The Great War for Empire and its Consequences

The Great War for Empire and its Consequences 1754-1765

Introduction • As King George’s War drew to a close in 1748, tensions between Great Britain and France remained strong as a result of their competing colonial interests in North America • As various Native American groups, American land speculators and squatters, and French fur trappers converged in the Ohio River valley, the stage was set for a new round of fighting

Opening Battles • In 1754, Virginia dispatched George Washington into a contested area to assert Britain’s claim and repel any French occupants in the region • Washington’s arrival triggered a series of minor battles, and the young Virginian was soon defeated and forced to retreat • British officials longed to secure inter-colonial cooperation as the surest means to provide colonial defense

Attempts at Colonial Unity • Colonists like Benjamin Franklin supported such initiatives by advancing a Plan of Union that would establish a grand council of representatives from the various colonies and a chief negotiator appointed by the crown • The council would settle disputes affecting the mutual interests of all the colonies • In the end, the effort failed and this, combined with Washington’s surrender, convinced British authorities that the colonists were incapable of defending themselves or the interests of the British Empire

British Disaster in America • In 1755, British general, Edward Braddock, arrived in America as the commander-in-chief in North America • He planned to launch an offensive against the French who then occupied the Ohio Valley • As Braddock’s army approached Fort Duquesne, he found himself surrounded by 1,500 French soldiers and their Native American allies suffering the worst British defeat in America to that date

Outbreak of War • Within a year of Braddock’s defeat, the British and French had officially declared war • British and French forces fought in the Caribbean, the Pacific, India, as well as in North America, and Britain fared poorly in the fight as British commanders struggled to secure native allies and keep recalcitrant Americans in check

Appearance of William Pitt • The war turned in Britain’s favor when new parliamentary leaders, led by William Pitt who served as secretary of state from 1757 until 1761, took command and decided to make North America the primary scene of fighting

British Success • By 1758, the British recaptured Fort Louisbourg, and soon thereafter, George Washington’s forces took Fort Duquesne, which they promptly renamed Fort Pitt (later Pittsburgh) • These victories set the stage for a final confrontation on the Plains of Abraham over Quebec • Almost a year later, the French surrendered to British forces at Montreal—a defeat that signaled the end of the war in North America

Legacy of War • The Seven Years’ War (aka the French and Indian War or the Great War for Empire) left a legacy of violence for those still living along the colonial frontier • Pontiac’s Rebellion • Proclamation Line of 1763 • The Indians expressed their satisfaction with the Proclamation Line of 1763, but the colonists felt it denied them the fruits of their hard won victory over the French

Legacy of War • The conflicts that emerged as part of the legacy of the Seven Years’ War not only involved colonists and Indians, but they also pitted planters and yeoman farmers against poorer Americans living further west • All of these struggles provided the backdrop for an even larger drama that was about to unfold on the imperial stage

Origins of the Imperial Crisis • In the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War, the British Empire entered into a period of unprecedented economic growth and activity • As a result, many prominent leaders within the British government began to rethink the management of the crown’s imperial dominions • The unintended consequence of this shift provoked discussions about the role of the colonies within the empire and who would benefit from their prosperity

Economic Expansion • After the war, colonists began importing more household goods from British manufacturers that, in turn, helped fuel industrial development and expansion in England • Yet, in spite of this dynamic activity, not all of the colonies experienced such a rapid recovery after the Seven Years’ War

Downside to Economic Expansion • Colonists living along the frontier and the working poor in urban areas could not secure necessities • Broken promises made by British officials to reimburse colonial war expenses compounded these problems, fostering economic uncertainties for colonial merchants • By the mid-1760s, a growing number of merchants declared bankruptcy, prompting colonists to turn a more watchful eye on British imperial policies in America.

Financial Cost of War • The legacy of Britain’s colonial wars for empire from 1689 to 1763 burdened the British treasury • As British officials sought to pay down the national debt, a growing number of them blamed North American colonists for failing to provide sufficient tax revenue to pay war expenses and for evading the Acts of Trade and Navigation • Subsequently, British officials indicated their willingness to enforce crown policies in America and to impose more control over the colonial economy to the benefit of the crown’s interests

Financial Cost of War:Lord Grenville • Appointment of George Grenville in 1763 • Grenville combined crown efforts to stop smugglers and collect revenue by instituting the Sugar Act in 1764 • Grenville also persuaded Parliament to pass the Currency Act of 1764 prohibiting colonists from printing more paper money and ordered the withdrawal of all existing colonial currency by 1769

Grenville and the Quartering Act • The Grenville ministry provoked the colonists still further a year later with the passage of the Quartering Act • This act allowed army commanders to requisition supplies to build barracks to quarter their troops in public buildings and taverns • The Quartering Act caused tensions to grow between the urban poor and the redcoats that soon fostered direct confrontations between these two groups in American cities

Conclusion • The French and Indian War was a great success for both colonist and British interests • However, that success would have unintended consequences for both parties and begin the colonists on the path toward independence

The Great War for Empire and its Consequences