Page 128 - American Stories, A History of the United States

century of imperial War
4.1

4.5 Why did colonial Americans support Great britain’s wars against France?
4.2
W arfare in the colonies changed radically during the eighteenth century. 4.3
The founders of England’s mainland colonies had engaged in intense
local conflicts with the Indians, such as King Philip’s War (1675–1676)
in New England. But after 1690, the colonists were increasingly involved Quick Check
What advantages/disadvantages did
in hostilities that originated on the other side of the Atlantic, in political and com- Britain and its colonies have when
mercial rivalries between Britain and France. The external threat to security forced facing France in the imperial wars 4.4
people in different colonies to devise unprecedented measures of military and political of the seventeenth and eighteenth
cooperation. (See Table 4.1.) century?
4.5
the French threat
On paper, at least, the British colonies enjoyed military superiority over the settlements
of New France. King Louis XIV of France (r. 1643–1715) had an army of 100,000 well-
armed troops, but he dispatched few of them to the New World. He left the defense of
Canada and the Mississippi Valley to the companies engaged in the fur trade. Although
France sent more troops to Canada in the mid-eighteenth century, meeting this defen-
sive challenge seemed almost impossible for the French outposts strung out along the
St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. In 1754, New France contained only 75,000
inhabitants compared to 1.2 million people in Britain’s mainland colonies.
For most of the eighteenth century, the theoretical advantages the English colonists
enjoyed did them little good. While the British settlements possessed a larger and more
prosperous population, they were divided into separate governments that sometimes
seemed more suspicious of each other than of the French. When war came, French
officers and Indian allies skillfully exploited these jealousies. Moreover, although the
population of New France was comparatively small, it was concentrated along the
St. Lawrence, so that while the French found it difficult to mount effective offensives
against the English, they could easily mass the forces to defend Montreal and Quebec.

tAbLe 4.1 A ceNtURy OF cONFLict: MAjOR WARs, 1689–1763

european American Major American
Dates Name Name Major Allies issues battle treaty
1689–1697 War of the King William’s britain, Holland, spain, Opposition to French New england troops treaty of Ryswick
League of War their colonies, and Native bid for control of assault Quebec un- (1697)
Augsburg American allies against europe der sir William Phips
France, its colonies, and (1690)
Native American allies
1702–1713 War of the Queen Anne’s britain, Holland, their Austria and France hold Attack on Deerfield treaty of Utrecht
spanish War colonies, and Native rival claims to spanish (1704) (1713)
succession American allies against throne
France, spain, their colo-
nies, and Native American
allies
1743–1748 War of the King George’s britain, its colonies, and struggle among britain, New england forces treaty of Aix-la-
Austrian War Native American allies, spain, and France for capture Louisbourg chapelle (1748)
succession (War and Austria against control of New World under William
of jenkins’ ear) France, spain, their Native territory; among France, Pepperell (1745)
American allies, and Prussia, and Austria
Prussia for control of central
europe
1756–1763 seven years’ War French and britain, its colonies, and struggle among britain, british and Peace of Paris (1763)
indian War Native American allies spain, and France for continental forces
against France, its colo- worldwide control of capture Quebec
nies, and Native American colonial markets and under Major General
allies raw materials james Wolfe (1759)
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