1. French & English Mercantilist Wars

2. French & English Colonial Wars
These regulations began with the Navigation Acts in 1660
The French & Indian War changed EVERYTHING between England & the colonies
The introduction of new English mercantilist policies changed its economic & military attitude towards the colonies:
England increased protective tariffs & trade regulations so the colonies worked for motherland
If that failed, go to war with economic rivals & get the colonists to fight too
New mercantilist policies after the French & Indian War led to colonial resentment & the American Revolution
British Americans were increasingly drawn into European conflicts in the 18th Century with France & Spain

3. French & English Colonial Wars
A series of European conflicts involving England & France spilled over into colonial North America:
King William’s War ( )
Queen Anne’s War ( )
King George's War ( )
These wars were based on mercantilist competition & had little political significance, but…
Queen Anne’s War was War of Spanish Succession; King George’s War was War of Austrian Succession
While the British colonies were militarily superior to New France, a lack of colonial unity & French alliances with Native Americans weakened colonial advantages

4. …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

5. Westward Expansion & Land Conflicts, 1750-1775

6. This would give the colonists too much power
Turning Point: 1754
This would give the colonists too much power
1754 proved to be a turning point in American colonial history
In 1754, English officials & colonists met to discuss Iroquois problems at the Albany Congress
Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union for a coordinated colonial army
The plan was vetoed by colonial assemblies & Parliament
The plan was too expensive & would limit each colony’s power to control its own actions

7. Ben Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union America’s 1st political cartoon

8. Turning Point: 1754
In 1754, VA governor sent 22 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

9. French & Indian War

10. The French & Indian War The war went bad for England from 1756 to 1758
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

11. 1758-1761 The Tide Turns for England
By 1761, Spain became an ally of France

12. 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

13. North America after 1763
America in 1750
America in 1763

14. How was 1763 a “turning point” in the British-colonial relationship?

15. Perceptions of the War Colonial views: English 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

16. British-American Tensions
Colonials
British
Fighting Methods
Indian-style guerilla attacks
Marching in formation
Military Organization
Militias led by captains
British officers in charge of colonials
Finances
Resistant to rising taxes
Colonists should help pay for their own defense

17. 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!

18. 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

19. Eroding Bonds of the Empire

20. 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
Suspicions in colonies & England that George wished to enlarge his powers (appt of chief minister Bute & others)
Bute was appointed Chief Minister of England because he got along with George, no other reason. Parliament was furious. Eventually Bute resigned & George was fickle in his appointments—often changing chief ministers leaving England with no clear plan for gov’t. Left England in precarious state & colonies largely ignored during this time. 3

21. “No Taxation Without Representation”
Parliament represents ALL British citizens no matter where they live
The colonists assumed that their assemblies were quasi-equal to Parliament because they had no Parliamentary representatives
British officials countered with “virtual representation” argument
The colonists insisted that only their colonial assemblies could tax Americans 4

22. 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 6

23. English colonists flooded across the Appalachian Mountains:
Pontiac’s War
Backcountry natives banded together to repel white frontier settlers during Pontiac’s War:
Indian successes exposed the British army’s weakness
Attacks revealed desperation of Native Americans after the withdrawal of their French allies
Colonials took matters into their own hands (Paxton Boys in PA)
English colonists flooded across the Appalachian Mountains:
“There’s all this land & no French!!”
(Senecas, Ottowas, Miamis, Creeks, Cherokees)

24. 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

25. Retaliatory attacks by frontier colonists (like the Paxton Boys in Pennsylvania) were common

26. 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”

27. “Virtuous” citizens must fight tyranny
New Political Ideas
All gov’ts are susceptible to corruption, tyranny, & intrusion upon citizens’ liberty
The introduction of Parliamentary sovereignty contradicted England’s 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”
“Virtuous” citizens must fight tyranny 5

28. Conclusions: Rule Britannia?

29. Rule Britannia?
Despite the mounting tensions between the English government & American colonists by 1763, most Americans were loyal “brothers” to England due to:
a shared British culture
dependence upon British consumer goods
shared nationalism after British military victories against France