four Distinct Phases of European
Contact with rest of World
 Discovery, exploration, initial conquest and settlement
 Colonial trade among Spain, France, and Britain
 European Imperialism in Africa and Asia (19th century)
 Decolonization of peoples previously under European
Rule (20th century)
Treaty of Utrecht 1713
 Established boundaries of empire until 1750s
 Spain
 British
 French
 Dutch (technically – Would lose majority of holdings)
Mercantilism
 The economic theory behind the system of acquiring
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colonies
Governments regulate trade and commerce
Home country primary concern
Colonies provide resources; Home country industries
and protection
Navigation laws, tariffs, and bounties to encourage
production and discourage trade with other empires
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3u4EFTwprM
The West Indies and Indian
Subcontinent
 Great sources of rivalries
 Possessed resources that
appealed to Europeans
Spain Prior to Colonization
 Reconquista- Christian Crusade to recover Spain
(Iberian Peninsula from Islamic control)
Spanish Colonial System Prior to
1750s
 Initial Exploration is funded by crown (begins 1500s)
 Spanish Conquer- Well organized societies (Aztecs;
Incas)
 Ecomienda- Natives give tribute to Spanish
Conquerors
 Flota System- Control supplies and bullion that went
to and from Spain. No outside trade
 Establish government that is regulated by the Spanish
crown
British Colonial System Prior to
1750s
 Begins in 1600s
 Initial exploration is funded by Join-stock companies
(No crown regulation
 Colonists establish own government
 Government leaders respond to investors
 Minimal government interaction
Charles III 1759-1788
 French Bourbon
 Abolished Spanish Monopolies
 Opened more South American Ports to trade and
commerce
 Attempted to Increase taxes and end corruption
(smuggling and illicit trade)
 Intendent- District Administrator- Bring Empire
under Spanish Control
King George III and British Empire
1760s- 1776
 Attempts to Reassert control over British colonies
 Introduces several taxes attempt to control commerce
and trade
 Opposite of Charles III of Spain
Slave Labor
 Fundamental aspect of empire building
 Sugar Becomes most valuable export
 Natives died of disease from old world caused a
demand for labor
 Imported Africans from Central Africa, Sierra Leone,
Gold Coast
 Plantation System Established
 High Mortality rates drove constant need for slaves
The War of Jenkins Ear
 Spain and England Disagreed over British rights to
Spanish market in the West Indies
 1731 Spaniards cut off ear of English Captain Robert
Jenkins (Claims to be Commercial but in reality a
Pirate)
 1738- Robert Jenkins appears before parliament
 1739- War begins when Robert Walpole (British Prime
Minister) responds to pressure to stop Spanish
intervention in trade
The War of Austrian Succession
 In 1740 Frederick II of Prussia seized Silesia, an
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Austrian Providence belonging to Habsburgs
Cardinal Fleury, minister to Louis XV (France)
supported Prussian aggression against Austria
British feel threatened by this; Desire for Low
Countries to remain in Austrian Control and not
French
1744- British French conflict expands to new world.
France supported Spain against British
1748- Ends in stalemate
The Diplomatic Revolution 1756
 Involved a Series of alliances that set the stage for
larger European conflict
 Convention of Westminster Alliance aimed at preventing troops from entering
Germany
 Britain allies with Austria
 Austria allies with France with the goal to crush Prussia
Seven Years War 1756-1763
Same time as French and Indian
War in Colonies
 Frederick II of Prussian invasion of Saxony
 Led to France, Austria, Sweden, Russia, and small
German states agree to destroy Prussia
 Russia and Prussia made Peace
 Frederick II held of Austria and France
 William Pitt (England)- used soldiers in American
Colonies, Canada, and India to fight France across the
globe and gain English possessions
Treaty of Paris 1763
 France and Britain
 Britain Receive all of Canada, Ohio River Valley,
eastern half of Mississippi Valley
 Britain Returns Pondicherry and Chadermangore in India;
 West Indian Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
The American Revolution and
Europe
 Britain Attempts to place Seven Years War debt on to
American Colonist (who fought in the war)
 Attempts to reassert control
 Taxation without Representation
 1764 Sugar Act; 1765 Stamp Act
 1770- Boston Massacre
 1773- Boston Tea Party (first of several)
1783 Treaty of Paris
 Fighting ends in 1781- Washington defeats Cornwallis
in Yorktown with the help of France and Spain
 Treaty of Paris Concluded conflict
 Colonist establish government based on popular
consent rather than divine law or monarchy