1608 - First French settlement in the New World: Quebec
- Samuel de Champlain - "Father of New France"
- Motive was to compete with Spain and England for Empire in America
Characteristics of New France
- Autocratic
- No popularly elected assemblies/trial by jury
- Slow population growth
- Fur trapping became the main economic pursuit
- Jesuits missionaries converted few Indians but played vital role as explorers/geographers
- French legacy in the Mississippi River Valley
1688-1763: Battle for Empire in the New World (4 Wars: chart on p. 79)
- England v. France v. Spain
- During King George's War, 1744-48, New Englanders captured the French fortress at Louisbourg, only to have it returned to the French by the Treaty of 1748
- Focus of rivalry then turned to the Ohio Valley
1754 - Albany congress was held to achieve greater colonial unity and bolster the common defense
- Benjamin Franklin's famous cartoon: "Join, or Die"
- Franklin proposed colonial home rule but it was rejected by both Britain and the colonies
1756-1763: French and Indian War (or Seven Years' War)
- War was started by George Washington's troops firing on the French near Fort Duquesne
- Early British defeats result of tactical error: attacking all of New France instead of Montreal and Quebec
- William Pitt became British Prime Minister in 1757 and focused Britain's efforts on the Quebec-Montreal area
- Louisbourg was captured (again!) in 1758 along with Quebec (Wolfe v. Montcalm)
- Montreal fell to the British in 1760
1763 - settlement at Paris
- French Canada > England
- Trans-Mississippi Louisiana > Spain
- Florida > England
* Great Britain was now the dominant power in North America
British-American friction as result of the war
- Colonials emerged with increased confidence in their military strength and self-esteem
- Myth of British invincibility was shattered
- British distressed by the reluctance of the colonials to support the common cause wholeheartedly colonials demanded the rights and privileges of Englishmen, without the duties and responsibilities of Englishmen
Effect of French defeat on the colonies
- Threat of the French and Indians on the frontier removed
- Land hungry colonials were now free to expand westward over the Appalachian Mountains
- Colonials developed a new vision of their ultimate destiny
Proclamation of 1763
- Prohibited settlement in the area beyond the Appalachian Mountains
- Designed to work out the Indian problems and avoid further uprisings but Americans saw it as a violation of their rights > anger and defiance
- The stage was set for a violent family quarrel!