The French and Indian War - Essay Example

The French and Indian War s The French and Indian War Introduction The French and Indian War was really called the Seven Years War (1754-1763). It was named by the English settlers because it pitted them against Native American allies. Analysis Causes and Impact Of The War In the days when the mighty British Empire spanned out over the world with colonies covering land across thousands of miles of ocean, it was said by many that the sun never sets on the British Empire. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the last great clash between Great Britain and France tore across a continent three thousand miles away. Once again, the supreme British showed who was most powerful, but this time, many eyes of the New World inhabitants were opened. Did they really need the British to survive, or was it that Britain needed them I believe this war sparked the American Revolution. At this point in the history of the world, nobody had ever seen a war with the credentials held by the French and Indian War. As the first "global war unfolded, the number of troops grew to record breaking proportions. World War I as we know it might be more properly referred to as World War II. This seven year affair involved two world powers along with a nation-to-be full of pioneers in addition to an entire race of American Natives. The rivalry for American soil between the British and the French was long running and is probably the fundamental grounding for the cause of the war. More generally, the dispute over the Ohio River Valley could sum up the spark that started the war between these groups. There are several occurrences throughout American history which helped define this country. This war was a tussle which eventually led to a successful endeavor by the British to achieve a central position in America and almost completely stripped the French of their claims in North America, the West Indies, and parts of India. The impact of this war greatly changed the American colonies in several meticulous areas. Britain and France, prior to the war, had always been rivals of one another and fought in century-long battles against each other. The French and Indian War erupted from conflicts over the control of the valuable fur trade, and the rich sugar production located in the West Indies. Throughout the war, both countries relied on military assistance from their colonists, and their Native American allies. The three major conflicts which triggered the French and Indian war were King William's War (1689 - 1697), Queen Anne's War (1702 - 1713) and King George's War (1744 - 1748). Following these series of wars, the last conflict between Britain and France for dominance over North America was known as the French and Indian War (1754 - 1763)1. It started as a struggle for control over the "middle ground" territory of the Ohio Valley. This "middle ground" between the French and English colonies in North America was subjugated by the Iroquois Confederacy. At that time, Britain was hailed to be a huge world power. A phrase heard all too often in that time states, "The sun never sets on the British empire." The French and Indian War would lead to a Proclamation that stirred much controversy in the colonies. This sparked a united period of disobedience, which would eventually guide the way to a revolution. The British was the main world power at this time. The French were forced to use "brain over brawn" tactics to survive the upcoming battle. For the most part, French pioneers in the new world were in good with the natives. They had trading posts set up for exchange of fur and goods. Many French even took on the surrounding native culture. Primarily, they did not settle in areas claimed by the Indians to avoid hostility. In fact, they did the opposite; for example, the Frenchmen often helped tribes work out disagreements. The general attitude of the British seemed to lean toward independence from the natives. In turn, the common inclination concerning the French appeared to be that amalgamating with the natives was a necessity. Considering the French wereoutnumbered, overpowered, and practically outdone in almost every aspect, they had no choice but to join forces with the natives. Not only did the French gain a force that was knowledgeable in most aspects that the Frenchmen were not, but with this alliance, the natives loved to hate British. American Indians proved to be the perfect match; they knew the land well and were masters of hunting, fishing, and gathering. The Ohio Company, which gradually encouraged British expeditions to conquer the Ohio Valley, had received a grant from the King ordering traders and settlers into this 500,000 acre territory. In 1753, a leading member of the Ohio Valley and the Governor of Virginia provided George Washington with his first military mission2. He carried with him a message to the French warning them abandon the vicinity. The French saw this as a threat to the profits of the fur trade and also their territorial claims of the vast Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. When George Washington defeated a small French force and built a parapet which became known as Fort Necessity, the French commanded a larger military, seized the fort and forced Washington into surrender. This was the beginnings of the French and Indian War. After a British victory in the war, the treaty of Paris was signed and reflected British military success heavily. Britain acquired over half of the North American continent including French Canada, French territorial claims East of the Mississippi River, and Spanish Florida. The French and Indian War struck the French Empire from being a once-dominant presence in North America to controlling a few sugar plantations in the West Indies. One major outcome of the war was a large financial debt brewing in Great Britain which ultimately changed the relationship between the British and its colonies. Prior the war, Great Britain did not view its colonies closely or handled their affairs, but regarded them as subordinate bodies. Following the war, Britain decided to punish its colonies for their neutrality and passiveness throughout the war as an excuse to tax them profoundly without "representation" to pay off their staggering war debt. The British began by passing the Proclamation of 1763 which restricted western settlement and allowed the British to control colonization. Subsequently, the British passed a handful of acts which included the sugar, currency, stamp, mutiny, declaratory, Townshend, tea, and finally the coercive acts. All of these acts quickly angered the colonists in many different ways and began a constitutional quarrel between the mother nation and its colonies. After the passing of the coercive (intolerable) acts, the First Continental Congress was assembled stating that the intolerable acts menaced the liberties of every colony. Following the Continental Congress accepted preparations for a war which was defensive in nature; General Thomas Gage got instructions from England to take into custody rebel leaders Sam Adams as well as John Hancock. When Gage heard that the minutemen (men preparing to fight on a minutes notice) had stored large supplies of gunpowder in Concord, he decided to retrieve it without any carnage. However, when he arrived, two horsemen by the name of William Dawes and Paul Revere shouted "the British are coming, the British are coming..." and shots were ultimately fired3. This was the institutional battle that triggered the beginnings of the American Revolution and the end of British dominance over the American colonies. The last war with the French had put harmful setbacks on Britain's treasury. Even with little money, they had no choice but to start sending troops to the colonies. General Braddock and his unit, one of the first to be sent by the British, were defeated while trying to take Fort Duquesne. This was a huge loss for the British. The British, however, did take early victories in Nova Scotia where they deported many French. Over the next phase of the war, the French won many victories, but they had severe disadvantages also. The British began to strategically cut off French resources by raging war in the Atlantic Ocean. The French didn't have established colonies and vast local resources like the British did. Their men had to travel long distances without adequate food because simply the French population in America was not large enough. The results of this were British victories on the way out. They kept sending more and more troops until it was all over. The British army moved up fort by fort into Canada until the surrender of Montreal and the capture of Quebec. In the aftermath of the war, the British rose out on top, carrying the immense weight of the war debt on their backs. Someone was going to pay for all the expenses. Two main points alone may summarize the distance that quickly grew between Britain and her colonies that were evident after the war. The first of these dooming items was the money. The British were not about to carry the weight of that debt alone. The colonies were the ones being protected, so Britain took immediate action. The British treasurer, George Greenville, brought in plans to get rid of this massive debt while keeping the colonies protected at the same time. He was a very strong advocate of colonial taxation and sharing this war debt liability with the colonists. Britain concluded that the only effective means of raising sufficient finances for their war debts would be to exact more colonial taxes. Practically nothing the British had tried before had worked; the taxes just were not raising the money needed. "The Stamp Act was introduced by the British Prime Minister George Greenville and passed by the British Parliament in 1765 as a means of raising revenue in the American colonies. This act required for all legal documents such as licenses, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets and playing cards to carry a tax stamp4." This controversial act did nothing but lower colonial morale, and it marked the beginnings of significant colonial resistance to taxation. The Stamp Act was later employed in Great Britain and was intended to raise money to clear the cost of maintaining the military defenses of the colonies. Colonist reacted to this by protest for this and tariffs which were made compulsory. They were extremely disappointed when the British made and announcement that colonial offenders cases were to be pout to trial in the Hated Admiralty Courts. With rising unsettledness the disputes also increased furthermore the colonists started to increase what became. In response to this act, stamp offices were burned and tax collectors were hung in effigy. The British become conscious of the fact that they were losing money by imposing these taxes. This was definitely not the way to pay a debt. The tax was repealed. However, with Britain's consistency throughout the whole colonial existence, they continued to do as they had before; when one tax was repealed, a new tax bill of some kind was almost immediately passed and enforced. Britain's system of mercantilism had backfired. Under their ideas, an economy could not significantly prosper on its own. They believed that there was a balance of trade in the world and that only by maximizing their production and imports could they successfully continue to be a world power. Their economy was specialized for finish product production. The colonies were supplying all of the raw materials. Needless to say, the value of the colonies to Britain was immeasurable. The latter of these two dooming situations was the Proclamation of 1763. This document prohibited anyone from crossing the Appalachian Mountains. Most people didn't obey this treaty, but most everyone in the colonies was outraged. The point of the war was to gain control of the Ohio River Valley region; ironically, the British government set this area off limits as soon as the fighting was over. Their reasoning was to prevent fights and the beginnings of another war, which they obviously could not afford. The natives were still outraged over the continuing loss of land, and the government wanted to protect colonists from them. After a long war and a long struggle over taxes and government, the colonists were feeling more independent than ever. Britain's actions after the French and Indian War were totally unjustifiable in the eyes of the colonists. The idea of no taxation without representation was a motto for these new people. They came to America for a multitude of reasons; fighting three thousand miles of sea and pioneering new land with nothing to use but what they made themselves. They fought for land with a new race of people, and disease and hunger were also factors. The colonists were tired of British tyranny and unreasonable laws and treaties. Americans were tired of unfair taxes and ridiculous trading policies. They came to these shores to make a living for themselves in a place where every man would have a fresh start. This feeling of colonial unity and victory grew until the melting pot of the world boiled over into a revolution against Great Britain. The colonists had come here to be free. That is exactly what they got. Following the French and Indian war, Britain, even though they were successful, they had a debt of approximately 140 million pounds5. The British thought that the colonists ought to share the load of sustaining the troops of the British in the colonies. The colonists were then forced to give cruel tariffs like the Stamp Act. On the other hand, colonist's protest was so intense that the act was canceled and therefore the American Revolution began. So that the British could recuperate from their liability, the British, who were led by Greenville, enforced numerous acts on the colonists. The very first kind of such an act was the Navigation Acts which was premeditated to carry money into the Royal Treasury, to improve the fleet of imperial merchant so that they could control the course of colonial unrefined materials into England. Then came the passage of the Sugar Act raising duty on sugar. This was an effort by the British to raise money in America to support the increased cost of colonial administration. The colonists forced to follow a Quartering Act in which they would present accommodation as well as food for the troops of the British. England printed Stamps and distributed them to each and every colony nevertheless colonists were not burdening. A group well recognized as the opposition group known as the "Liberty Boys". They often resorted to violence as well as destruction. In a lot of colonies stamps were taken forcefully by gangs and other colonies started to disobey the law by giving and accepting documents which were unstamped. For the colonist, to buy a stamp was to surrender all claims to self-government. The British were not surprised that the colonies disliked the Stamp Act. They had not anticipated however that they would react so violently. As a result to these protests, the Stamp Act Congress Meeting in New York was held. Colonial businessmen agreed to stop importing British goods until the act was abolished. Soon, refusal to use the stamps on business papers became common. In 1766 the British parliament did away with the Stamp Act which has been said to be considered as one of the immediate causes of the American Revolution6. Conclusion The American Revolution had a huge variety of causes, but the French and Indian war was one of the biggest factors in making such a revolution possible. It showed the colonials numerous things that helped them start and win the war with England, including invaluable military experience for troops and leaders such as George Washington. Without such contributions, the American Revolution could have been impossible, or at the very least much more difficult. The fallibility of Britain's military was fully demonstrated in the conflict with French in Ohio, and factors such as this had a huge effect on the colonial view of the possibility of rebellion, which was only reinforced by their victories against France, greatly influencing the American Revolution, and thus, the fate of the New World. Endnotes 1. Seymour I. Schwartz (2000) ;The French and Indian War 1754-1763: The Imperial Struggle for North America Book Sales; New Ed edition copyright @1994 p23 - 25 2. Walter R Borneman (2007); The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America (P.S.) Harper Perennial copyrights 2007 p45 3. Fred Anderson (2005); The War That Made America : A Short History of the French and Indian War Copyright AudioFile, Portland, Maine 2006 Amazon Remainders Account p56-63 4. http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/laws/stampact.htm Retrieved on April 22, 2008 Read More