Chapter 6 Overview [Section One]
The Joys of Being English
(aka the strange blurb at the beginning of the chapter)
The colonials who inhabited the colonies of America enjoyed being English. They enjoyed belonging to a sophisticated society of extreme diversity which was well respected throughout the world. After the end of the Seven Years' War (which is politically incorrect, because technically the war lasted for nine years) the colonies were exceedingly proud of belonging to the largest and most powerful empire in the Western world. However, this colonial attitude abruptly changed as rumors that Britain was planning on enslaving the American colonies reached the settlers. Massachusetts led the resistance, bringing many other colonies along with it. Bostonians initiated many of the petitions and resolves against British authority. However, when those proved ineffective, riots broke out among the American colonies that led to the establishment of British troops in Boston. After the Seven Years' War, events demonstrated to even more colonials that they were not considered the political equals of the people who lived in England. Americans slowly discovered a new identity and began to declare their independence from being English.
A. The Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War occurred for a variety of reasons, some of which aren't even mentioned in this section. Actually, after just checking, a majority of them aren't explained in detail. I understand that this chapter focuses on the American resistance to British rule, but having an understanding of the political tension and even drama that caused the SYW in the first place will be extremely beneficial.
The bigger picture: don't fret about the Europe part
I. Background to the Seven Years' War
(This includes the whole impact of Europe and the events leading up to the war in a much greater scope than the book explains. It probably won't be on the test, but if you understand these concepts it would be a bonus)
This war that occurred between many different countries in as many different areas was much more than a border/territorial dispute between French and British colonials in America. After the Spanish and the Dutch faded as power threats in America, France stood clearly as England's most serious rival in the competition for overseas empire. France was a powerful threat for many reasons: they were allied with Spain, they had a population four times larger than England's with an abundance of natural resources, and France was continental Europe's leading military power and was building a system of monopolized colonial trade. The Seven Years' War was not the only fighting that took place between France and England. In fact, it was only a small part of the wars that occurred between the two powers from 1701 to 1763. France and England competed to decide which nation would become the leading maritime power and reap the profits from overseas expansion. The tension between France and England dates back to the time of Louis XIV and the War of Spanish Succession, through the War of Austrian Succession [which became a world war that included Anglo-French conflicts in India and North America], and lead up to the start of the Seven Years' War. Even though the Seven Years' War was inconclusive in Europe, it was a decisive round in the Franco-British competition for a colonial empire. These years of global involvement, which was much greater than a mere colonial territorial battle as our book makes it seem, explain why so many outside countries, such as Spain and Prussia, as well as India, were affected by the struggles between these two countries. (okay, it's over, I promise!)
II. The Seven Years' War
(as the book explains it, not my own opinion like the above)
The Seven Years' War lasted from 1754 until 1763. Which is pretty humorous considering that that is a time period of nine years, which has already been mentioned. It pitted Britain and its ally, Prussia, against France who was allied with Austria and Spain.
French forces in the Seven Years' War
III. Overview and the Years of Defeat
1754 marked the start of the war with George Washington's defeat and surrender at Fort Necessity to the French. Britain decided that this was a good time to assert its own claims to the Ohio River valley. Major Braddock led two British regiments to confront the French at Fort Duquesne in Ohio, but they were ambushed by a party of composed of the French and Indians. Washington then saved the survivors by leading the remnants of Braddock's army in a retreat. However, the New Englanders were able to drive the Acadians (French forces) out of Nova Scotia and confiscate their land. After this successful skirmish, Britain and its allies suffered through two years of failure in their attempts to fight the French. There were many reasons for this time period of inadequacy. John Campbell, the Earl of Loudoun had been given command of the North American field of operations. However, the colonial assemblies and American soldiers abhorred Loudoun. They resisted his efforts to control the colonial troops and disregarded his commands for men and supplies. With a haphazard system such as this, the British were at a disadvantage. In addition to the problems with the British forces, the French appointed a new efficacious commanding officer: Louis Joseph marquis de Montcalm. Montcalm was able to capture key British forts and endanger the security of New York and New England. Compounding all these problems was the fact that the French were winning against the British in India at the same time. The situation became so desperate for the British that they decided to seek help from the strong nearby Indian tribes, namely the Iroquois in the North and the Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee (the best!) in the South. However, most of these tribes adopted neutrality or joined the French. Indian attacks against the English frontier settlements began to increase.
1754 marked the start of the war with George Washington's defeat and surrender at Fort Necessity to the French. Britain decided that this was a good time to assert its own claims to the Ohio River valley. Major Braddock led two British regiments to confront the French at Fort Duquesne in Ohio, but they were ambushed by a party of composed of the French and Indians. Washington then saved the survivors by leading the remnants of Braddock's army in a retreat. However, the New Englanders were able to drive the Acadians (French forces) out of Nova Scotia and confiscate their land. After this successful skirmish, Britain and its allies suffered through two years of failure in their attempts to fight the French. There were many reasons for this time period of inadequacy. John Campbell, the Earl of Loudoun had been given command of the North American field of operations. However, the colonial assemblies and American soldiers abhorred Loudoun. They resisted his efforts to control the colonial troops and disregarded his commands for men and supplies. With a haphazard system such as this, the British were at a disadvantage. In addition to the problems with the British forces, the French appointed a new efficacious commanding officer: Louis Joseph marquis de Montcalm. Montcalm was able to capture key British forts and endanger the security of New York and New England. Compounding all these problems was the fact that the French were winning against the British in India at the same time. The situation became so desperate for the British that they decided to seek help from the strong nearby Indian tribes, namely the Iroquois in the North and the Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee (the best!) in the South. However, most of these tribes adopted neutrality or joined the French. Indian attacks against the English frontier settlements began to increase.
John Campbell (Loudoun)
IV. The Years of Victory
John Campbell (or Loudoun, either-or) was replaced when William Pitt, who was a veteran English politician, came to direct the war effort. He had a strong sense of destiny and even stronger egotistical leanings. However, he was extremely effective in turning the fate of the British force around. He left the fighting in Europe to Britain's ally, Prussia, and focused the full strength of the British military to beating the French in America. Pitt's replacing of Lord Loudoun was a popular action among the colonies and renewed colonial support for the war effort. He also promised to reimburse with gold and silver the colonial assemblies who contributed. In July of 1758, the British and colonial troops were able to defeat the French fortress at Louisbourg. As the British and colonial combined troops began to rout the French from the interior, the Indians then decided to switch their allegiance to the English. The year 1759 proved enormously successful for the British war effort. The English General James Wolfe was able to win Quebec from Montcalm, but both of them were killed in the process. In 1760, the French surrender of Montreal ended the fighting in North America, although it continued elsewhere in the world for another two years (Again, I don't think you really have to worry about that detail, but it's still nice to know). The French were pushed out of North America by the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Britain gained all of the French territory east of the Mississippi as well as Spanish Florida. France then had to give Spain all of its land lying west of the Mississippi.
North American divisions after the Treaty of Paris
V. Postwar Expectations
After Britain's victory against France, there was a lot of colonial pride and optimism among the American settlers. They thought that the high taxes they were having to pay would end and more land would be available for them to occupy. Also, any colonists who had anything to do with supplying items for the army or navy made good money. Colonials were proud of their contributions to the war effort, and thought that they would be given more consideration within the British empire. The British imperial officers however believed that the Americans had done a poor job of aiding the British forces. British statesmen complained that the American colonial assemblies had been stingy in supplying the army and that colonial troops were cowards when compared with the British soldiers. As for the taxes the colonies thought they would be released from, the war effort had created a large debt that would levy heavy taxes upon the Americans for years to come. Some Britons guessed that with the French removed from North America, the colonies would take steps toward independence. One such oracle was Josiah Tucker, a respected English economist. This is where the American Revolution is almost a misnomer: the Americans weren't revolutionaries in the making, they were just loyal British subjects who were pushed to the tipping point.
I really don't understand why every book has this picture
Hurray for the end of Section 1.
Section 2 wasn't cooperating, so it's in another post.
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