Chapter 6 // The Duel for North America (1608-1763)
France Finds a Foothold in Canada
- Emergence as a European power
- Louis XIV becomes king in 1643
- Takes interest in North America
- 1608
- Quebec established
- led by Samuel de Champlain
- Friendly relations with Huron Indians
- Agree to battle against Iroquois
- Iroquois then ally themselves with Britain
- Government of New France
- Under direct control by Henry XIV
- French peasants had no motive to move out of France
- New government offered no freedom of religion
New France Fans Out
- Fur trade
- Beaver pelt hats in high demand in European market
- Voyageurs named many North American places during this period
- Recruited Indians into business
- Decimated Great Lakes beaver population
- Introduced French Catholic "Jesuit" Missionaries to North America
- Tried to convert Indians
- Attempted to save them from corrupt fur business
- Exploration
- Robert De la Salle
- Floated down Mississippi in 1682
- Named entire region Louisiana in honor of French king
- French persistently tried to block Spain from Gulf of Mexico
- Founded New Orleans in 1718
The Clash of Empires
- Queen Anne's War
- Both wars were made up of small detachments of troops engaging in guerilla warfare
- Neither country was deeply commited in either conflict
- Treat signed at Utrecht in 1713
- France and ally Spain defeated badly by Britain
- Britain given Acadia, Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay
George Washington Inaugurates War with France
- Ohio Valley
- Critical area for both France and Britain
- France wanted to connect Canadian and Mississippi territories
- Britain wanted to expand colonies westward
- Virginian families securing land rights to 500,000 acres in the area
- France building forts along Ohio River
- 1754
- George Washington sent to Ohio Valley with 150 militia
- First shots fired, French leader killed
- Washington soon overwhelmed and gave up land claims
- Britain uproots Acadiams in 1755
- Wary that they would betray British crown
Global War and Colonial Disunity
- French and Indian War
- Unofficially started with the shots fired by George Washington's men in 1754
- Fought throughout the West Indies, Europe, North America, Africa, and the Philippines
- French troops primarily based in Europe
- Left few resources for the battle in North America
- Eventually defeated by Britain in Europe
- General population of colonies was indifferent to war
- Only colonists close to the battles contributed
- Intercolonical Albany congress
- Tried instilling colonial unity
- Only 7 of 13 colonies sent delegates
- Benjamin Franklin become leader of the Congress
Braddock's Blundering and Its Aftermath
- General Braddock
- Sent to Virginia
- Ordered to capture Fort Duquesne
- French and Indian forces attacked from forests
- British forces forced to retreat with staggering losses
- Kept trying to conquer lands throughout American frontier
Pitt's Palms of Victory
- Strategy for victory
- Focused on the Montreal area
- Defeat French stronghold to conquer the rest of French lands
- Battle of Quebec
- 1759
- Montreal falls in 1760
- French troops driven out of North America
- 1763 Peace Treaty
- France relinquished all land in North America
- Allowed to keep several sugar islands in the West Indies
- Gave all Mississippi River area land to Britain
- Britain becomes dominant force in North America
- Strongest navy in world
War's Fateful Aftermath
- Americans wanted to spread westward
- Indian and Spanish threats reduced greatly after the war
- Pontiac's Uprising
- Ottawa chief Pontiac led allied Indian tribes, with French traders, against British settlements in Ohio Valley
- British retaliated by using biological warfare tactics
- Sent blankets infected with smallpox virus to Pontiac's tribes
- Quickly decimated population
- Rebellion quickly halted
- Proclomation of 1763
- Britain prohibited settlement west of the Appalachians
- Feared of another Indian rebellion
- Americans viewed proclamation as an attack on their liberty
- Many settlers resisted and proceeded to head west
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