EMPIRE UNDER STRAIN

DESPITE THE FREQUENT RESISTANCE, COLONISTS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES LOYAL!

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

The War raged from 1750’s-1760’s.

In Europe the war was known as the SEVEN

YEARS WAR!The war brought

Americans closer to British authority than

ever before.It showed the underlying tensions of the colonial

relationship.

BACKGROUND1750S

French settlements were expanding in North America.It stretched from Louisiana to Canada.

The French built fortresses, missions, trading posts, and towns to hold this vast area.

Native AmericansFrench and English knew they needed help from the natives.

Native alliances and allegiances were determined by which side offered more.

English offered better quality and more plentiful goods.French offered tolerance of native waysThey adjusted their lives to match the Natives.

Result: French had a better and closer relations than the English.

SMALLER WARSKing William’s War- 1689-1697: Mostly indecisive

clashes.Queen Anne’s War- 1701-

1711: More indecisive clashes. The Treaty of

Utrecht ended this conflict.English gained Nova

Scotia and Newfoundland.King George’s War- 1744-

1748: The Native Americans began to have

poor relations with both the English and the French.

THE GREAT WAR FOR EMPIRE (FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR)

1754Governor of Virginia- Sent troops under George Washington to capture Fort

Duquesne.Washington was forced to surrender.

This attack was the start of the French and Indian War.This war lasted for nine years.

1754-1759The Colonists fought largely on their own and were defending themselves.

1757English Secretary of State- William Pitt

He planned and controlled the British Army.To replenish the army, British commanders began to use impressments.

The Colonists were forced to join the British army.Officers seized supplies, equipment, and shelter from the colonists without compensation.

How Do You think the Colonists Reacted?

THE GREAT WAR FOR EMPIRE (FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR)

1758Pitt agreed to reimburse the colonists for what the army took.

He returned control of military recruitment to colonial assemblies.Also he dispatched large numbers of additional troops to America.

Mid 1758British regulars and colonial militias were seizing one French

stronghold after another.September 1759

Quebec fell to the BritishSeptember 1760

The French surrendered in Montreal.

BRITISH TACTICSBritish used population dispersal to keep areas firmly under their

control.They would displace the French

throughout the colonies.Scalp bounties were offered for

evidence of a dead native.

THE FORMAL END OF THE WAR

Peace of Paris 1763Was the Treaty to

end the war.Terms:

British gained more islands in the West Indies, colonies in India, Canada, and all of the French territory east of the Mississippi.

Spain gained French lands west of the Mississippi.

EFFECTS OF THE WARExpanded England’s territorial claims.

Enlarged their debt.British leaders resented the colonists for

starting the war.Colonist made very few contributions

Parliament began to feel that they needed to have more direct control over the

Colonists.

AFTER THE WAREngland had huge debts.

England wanted the colonists to pay for those debts.

Colonial assemblies were not eager to impose taxes.

Parliament soon decided that taxation was the only way to raise the needed

money.

1760George III

King of EnglandDetermined to be an active and

responsible monarch.He was psychotic, insane, and

insecure from time to time.Result: British Government

became unstable.1763

King George III- Named George Grenville to be the Prime Minister.

He quickly increased authority over the colonies by permanently stationing troops in the colonies.

He also passes a series of acts aimed at controlling the colonies.

THE ACTSSugar Act 1764

Raised the duty on sugar. Aim: Wanted to eliminate the

sugar trade between the colonies and the French and Spanish West Indies.Currency Act 1764

Colonial assemblies were to stop issuing paper money.Mutiny Act 1765

Colonists were to assist in provisioning and maintaining the army.Stamp Act 1765

Placed a tax on printed documents, like newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, deeds, wills, and licenses.

REACTION TO THE ACTSMost Americans found ways to get around with the new laws.

Colonists:The political laws were worse than the economic

ones.The British government was challenging the basis of colonial

political power: control over public finance.To the colonists: Home rule was not something to be fought

for but something familiar to be kept.The revolution was a movement to conserve liberties

Americans believe they already possessed.

1765Riot broke out in Boston.Sons of Liberty:

Terrorized British stamp agents, and burned stamps.

Many agents hastily resigned and the sale of stamps in the colony ceased.

A separate mob attacked the Lt. Gov. of Mass and virtually destroyed his house.

THE BOSTON MASSACREColonial harassment had grown intense that the British felt it

was necessary to place troops throughout Boston.March 5, 1770

Mob of dockworkers called liberty boys began pelting British soldiers at the Custom House with rocks and snowballs.

British commander feared an attack on the house so he lined his troops up in front of the building to protect it.

A scuffle broke out.A soldier got knock to the ground.

Several soldiers fired into the crowd killing five bystanders.Those killed were hailed as martyrs and the British viewed as

murders.