Mr. Dalton’s Class
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Date:________________
/30pts
The French & Indian War Questions
1756-1763
(The Seven Years War)
The final Colonial War (1689-1763) was the French and Indian War, which is the name given to the American theater (location) of a massive conflict involving Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden called the Seven Years War. The conflict was played out in Europe, India, and North America. In Europe, Sweden , Austria, and France were allied to crush the rising power of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. The English and the French battled for colonial domination in North America, the Caribbean, and in India. The English did ultimately come to dominate the colonial outposts, but at a cost so staggering that the resulting debt nearly destroyed the English government.
It was that debt that caused the escalation of tensions leading to the Revolutionary War. Parliament was desperate to obtain two objectives; first, to tax the colonies to recover monies expended on the battle over North America, and second to restore the profitability of the East India Company in an effort to recover monies spent on the battle over India.
The French and Indian War, as it was referred to in the colonies, was the beginning of open hostilities between the colonies and Gr. Britain. England and France had been building toward a conflict in America since 1689. These efforts resulted in the remarkable growth of the colonies from a population of 250,000 in 1700, to 1.25 million in 1750, and 2.5million in 1770. This population increase was because of massive immigration from England, as well as LARGE families being born in the colonies.
Britain required raw materials including copper, hemp, tar, and turpentine. They also required a great deal of money, and so they provided that all of these American products be shipped exclusively to England (the Navigation Acts). In an effort to raise revenue and simultaneously interfere with the French in the Caribbean, a 6 pence tax on each gallon of molasses was imposed in 1733 (the Molasses Act, see note: The Sugar Act). Enforcement of these regulations became difficult, so the English government established extensive customs services, and vice-admiralty courts empowered to identify, try, and convict suspected smugglers. These devices were exclusive of, and superior to, the colonial mechanisms of justice.
The colonies were wholly interested in overcoming the French in North America and appealed to the King for permission to raise armies and monies to defend themselves.* Despite sincere petitions from the royal governors, George II was suspicious of the intentions of the colonial governments and declined their offer. (Why would King George be nervous about allowing the colonies to create their own army?
The Seven Years' War (called the French and Indian War in the colonies) lasted from 1756 to 1763, forming a chapter in the imperial struggle between Britain and France called the Second Hundred Years' War.
In the early 1750s, France's expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought it into conflict with the claims of the British colonies, especially Virginia.
During 1754 and 1755, the French defeated in quick succession the young George Washington, Gen. Edward Braddock, and Braddock's successor, Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts.
In 1755, Governor Shirley, fearing that the French settlers in Nova Scotia (Acadia) would side with France in any military confrontation, expelled hundreds of them to other British colonies; many of the exiles suffered cruelly. Throughout this period, the British military effort was hampered by lack of interest at home, rivalries among the American colonies, and France's greater success in winning the support of the Indians.
In 1756 the British formally declared war (marking the official beginning of the Seven Years' War), but their new commander in America, Lord Loudoun, faced the same problems as his predecessors and met with little success against the French and their Indian allies.
The tide turned in 1757 because William Pitt, the new British leader, saw the colonial conflicts as the key to building a vast British empire. Borrowing heavily to finance the war, he paid Prussia to fight in Europe and reimbursed the colonies for raising troops in North America.
In July 1758, the British won their first great victory at Louisbourg, near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. A month later, they took Fort Frontenac at the western end of the river. Then they closed in on Quebec, where Gen. James Wolfe won a spectacular victory on the Plains of Abraham, September 1759 (though both he and the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, were fatally wounded). With the fall of Montreal in September 1760, the French lost their last foothold in Canada. Soon, Spain joined France against England, and for the rest of the war Britain concentrated on seizing French and Spanish territories in other parts of the world.
At the peace conference in 1763, the British received Canada from France and Florida from Spain, but permitted France to keep its West Indian sugar islands and gave Louisiana to Spain. The treaty strengthened the American colonies significantly by removing their European rivals to the north and south and opening the Mississippi Valley to westward expansion.
Major People Involved with the French and Indian War:
George Washington (1732-1799) was an officer in Virginia's provincial militia, the commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and the first president of the independent United States of America.
As a young officer in the Virginia provincial militia, Washington was dispatched in 1753 and 1754 to warn the French out of the Ohio Valley. The second mission led to his defeat at Fort Necessity. In 1755, he returned with General Edward Braddock and the army of British regulars that would be defeated at the Battle of the Wilderness (Battle of Monongahela). For the next three years, Washington served as the commander of the Virginia Regiment, defending British settlements in the Shenandoah Valley.
Washington earned recognition in America and England for his bravery during the British defeat at the Battle of the Wilderness. By the war's end, he had become a symbol for American colonists of the military prowess of their militia.
Edward Braddock (c.1695-1755) was major-general in the British Army. He was dispatched to America in 1754 to restore and strengthen British positions in the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes region after the defeat of George Washington at Fort Necessity. Overestimating the abilities of his British regulars, and underestimating the importance of building alliances with the Indians of the Ohio Valley, he suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of the Wilderness (Battle of Monongahela) in July 1755. Braddock was mortally wounded in the battle. This defeat was the first in a series of major military setbacks for the British in 1755.
William Pitt (1708-1778) was British secretary of state during the French and Indian War and later served as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Named secretary of state in 1757, Pitt resolved to commit whatever resources were necessary to defeat the French in North America and on the European continent. He provided generous funding to Prussia, Britain's ally in the Seven Years' War, for troops to tie down French forces in Europe. He also funded the expansion of provincial militias in North America. By the summer of 1758, the British had 50,000 men in uniform in North America, serving as British regulars or in colonial provincial regiments—a number equal to the entire white population of New France. Pitt resigned in 1761 when the king refused to pursue a more complete defeat of France or to declare war against Spain.
Pitt's policies led to British success in the French and Indian War. But they also left Britain with a tremendous debt, and a larger empire to administer. During the ensuing controversies between Britain and its America colonies, Pitt sympathized with the Americans, especially in their opposition to the Stamp Act. But as Prime Minister (1766-68) he was unsuccessful in crafting a policy that could reconcile the ambitions of Britain and America.
James Wolfe (1727-1759), a colonel in the British Army, led the successful attack against Quebec in 1759, all but ending the French and Indian War. Born into a military family, he joined the army at age 14, and saw combat at 16. Posted to North America in 1757, he was given the local rank of "Brigadier in America" in 1758 and assigned the task of capturing Quebec, the most secure French position in North America.
Wolfe's risky decision to attack the western side of the city by scaling the poorly defended cliffs along the Saint Lawrence River caught the French by surprise. Forced to abandon the security of the city walls, the less disciplined French forces were quickly defeated. In the battle, Wolfe received injuries to his wrist and chest, and died on the battlefield. He subsequently became a British national hero.
Questions: Answer the questions in 2-3 complete sentences.
1. What other names does the French and Indian War go by?
2. Was the French and Indian war only between the Colonist and the French? Who else was involved?
3. As a result of the French and Indian War, what did the colonist gain? What did they lose?
4. What were the Navigation acts?
5. How did the French and Indian War greatly contribute to the American Revolution?
6. William Pitt although very necessary for victory in the French and Indian War, later did many things that led to the start of the American revolution, what did he do, and why did he do it?
7. George Washington’s First Command was during the French and Indian War, how did he fare? (He was only 21 years old)
8. Write down two important facts about William Pitt
9. Out of the above listed people who do you think was the most important to victory in the French and Indian War, why?
10. Describe George Washington’s early military battles (did you know this about him prior to this reading?)