French & English
Mercantilist Wars
(French & Indian War or
the Seven Years’ War)
What were the causes of the French & Indian War?
Why was 1763 (the year the War ended) a “turning
point” in the relationship between England & its
North American colonies?
French & English Colonial Wars
These regulations
beganEnglish
with
■The introduction
of new
the Navigation
Acts
in 1660 its
mercantilist
policies
changed
economic
& militarypolicies
attitude
New mercantilist
after the
towards
colonies:
Frenchthe
& Indian
War led to colonial
resentment
&
the
American
Revolution
–England increased protective
tariffs & trade regulations so the
colonies worked for motherland
The French & Indian War
–If changed
that failed,
go
to
war
with
EVERYTHING between
economic
rivals
& colonies
get the
England
& the
colonists to fight too
French & English Colonial Wars
■A series of European conflicts
involving England & France spilled
over into colonial North America:
–King William’s War (1689-1697)
–Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713)
–King George's War (1743-1748)
■These wars were based on
mercantilist competition & had
little political significance, but…
…these wars led to a land frenzy in the
1750s, among French & British colonists
Territorial disputes along the Ohio River
sparked the French & Indian War
Westward
Expansion &
Land Conflicts,
1750-1775
Three major expansion/land conflicts
■“Paxton Boys”
■Regulators
■Ohio Land Speculation
Turning Point: 1754
■1754 proved to be a turning point
in American colonial history
■In
1754,
officials
& power
This
would
giveEnglish
the colonists
too much
colonists met to discuss Iroquois
Theproblems
plan was too
expensive
&
would
limit
at
the
Albany
Congress
each colony’s power to control its own actions
–Benjamin Franklin proposed the
Albany Plan of Union for a
coordinated colonial army
–The plan was vetoed by colonial
assemblies & Parliament
Ben Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union
America’s 1st political cartoon
Turning
Point:
In 1754, VA
governor
sent 221754
year old George
Washington to protect an Ohio Company claim
Washington’s troops were forced to retreat
from Fort Duquesne; This clash proved to be
the beginning of the French & Indian War
French & Indian War
The French & Indian War
■ The war went bad for England from 1756
to 1758
■ Fort William Henry: "massacre" of the
English by French-allied Natives (Ottawa)
(1756); French refuse to share goods won
■ British had already angered Natives in the
North; this allowed the French to gain
alliances
■ French also had better commanders of
their armies at the time
The French & Indian War
■In 1757, Prime Minister William
Pitt took command of the military:
–Used well-qualified generals
–Had a “blank check” to fund the
war in America, India, & Europe
–In 1758, the tide of the war
turned; England won by 1760
1758-1761
The Tide
Turns for
England
By 1761,
Spain
became an
ally of
France
Treaty of Paris
■France—lost Canada, most of its
empire in India, & claims to lands
east of the Mississippi River
■Spain—got all French lands west
of the Miss. River, New Orleans,
but lost Florida to England
■England—gained all French lands
in Canada, exclusive rights to the
Caribbean slave trade, & total
control of India
North
America
after
1763
America in 1750
America in 1763
How was 1763 a
“turning point”
in the British-colonial
relationship?
Perceptions of the War
■Colonial views:
–Colonies could be very strong
when they worked together
–Newly gained frontier presented
opportunities for wealth & land
–Colonists learned how to fight
■English views:
–Americans were slow to organize
& balked at helping raise money
even to protect their own lands
Effects of the War on Americans?
■The 1760s were an affluent &
optimistic “post-war” period:
–The French & Indian War united
the colonists against a common
enemy for the 1st time
–Most colonists considered
themselves proud members of
England’s empire with little
(if any) thought of independence
Effects of the War on Britain?
■The war increased England’s
colonial empire in North America
■But, the Pitt’s “blank check”
greatly enlarged England’s debt
■Britain’s contempt for the
colonials created bitter feelings
■As a result, English leaders felt
that a major reorganization of its
American empire was necessary!
Eroding Bonds
of the Empire
Parliamentary Sovereignty
■In 1760, George III became king
& began a new colonial attitude:
Parliamentary Sovereignty
–English officials assumed that
Parliament must have ultimate
authority over ALL laws & taxes
–The colonists tried to reserve
the colonial authority for their
own legislatures
“No Taxation Without
Representation”
■The colonists assumed that their
assemblies
were quasi-equal
Parliament represents
ALL British to
citizens no matter
wherethey
they live
Parliament
because
had no
Parliamentary representatives
■British officials countered with
“virtual representation” argument
■The colonists insisted that only
their colonial assemblies could
tax Americans
Two Theories of Representation
■ What was the extent of Parliament’s
authority over the colonies?
Absolute? OR Limited?
■ How could the colonies accept the
decisions of Parliament when they
did not have representation in that
governmental body?
Eroding the Bonds of Empire
■After the Seven Years War,
everyone expected George to
remove British army from America
(French were no longer a threat)
■But…this large, expensive army
was not removed
–British citizens were not happy
because they had to pay for it
–Colonists doubted the army’s
ability to defend against Indians
Pontiac’s War
■Backcountry natives banded
together to repel white frontier
settlers during Pontiac’s War:
–Indian successes exposed the
English army’s
colonistsweakness
flooded across the
British
Appalachian Mountains:
–Attacks
revealed
“There’s all
this land desperation
& no French!!”of
Native Americans after the
withdrawal of their French allies
–Colonials took matters into their
own hands (Paxton Boys in PA)
Pontiac’s Rebellion, 1763
Fort Detroit
■ Chief Pontiac led the Ottawa & other
tribes against colonists due to:
–The flood of colonists into Ohio Country
–British “gifts” of smallpox-infected
blankets from Fort Pitt
Retaliatory attacks by frontier colonists (like the
Paxton Boys in Pennsylvania) were common
The Proclamation of 1763
■In response to Pontiac’s War, the
British government established
the Proclamation Line of 1763:
–This law forbade colonists from
settling across the Appalachian
Mountains (for their own
protection)
–Americans viewed the line as an
obstruction to their “legitimate
economic development”
North
America
in 1763
New Political Ideas
All gov’ts
are susceptible
to corruption,
■ The
introduction
of Parliamentary
tyranny, & intrusion upon citizens’ liberty
sovereignty contradicted England’s
“Virtuous”
citizens
must fight
tyranny
original
policy
of salutary
neglect
–The influx of new political ideas of
the European Enlightenment
began to impact colonial thought
(especially those of John Locke)
–While no colonists were thinking
of independence by 1763, many
became committed to “natural
rights” & opposed to “tyranny”
Conclusions:
Rule Britannia?
Rule Britannia?
■Despite the mounting tensions
between the English government
& American colonists by 1763,
most Americans were loyal
“brothers” to England due of:
–a shared British culture
–dependence upon British
consumer goods
–shared nationalism after British
military victories against France