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Volumes can be written about the French and Indian War also known in American history books as the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763) and the resulting impact that it has had on the subsequent history of North America and even the Western Hemisphere for that matter. For this reason I shall confine my focus to a limited number of aspects of that war including the prewar history of early North America, the major causes of the war, some of the significant battles and events of the war, some of its war heroes and finally on some of the lasting consequences of that war and their effects on our current American history. In this way I hope to provide the reader with a greater appreciation of history and the significant impact that the results of that war have had on the history of our nation.
Brief History of Early Colonial America
The three major European powers of the early 18th century all laid claims upon parts of North America. The Spanish had laid claim to Florida and Mexico which included much of what is now the South Western United States. The British had laid claim upon nearly all of the North American Eastern Seaboard from Georgia in the south to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to the north. The French had claimed possession of the St Laurence River Valley, the area of current day Montreal and Quebec as well as all of the land east of the Mississippi to the Appalachian Mountains down to New Orleans on the Gulf Coast. This included the very fur rich country of the Ohio Valley.
Since little was known at the time of the actual expanse of North America, some of the land grants given to the colonies by the British Crown such as Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York had no western boundaries thus extending their land claims well over the Appellation Mountains and into the Ohio Valley. Then in addition to this, numerous Indian tribes, many of whom were under the control of the Iroquois Confederation, also laid claim to much of the lands that lay west of the colonies and extended into all of the Ohio Valley. The predominant language of the British Colonies was English and their religion was heavily Protestant while the people under French Control spoke French and were loyal to the Pope of Rome.
Chief Causes of the War
The French were heavily involved in fur trade with the Indians and the Ohio Valley was a very lucrative area for that trade. The British as well were interested in the fur trade business. The British Hudson Bay Company was founded in 1670 and the Ohio Company was later established by colonial leaders in New York. The interests of the British, French and Indian nations all laying claim to some of the same fertile land area was a chief cause of the war. Because of the increasing encroachment of the British colonies continual expansion westward in search of new land, the Frenchman Pierre-Joseph Celoron led a military force of 200 into what is now Pittsburg, PA in June of 1747 where he buried lead plates engraved with French writing laying claim of the Ohio Valley for the French. "When Céloron's expedition arrived at Logstown, the Native Americans in the area informed Céloron that they owned the Ohio Country and that they would trade with the British regardless of what the French told them to do".1
Not only were the British colonists interested in trade with the Indians, but they were also hungry for more land to meet the needs of their growing colonies and the logical place to move was westward. This meant permanent settlements, which the French did not like. It also brought the English language and Protestantism to the area, something that the French people in Montreal and Quebec did not like. This brought discomfort and distrust to both sides.
The presence of the French in the Ohio Valley was of great concern to the leaders of the colonies. In late 1753, Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia sent 21 year old George Washington with a letter telling the French to back away from what was considered Virginia's western boarder. "Washington left with a small party, picking up along the way Jacob Van Braam as an interpreter, Christopher Gist, a company surveyor working in the area, and a few Mingo led by Tanaghrisson. On December 12, Washington and his men reached Fort Le Boeuf."2
"Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, commander of the French forces invited Washington to dine with him. Over dinner, Washington presented Saint-Pierre with the letter from Dinwiddie that demanded an immediate French withdrawal from the Ohio Country. Saint-Pierre was quite civil in his response, saying, "As to the Summons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it."3 "He explained to Washington that France's claim to the region was superior to that of the British, since René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle had explored the Ohio Country nearly a century earlier."4
"Dinwiddie, even before Washington returned, sent a group of 40 men under William Trent to that point, where in the early months of 1754 they began construction of a small stockaded fort".5 "Governor Duquesne sent additional French forces under Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecoeur to relieve Saint-Pierre during the same period, and Contrecoeur led 500 men south from Fort Venango on April 5, 1754."6 "When these arrived at the forks, Contrecoeur generously allowed Trent's small company to withdraw, after purchasing their construction tools to continue building what became Fort Duquesne".7
"After Washington returned to Williamsburg with his report, Dinwiddie ordered him to lead a larger force to assist Trent in his work. While en route, he learned of Trent's retreat".8 "Since Tanaghrisson had promised him support, he continued toward Fort Duquesne, and met with the Mingo leader. Learning of a French scouting party in the area, Washington took some of his men, and with Tanaghrisson and his party, surprised the French on May 28. Many of the French were slain, among them their commanding officer, Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, whose head was split open by Tanaghrisson. Historian Fred Anderson puts forward the reason for Tanaghrisson's act (which was followed up by one of Tanaghrisson's men informing Contrecoeur that Jumonville had been killed by British musket fire) as one of desperate need to win the support of the British in an effort to regain authority over his people who were more inclined to support the French".9
"Following the battle, Washington pulled back several miles and established Fort Necessity, which the French then attacked on July 3. The engagement led to Washington's surrender; he negotiated a withdrawal under arms. One of Washington's men reported that the French force was accompanied by Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo--just those Tanaghrisson was seeking to influence."10
Some Significant Battles of the War
These incidents triggered the beginning of the war that lasted seven years. The initial years of the war went badly for British. During this time the famous battle led by the British Major General Edward Braddock in 1775 occurred in which he attempted to capture Fort Duquesne. They were ambushed by the French and the Indians in the Battle of Monongahela in which Braddock was mortally wounded. Washington served under Braddock and that is where he gained his military leadership skills.
One other battle of the war worth mentioning is the fall of Fort William Henry on the Hudson River to the French military leader, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. That is considered the most notorious massacre in colonial history. Upon the defeat of the British, the French and Indians massacred and captured hundreds of defenseless British soldiers and citizens. Montcalm was overpowered in his attempt to stop the rampage. Many were robbed and taken captive. Shortly thereafter a plague of small pox spread throughout the Ohio Valley, which was devastating to the Indian tribes. It is thought by many that the disease was transmitted from those who were taken captive. As a result of the epidemic, the role of the American Indians diminished in that war.
Under the new British ministry leadership of William Pitt, the tide eventually turned in favor of the British and the war finally ended in 1763 with the surrender of both Montreal and Quebec to the British. The French General Montcalm lost his life in the Battle of Quebec as did the British General James Wolfe. The war in North America officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763, and war in the European theatre of the Seven Years' War was settled by the Treaty of Hubertusburg on February 15, 1763.
Consequences of the French and Indian War
The agreements reached in the signing of the Treaty of Paris and the Treaty of Hubertusburg dramatically altered the political and economic history of North America. Although Spain was not involved in the war with the colonies, that nation was involved in the war in other parts of the Western Hemisphere and that too had an impact on the current history of our nation.
As a result of the British victory, Spain gave up Florida to the British. France lost nearly all of her land possessions in North America - which were extensive. "The British offered France a choice of either its North American possessions east of the Mississippi or the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which had been occupied by the British. France chose to cede Canada, and was able to negotiate the retention of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and fishing rights in the area. The economic value of the Caribbean islands to France was greater than that of Canada because of their rich sugar crops, and they were easier to defend. The British, however, were happy to take New France, as defense was not an issue, and they already had many sources of sugar. Spain, which traded Florida to Britain to regain Cuba, also gained Louisiana, including New Orleans, from France in compensation for its losses. Navigation on the Mississippi was to be open to all nations."11
Both the British and the French suffered financially from the devastating war. Britain was left with tremendous debts which eventually led to the crown taxing the American colonies to help pay for the war debt. This in turn led to the eventual friction and revolt of the colonies against the British Crown. Also as a result of the war the lands west of the British colonies, including Western New York, formerly under French rule eventually fell into the hands of the Americans after the American Revolution rather than remaining under British rule, as did Canada. It was the British colonists who brought with them the Anglo Saxon common law and the Judeo Christian concept of government that our rights come from our creator rather than from the pleasure of the government. Under French rule which was heavily influenced by the papacy, rights were considered being granted by the state rather than being from God.
Included in those Anglo Saxon common law ideas of government were the concepts that property rights were sacred, that free men had the right to elect their leaders, that government authority should be limited and that men have the right of trial by jury by their peers. These concepts were the source of the revolutionary ideas of self-government which brought about the U S Constitution. Without the influence of these Anglo-Saxon and Judeo-Christian ideas, it seems almost impossible that we would have the Constitution that the Founding Fathers gave us or the freedoms that we have today. In this regard, one is lead to conclude, as did Benjamin Franklin, that the God of Heaven truly does rule in the affairs of nations to foster and promote His eternal purposes. In the minds of the Founding Fathers the establishment of the Constitution was truly a miracle. As we Americans gain a conviction of that truth, we do all in our power to preserve it as they charged us to.
Footnotes
1 "French and Indian War", Wikipedia.org 27 November 2010
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid..
Books referenced in Wikipedia article.
Anderson, Fred (2000). Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0375406425.
Fowler, William M. (2005). Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763. New York: Walker. ISBN 0802714110.
Jennings, Francis (1988). Empire of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies, and Tribes in the Seven Years War in America. New York: Norton. ISBN 0393306402.
Ellis, Joseph J. (2004). His Excellency George Washington. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 1400032539.
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