The French & Indian War: Prelude to Revolution

1. The French & Indian War:Prelude to Revolution

2. Background • The executed King Charles I’s son was restored to the throne after the reign of Oliver Cromwell • Appropriately dubbed “The Restoration” • Problem? Charles II had been living in exile in France and was being all Catholic • King Charles II wanted to generate wealth by controlling trade to American colonies • 1660  Parliament passed a Navigation Act that required all goods imported to the colonies to be transported on English ships • Also listed specific raw materials that the colonies could only sell to England • Included tobacco, cotton, and sugar • These were the most profitable for the American colonists

3. Background • Navigation Act of 1663  Required all goods imported by the colonies to come through England • Merchants who were bringing goods to the colonies had to stop in England, pay taxes, and then ship the goods out on English ships • What do you think this did to prices? Why?

4. Background • The Navigation acts angered colonial merchants • In most cases, the merchants simply broke the laws • Merchants smuggled their goods to • Europe • Caribbean • African How do you think England reacted to the colonists breaking the law?

5. Background So What? As a result of colonial smuggling, the king revoked the Massachusetts colonial charter and declared Massachusetts a royal colony • Charles successor, James II, merged Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Rhode Island together to form the Dominion of New England • Would also eventually include Connecticut, New York and New Jersey • The King abolished colonial assemblies and appointed a new governor and councilors • New governor, Sir Edmond Andros, ruled with an iron hand

6. Background • James II was overthrown and replaced by William and Mary • The bloodless change of power became known as The Glorious Revolution • Parliament established the English Bill of Rights • Limited the power of the king, and listed the rights that Parliament and English citizens were guaranteed • Later incorporated into the American Bill of Rights

7. Meanwhile… back in America • An uprising occurred in Boston, and Governor Andros was ousted • The new monarchs created new charters for Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut • Colonists had elected assemblies • King appointed the governor

8. The French and Indian War • By 1750 English colonies spread from Maine to Georgia • More adventurous colonists began looking for land west in the Ohio River Valley and western Pennsylvania • The French landed along the St. Lawrence River in Canada – many became trappers and traders • They intermingled (and intermarried) with Natives and by 1750 were looking for land in the Ohio River Valley and western Pennsylvania Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the French and English settlers fought over the same land. • They competed for power in Europe, the Americas, the Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia • The French were Catholic, the British Protestant • The French kept tight royal control over the colonies, the British allowed more self-government • Three wars had already spread to the colonies

9. The French and Indian War • George Washington joined several wealthy and influential friends and acquaintances in forming the Ohio Company with the express purpose to claim this land • In 1749, the Ohio Company secured a land grant from the king who wanted the land settled and developed • This put Washington and his friends in direct conflict with the French who also claimed this land • The French king instructed that forts be built along the Ohio River

10. The French and Indian War • Robert Dinwiddie, the governor of Virginia, was encouraged by the Crown to force the French out • Washington volunteered for the assignment • His orders read as follows…

11. Washington’s Orders • “As the French forces on the Ohio intend down as far as Logstown early in the Spring, I think it is for His Majesty’s Service and the Protection of the Settlements on this Dom’n to do all in our Power to prevent their building any Forts or making any Settlem’ts on that river. I therefore, with advice of the Council, think proper to send immediately out 200 men to protect those already sent by the Ohio Company to build a Fort and to resist any attempts on them.”

12. Washington’s Journal • May 24th – At two o’clock, we arrived at the Meadows, where we saw a trader, who told us he had seen two Frenchmen the night before, and that he knew there was a strong detachment on the march…therefore I placed troops behind two natural entrenchments, and had our wagons put there also. • May 27th – About eight in the evening I received a message from Half-King who informed me, that as he was coming to join us, he had seen along the road, the tracks of two men, which he had followed, til he was brought thereby to a low, obscure place; that he was of the opinion the whole party of the French was hidden there. That very moment I sent out forty men…to attack them together. We had advanced pretty near to them, as we thought, when they discovered us; I ordered my company to fire…the greater part of the action lasted a quarter of an hour before the enemy were routed. We killed Mr. de Jumonville, the Commander of the party, as also nine others; we wounded one and made twenty-one prisoners…The Indians scalped the dead and took away the greater part of their arms, after which we marched down with the prisoners under guard to the Indian camp…They [the French prisoners] informed me that they had been sent with a summons to order me to retire. A plausible pretense to discover our camp and to obtain knowledge of our forces and our situation. Instead of coming as an Ambassador, publicly and in an open manner, they came secretly and sought the most hidden retreats more suitable for deserters that for Ambassadors. • May 30th – Detached Lieutenant West, and Mr. Spiltdorph, to take the prisoners to Winchester with a guard of twenty men. Began to erect a fort with small palisades, fearing that when the French should hear the news of that defeat we might be attacked by considerable forces.

13. Fort Necessity • Washington’s forces were attacked on July 2, 1754 • Fort Necessity was an inadequate defense • French and Indian allies took advantage of the treeline • Washington accepted liberal terms of surrender • Admitted – personally – to the murder of the French commander • Surrendered his wagons and provisions • He began the long retreat back to Virginia on July 4th • His soldiers carried the wounded on their backs • His forces were surrounded by hostile Natives • He failed miserably in his attempt to “repel” the French

14. Who Started the French and Indian War? • The war began with Washington’s exploits at Fort Necessity • To regain the territory lost to the French the British sent General Braddock to capture Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) • He failed to heed the warning of Native allies and was badly defeated (Braddock was killed and several hundred soldiers lost) • Emboldened Natives allied with the French attacked along the frontier • Fighting began in Europe two years later • England allied with Prussia to attack Austria • England was left free to attack France in North America • Captured Quebec and Montreal with hardly any help from the colonists • England won convincing victories in the Caribbean and India • Despite colonists illegal trade with the French

15. Using Primary Sources • Use the two French and Indian War primary sources to outline causes and effects of the French and Indian War. For BOTH documents: • Read the source. • As you read use your annotating skills – underline, circle, highlight, make notes/questions in the margins, use context clues, make connections. • Summarize the Key Ideas expressed by the author. • In the area with bullet points, identify what ideas the author is trying to convey and what connections can be made. • Be prepared to answer the question: What does this document tell us about the causes and effects of the French and Indian War?

16. British Responses Effects Summary Causes War costs a lot of money (supplies, soldiers, weapons, etc.) The British made new taxes the colonists were forced to pay • English colonists ran out of land, wanted to go west (Ohio) • French and English both claim the Ohio River Valley • Native Americans and French are upset that English moved onto their land • Washington’s forces forced to surrender at Fort Necessity French and most Native Americans v. British now owned Ohio River Valley & lands claimed by French British soldiers move into forts in the West WAR! Proclamation of 1763 forbade colonists from moving West The new British land in the West is full of unhappy Natives who lost the war England, English colonists, and fewNative Americans

17. Who Started the French and Indian War? • When fighting ended, England stood victorious and deeply in debt • The English believed the war was waged to protect and benefit her colonial possessions • The colonists believed the war represented the “Empire” defending itself under one common banner • This disagreement led directly to the American Revolution