The Fight to Control North America

The Intercolonial Wars

The Beaver Wars• Also know as the French and Iroquois Wars, this

conflict dominated eastern North America for most of the 17th century

• The Iroquois Confederacy, led by the Mowhawk and armed by the English and Dutch, were looking to expand their territory and monopolize the fur trade

• England and France did not commit its standing military to the conflict

• The Algonquin, including the Huron, were supported by French Coureurs du bois

• Considered to be one of the bloodiest conflicts seen in North America

• The conflict led to the defeat of the Huron and other Aboriginal nations, England asserted control over much of the Iroquois territory, and the French tried to gain the Iroquois as an ally who were now seeing the English as the greater threat

• The conflict concluded in 1701 with the Great Peace of Montreal

The Intercolonial Wars

• Many intermittent conflicts preceded the Beaver Wars in North America between 1689 and 1763 that led to the eventual English control of the continent

• Each conflict in North America was an extension of the dynastic wars fought between the major powers of Europe

• While some conflicts involved Spanish and Dutch forces, all matched Great Britain, its colonies and its Native American allies against France, its colonies and its Native American allies

The Intercolonial Wars Timeline

Years of War

North American War European War Treaty

1688–1697King William's War1st Intercolonial War

2nd Indian War

War of the Grand Alliance

War of the League of Augsburg

Nine Years' War

Treaty of Ryswick (1697)

1702–1713Queen Anne's War

2nd Intercolonial War

War of the Spanish

Succession

Treaty of Utrecht (1713)

1744–1748King George's War

3rd Intercolonial WarWar of Jenkins' Ear

War of the Austrian

Succession

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

(1748)

1754–1763

The French and Indian War4th Intercolonial War or War of

Conquest (in Quebec) 6th Indian War

Seven Years' WarTreaty of Paris

(1763)

The Intercolonial Wars Timeline

King William’s War (1688 – 1697)• England and France did not want to

weaken their position in Europe to support the war effort in North America

• New France and the Wabanaki Confederacy were able to stop New England and the Iroquois Confederacy expansion into Acadia although Port Royal was captured in 1690

• New Englanders also tried to seize Montreal and Quebec but were soundly defeated by prepared New France forces led by Governor-General Louis de Buade de Frontenac in 1690

• New France and its allies attacked, captured, and destroyed several New England forts

• The Treaty of Ryswick signed in September 1697 ended the war between the two colonial powers, reverting the colonial borders to the status quo but the peace did not last long

• Was the North American theatre of the Nine Years' War

• The Nine Years War was a conflict in Europe where saw France at war against a coalition of other European kingdoms including Spain and England as Louis XIV looked to expand his power

• Each kingdom in Europe nearly went bankrupt during the conflict and by the end of the war were eager to end it

King William’s War (1688 – 1697)

Frontenac receiving the envoy of Sir William Phipps demanding the surrender of Quebec, 1690 when he famously said "I have no reply to make to your

general other than from the mouth of my cannons and muskets."

King William’s War (1688 – 1697)

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

• Was the North American theatre of the War of the Spanish Succession fought between the English and the French for control of the continent

• In addition to the two main combatants, the war also involved numerous Native American tribes allied with each nation, and Spain, which was allied with France

• The Iroquois Confederacy chose to remain neutral in the conflict

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

• Charles II of Spain had no heir and just before his death names his half-sister’s grandson Philip as his successor

• Philip V was also the grandson of Louis XIV of France and heir to the French Empire

• Louis XIV saw this as an opportunity to control the Spanish Empire and expand his power in Europe

• The English, French, Dutch, and the Holy Roman Empire feared French domination of Europe and backed Leopold I as Spanish successor

• The Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 and the Treaty of Rastatt was signed in 1714 to end the conflict

• When the conflict in Europe ended, Spanish territory was broken up between the major and minor powers in Europe and Philip V renounced his future succession to the French crown; the balance of power in Europe was restored

• The political landscape of North America was greatly altered

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

• The war in North America was fought on three fronts:

1.Spanish Florida and the English Province of Carolina

2.New England, Quebec, and Acadia

3.Newfoundland

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

North America in 1702

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

Spanish Florida and English Carolina

• Spanish Florida and the English Province of Carolina were each subjected to attacks from the other

• The English engaged the French based at Mobile in what was essentially a proxy war involving primarily allied Indians on both sides

• The southern war did not result in significant territorial changes

• It did nearly wipe out the Indian population of Spanish Florida, including parts of present-day southern Georgia, and destroyed Spain's network of missions in the area.

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

New England, Acadia, and Quebec

• The English colonies of New England fought against the French forces based in Acadia and the Wabanaki Confederacy; Port Royal was captured in 1710

• Acadia was remained Nova Scotia and Port Royal was renamed Annapolis Royal, the Acadian capital was transferred to Louisbourg

• Quebec City was repeatedly targeted by British expeditions but was never successfully reached

Newfoundland

• In Newfoundland, English colonists based at St. John's disputed control of the island with the French based at Plaisance

• Most of the conflict consisted of economically destructive raids against the other side's settlements.

• The French successfully captured St. John's in 1709, but the British quickly reoccupied it after the French abandoned it.

Queen Anne’s War (1702 – 1713)

North America in after the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713

King George's War (1744 – 1748)

• Name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession

• It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia

• The French with the help of the Mi’kamq and Maliset tried to retake Annapolis Royal but failed due to an uncoordinated attack

• Its most significant New England action was an expedition organized by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley that captured the French Fortress of Louisbourg in 1745

• The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war in 1748

• Louisbourg was returned to France and no territory changed hands; this was one catalyst that caused the American War of Independence

King George's War (1744 – 1748)

View of the English landing on the Island of Cape Breton to attack the Fortress of Louisbourg, 1745

French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)

• Was the North American theatre of the worldwide Seven Years' War fought between the colonies of British North America and New France

• Both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as Native American allies

• At the start of the war, the French North American colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 while British North America had about 2 million people; the French were greatly outnumbered

• Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1755 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America and seized hundreds of French merchant ships

French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)

French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)

• After the fall of Fort Beauséjour, located on the border between Acadia (New Brunswick) and Nova Scotia, the Acadians were deported from Nova Scotia in 1755; Mi’kmaq were driven from their lands

• Many made their way to Louisbourg, but the Fortress fell in 1758

• Britain then attacked the French capital Quebec in 1759; British General Wolfe defeated French General Montcalm at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham

• Montréal was captured in 1760

• The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years War in 1763 with almost all of North America under British control

French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)