Mercantilism, Salutary Neglect & the French and

Indian War

• European kingdoms in 17th century adopt the economic policy of mercantilism– trade, colonies, and the accumulation of wealth as

basis for a country’s military and political strength. – Colonies exist to provide raw materials to the parent

country for the growth and profit of that country’s industries.

Mercantilism and the Empire

Most raw materials go to England England turns a larger profit on manufactured goods.

Acts of Trade and Navigation

• England implements mercantilism with the Navigation Acts (1650 – 1673), which established three rules for colonial trade:1. Trade to and from the colonies only done by English or

colonial-built ships, operated by English / colonial crews.2. All goods imported into the colonies could pass only

through ports in England.3. Specified or “enumerated” goods from the colonies could

be exported to England only. Tobacco was the original “enumerated” good, but over a period of years, the list was expanded to include most colonial products.

Positive effects• New England shipbuilding

prospered. • Chesapeake tobacco had

a monopoly in England. • English military forces

protected the colonies from potential attacks by the French and Spanish.

Negative effects• Colonial manufacturing

was severely limited. • Chesapeake farmers

received low prices for their crops.

• Colonists had to pay high prices for manufactured goods from England.

Impact on the colonies

•Describe how the policy of mercantilism impacted the colonies and their relationship with Britain:

• Regulations largely unnecessary since England was the colonies’ primary trading partner

• Economic advantages from Navigation Acts offset by their negative political effects on British-colonial relations

• Resentment develops in the colonies (regulatory laws imposed by the distant government in London)

• Colonists defied Navigation Acts by smuggling in French, Dutch, and other prohibited goods.

Effects of Navigation Acts, cont’d

• British government lax in enforcing the acts • British agents notoriously corrupt • Occasionally the crown would attempt to

overcome colonial resistance to its trade laws • In 1684, it revoked the charter of

Massachusetts Bay because that colony had been the center of smuggling activity

Enforcement of the Acts

Brief experiment: the Dominion of New England

• James II succeeds throne in 1685• Determined to increase royal control over the colonies • Combines them into larger administrative units and

eliminates their representative assemblies • Combines New York, New Jersey, and the various New

England colonies into a single unit called the Dominion of New England

• Sir Edmund Andros sent from England to serve as governor of the dominion

• Andros instantly hated for levying taxes, limiting town meetings, and revoking land titles.

• James II equally unpopular in England, mostly for his lack of respect for Protestantism

The Glorious Revolution & its Effects

• The Glorious Revolution of 1688 deposes James and replaces him with two new sovereigns, William and Mary

• Ends Dominion of New England: Massachusetts, New York, and the other colonies again operated under separate charters.

• Despite Glorious Revolution, mercantilist policies remained in force• By the 18th century, there were more English officials in the colonies

than ever before. • England only appeared to exert more control though – actually

instituted a policy of salutary neglect (relaxed enforcement of policy in return for colonists’ loyalty)

• Restrictions on colonial trade, though poorly enforced, were widely resented and resisted.

• Describe how the policies of James II and the Glorious Revolution impacted the colonies and the relationship with Britain:

The “French & Indian War” a.k.a. the Fourth Intercolonial Wara.k.a. the American portion of the

Seven Years Wara.k.a. …look, the British and the

French were just always at war, ok?

North America in 1750

Though Spain was still a major landowner in the Americas, the map above shows that the claims of the British and French overlapped more, resulting in greater tensions

• French and British longtime rivals on the world stage, including the Americas

• French & Indian War actually just one chapter in a larger war

• Ohio River Valley was the major area of contention

• Most colonists considered themselves British / favored Great Britain

• France has claims on entire Mississippi River Valley

• Named Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV

• French focused on furs and missionary work / never really colonized.

• The nature of French colonization meant that they had generally friendlier relations with the Natives

• In turn, Natives were happy to use the French to ward off the British

• By 1754, 70,000 people lived in New France. The British claimed 1 million.

The War Begins

The Ohio River Valley

• 1754: French build Fort Duquesne at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio River (modern day Pittsburgh)

• British already granted this land (200,000 acres) to British settlers.

• Virginia militia – under the command of 22-year-old George Washington – establish Fort Necessity 40 miles south of Fort Duquesne.

• Washington attacked, French counterattacked, Washington surrendered and returned home. The war had begun.

• British plan a simultaneous attack on many French forts in North America – General Braddock personally leads expedition against Fort Duquesne.

• Both sides recruit Native Americans, but French in greater numbers– Most natives saw a French victory as advantageous to them

• British are defeated time and again, with particularly large casualties at the Battle of Monongahela (including General Braddock)

Braddock being shot, Washington is trying to help him.

• British begin turning the tide under the skilled William Pitt. • Colonists like Pitt because he agrees to pay their costs in

fighting the war, if they remain loyal and help to fight • The Iroquois, sensing a strategic alliance, side with the

British • In 1759, British attack and defeat the French in Quebec

during the middle of the night.• Because of their inferior numbers, the French could not

recover from this defeat and soon lose the war

Describe the causes and fighting of the French and Indian War:

Treaty of Paris, 1763• Great Britain claimed all of

North America east of the Mississippi River, including Florida (due to Spain’s alliance with France during the war)

• Also gained exclusive rights to the slave trade in the Caribbean

• Spain gained French lands west of the Mississippi, including the city of New Orleans

• Natives found British to be unreasonable and feared settlers crossing the Appalachians would drive away their game

• Led by Pontiac, leader of the Ottawa tribe, natives capture 8 British forts and attack 2 others

• British gave them smallpox infected blankets during peace negotiations, and the virus spread rapidly

• Proclamation of 1763 – British ban colonists from moving west of the Appalachians, though colonists largely ignore it

Effects of the WarBritain

• Increased empire in America and the rest of the world

• Went into debt• Contempt for colonists• Felt the need to station troops

in colonies to deal with Native Americans and former French subjects.

Colonies

• United them against a common enemy (the British) for the first time

• Washington and other military men note successful tactics used during the war by both sides.

•Describe the results and effects of the French and Indian War: