American Military History, Topic 3: The French and Indian War and Two Indian Accounts of the Conflict

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "American Military History, Topic 3: The French and Indian War and Two Indian Accounts of the Conflict"

Ethel Martin
6 years ago
Views:

1 Background: The French and Indian War ( ) was the final Anglo-French colonial war, and its outcome rearranged the global power structure. Between 1689 and 1763, England and France competed for world dominance in trade and naval power, and the clashes of the imperial titans resulted in four wars that ravaged both sides of the Atlantic. Between 1689 and 1697, their War of the League of Augsburg in Europe became King William s War in North America; between 1702 and 1713, their War of Spanish Succession in Europe became Queen Anne s War in North America; and, between 1744 and 1748, their War of Austrian Succession in Europe became King George s War in North America. Finally, in 1754, the two empires faced off in the French and Indian War in North America, which would become the Seven Years War in Europe and not end until 1763, when the British eclipsed the French as the world s masters of commerce and empire. The British victory in the imperial struggle for the settled regions of North America more than doubled the size of the British Empire in the New World and left the once-mighty French with only a few islands in the Caribbean. It also fomented the debates over authority that would lead to the American Revolution. The French and Indian War was fought in three phases. The first phase occurred between 1754 and In the summer of 1754, the governor of Virginia sent a militia force led by George Washington to arrest French expansion in the Ohio Valley. The English colonials built a crude fortification (Fort Necessity) and staged an attack on a much larger French outpost (Fort Duquesne) at present-day Pittsburgh. The Virginians were unsuccessful, and the French launched a counterattack against Fort Necessity that killed one-third of Washington s men, forcing the young lieutenant colonel to surrender. This frontier clash marked the beginning of the Anglo-French war and was typical of its first phase. During these early years, English colonists instead of the King s troops did most of the fighting, and the war was primarily a local affair in North America. Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union (by which an intercolonial union would be created of every colony in British North America except Georgia and Nova Scotia) to oversee colonial defense, Indian affairs, and taxation, but not a single colony voted for it. The French quickly gained the upper hand through a series of victories (most notably against British forces commanded by General Edward Braddock, who, in the summer of 1755, had tried again in vain to capture Fort Duquesne) and through creating alliances with every major Indian tribe in the Ohio Valley except the Iroquois, who had formed a reluctant alliance with the British. Between 1756 and 1758, the war s second phase saw the struggle become an international conflict that stained Europe, as well as North America, with a wash of blood. The start of the Seven Years War in Europe precipitated the formation of a complex system of alliances among the imperial European powers. France allied with Austria (along with Russia, Sweden, and others), Britain joined with Prussia (along with Portugal, Hanover, and others), and the conflict spread to engulf the West Indies, India, and Europe, along with intensifying in North America, making the conflict the first truly global war. For the first time, William Pitt, the English secretary of state and future prime minister, brought the British war effort in America

2 firmly under imperial instead of colonial control. Pitt oversaw grand strategy, appointed commanders, issued orders to the colonists, and agreed to a policy of impressment (the forcible enlistment of colonists), as well as to the mandatory quartering of soldiers by colonists and the seizing of colonial equipment and supplies. Imperial commanders also attempted to make American volunteers conform to professional military standards, which they, in most cases, neither met nor wanted to meet. The result was a wave of savage punishment against the colonials, including hundreds of lashings, which led to a spirit of rebellion, desertion, and mutiny among the volunteers, who had been used to much more freedom. These imperialcolonial conflicts over freedom, order, and authority created great resentment on both sides. After so many decades of largely running their own affairs and two years of little assistance or direction from London the new imperial measures felt oppressive and led to resistance and riots in the colonies, most notably in New York in By early 1758, Pitt knew that, to win the war, he would have to relax the Empire s grip on the independent-minded colonials. In the conflict s final phase, he began reimbursing colonists for all supplies taken by the army, and he returned control over recruitment to the colonial assemblies. He also sent large numbers of reinforcements to win the fight in North America, and imperial troops began doing the bulk of the fighting, though colonial militias continued to provide limited assistance. The British besieged the fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and, after two months of bombardment by 157 ships, captured it in July Fort Duquesne finally fell a few months later, and, on 13 September 1759, British general James Wolfe took the supposedly impregnable walled city of Quebec after an epic pitched battle against the Marquis de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham in which both generals lost their lives. Across the Atlantic in France, the French loss of the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November crippled its navy so badly that it could no longer ferry supplies and troops to Canada, and, by September 1760, an Anglo-American-Iroquois force defeated the French at Montreal. The British then crushed the French in India, French Senegal in West Africa, and Martinique and Guadalupe in the French West Indies. Despite Spain entering the war as a French ally in 1762, Britain continued an uninterrupted string of victories and took the Spanish strongholds at Havana, Cuba, and Manila in the Philippines before signing the Treaty of Paris in February The treaty transformed the North American map and changed the global balance of power. France lost its North American empire (except for some of its West Indian sugar islands) and ceded Canada and all other French territory east of the Mississippi (except for the city of New Orleans) to Britain. France ceded New Orleans and its claims west of the Mississippi to Spain. Spain ceded Florida to the British in exchange for Havana and paid a huge ransom for the return of Manila. The land swap constituted the largest single rearrangement of territory in the history of North America and, by doubling British land holdings there, made Britain, at the great expense of France, the world s leading imperial power.

3 Winning world dominance had not come cheaply for the British, however, as the war had doubled their national debt. American colonists had refused to be taxed by Parliament to support the war effort, and they had rarely agreed to tax themselves for it. Along with being difficult to command, they had also defied imperial trade regulations and other British demands to share the cost of defending their land. By 1763, to cover the costs of empire, the average resident in England was paying 20 percent of his household income in taxes, while the average American was paying only 1 percent. New prime minister George Grenville felt it was high time to increase imperial authority and taxation in the colonies, and his actions would lead to another long war in North America the War of American Independence 12 years later. Questions to Consider as You Read: According to the two accounts, what were the causes of the French and Indian War? According to the two accounts, what effects did the war have on the Indians of northeastern North America? What does the account of the Chippewa chief teach you about the Euro-Indian alliances of the French and Indian War and, especially, about how the Indians viewed them? Research: Two Indian Accounts of the French and Indian War (1758, 1761) As you read, don t forget to mark and annotate main ideas, key terms, confusing concepts, unknown vocabulary, cause/effect relationships, examples, etc. Delaware Indians to Ambassador from Pennsylvania (1758): The land is ours, and not theirs; therefore, we say, if you will be at peace with us, we will send the French home. It is you [the British] that have begun the war, and it is necessary that you hold fast, and be not discouraged, in the work of peace. We love you more than you love us; for when we take any prisoners from you, we treat them as our own children. We are poor, and yet we clothe them as well as we can, though you see our children are as naked as the first. By this you may see that our hearts are better than yours. It is plain that you white people are the cause of this war; why do not you and the French fight in the old country, and on the sea? Why do you come to fight on our land? This makes every body believe, you want to take the land from us by force, and settle it.. There are always a great number of people that want to get rich; they never have enough; look, we do not want to be rich, and take away that which others have. God has given you the tame creatures; we do not want to take them from you. God has given to us the deer, and other wild creatures, which we must feed on; and we rejoice in that which springs out of the ground, and thank God for it. Look now, my brother, the white people think we have no brains in our heads; but that they are great and big, and that makes them make war with us: we are but a little handful to what you are; but remember, when you look for a wild turkey you cannot always find it, it is so little it hides itself under the bushes; and when you hunt for a

4 rattlesnake, you cannot find it; and perhaps it will bite you before you see it. However, since you are so great and big, and we so little, do you use your greatness and strength in completing this work of peace. This is the first time that we saw or heard of you, since the war began, and we have great reason to think about it, since such a great body of you comes into our lands. It is told us, that you and the French contrived the war, to waste the Indians between you; and that you and the French intended to divide the land between you: this was told us by the chief of the Indian traders; and they said further, brothers, this is the last time we shall come among you; for the French and the English intend to kill all the Indians, and then divide the land among themselves. Brother, I suppose you know something about it; or has the Governor stopped your mouth, that you cannot tell us? Chippewa Chief to British Trader (1761): Englishman, it is to you that I speak, and I demand your attention! Englishman, you know that the French king is our father. He promised to be such; and we in return promised to be his children. This promise we have kept. Englishman, it is you that have made war with this our father. You are his enemy; and how then could you have the boldness to venture among us, his children? You know that his enemies are ours. Englishman, we are informed that our father, the King of France, is old and infirm; and that being fatigued with making war upon your nation, he is fallen asleep. During his sleep you have taken advantage of him and possessed yourselves of Canada. But his nap is almost at an end. I think I hear him already stirring and inquiring for his children, the Indians; and when he does awake, what must become of you? He will destroy you utterly! Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us! We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance; and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live without bread and pork and beef! But you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious lakes and on these woody mountains. Englishman, our father, the King of France, employed our young men to make war upon your nation. In this warfare many of them have been killed, and it is our custom to retaliate until such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. But the spirits of the slain are to be satisfied in either of two ways; the first is by the spilling of the blood of the nation by which they fell; the other by covering the bodies of the dead, and thus allaying the resentment of their relations. This is done by making presents. Your king has never sent us any presents and until he does [this] we must consider that we have no other father. 1 Notebook Questions: Reason and Record According to the two accounts, what were the causes of the French and Indian War? 1 SOURCES: Thwaites, Reuben G., ed. Early Western Travels. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, Alexander Henry. Travels and Adventures in the Years Chicago: R. R. Donnelley, 1921.

5 According to the two accounts, what effects did the war have on the Indians of northeastern North America? What does the account of the Chippewa chief teach you about the Euro-Indian alliances of the French and Indian War and, especially, about how the Indians viewed them? Notebook Questions: Relate and Record How do the documents relate to FACE Principle #7: The Christian Principle of American Political Union: Internal agreement or unity, which is invisible, produces an external union, which is visible in the spheres of government, economics, and home and community life. Before two or more individuals can act effectively together, they must first be united in spirit in their purposes and convictions? How do the documents relate to Daniel 2:34-35? Record Activity: Multiple Choice Comprehension Check 1. Background: Which of the following is true about the second phase of the French and Indian War? a. It ended Queen Anne s War. b. It included the debacle at Fort Necessity. c. English colonists did most of the fighting, and the war was primarily fought in North America only.

6 d. The Iroquois allied with the French. e. The Albany Plan of Union grew into the first continental congress in North America. f. The war became an international conflict and the first truly global war. 2. Background: The French and Indian War resulted in all of the following except which one? a. It transformed the North American map and changed the global balance of power. b. France lost its North American empire (except for some of its West Indian sugar islands) and ceded Canada and all other French territory east of the Mississippi (except for the city of New Orleans) to Britain. c. The land swap constituted the largest single rearrangement of territory in the history of North America and, by doubling British land holdings there, made France, at the great expense of Britain, the world s leading imperial power. d. It doubled Britain s national debt. e. It fomented the debates over authority that would lead to the American Revolution. 3. Sources: Which one of the following was not true from a native perspective? a. Indians believed the land of North America was theirs (as an inheritance from their ancestors) not the Europeans. b. Europeans not Indians were the cause of the war. c. The war was fought to take land from the Indians to make room for European settlement. d. Indians were duty-bound to accept the reassignment of their homelands that occurred as a result of the Treaty of Paris.

SS.8.A.3.2 Explain American colonial reaction to British policy from

SS.8.A.3.2 Explain American colonial reaction to British policy from SS.8.C.2.6 Examine the causes, course, and consequences of the French and Indian War. IB Unit 1: No More Kings! SS.8.A.3.1 Explain the consequences of the French and Indian War in British policies for