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Chapter Four

Imperial Wars and Colonial Protest


Empires at War
The First Three Wars
• In the latter part of the 1600’s, a war which
involved Great Britain, France, and Spain was
sparked
• This led to three other wars, which took place
internationally across Europe, India, and North
America
• The wars were named for the Monarch whose
dominion they took place on
The First Three Wars
• King William’s War:
– Fought from 1689 to 1697
– English sought to gain Quebec, but failed
• Queen Anne’s War:
– Fought from 1702 to 1713
– English sought to gain Quebec, but the Indians assisted the French,
and the English failed
– English gained Nova Scotia from France, and trading rights in Spanish
America
• King George’s War:
– Fought from 1744 to 1748
– The French and Spanish attacked the colonies
– In the peace treaty that ended the war, the English gave Louisburg
back to the French in exchange for gain in India
The French and Indian War
• While the wars seldom involved the colonists,
the fourth war began in America
• It was also known as the Seven Years War
The Beginning of the War
• The French began the war by building forts on
the Ohio River Valley, to stop British growth
• Britain’s General Washington took the newest
French fort, but was then forced to surrender
• This sparked the war
• British General Edward Braddock lost at Fort
Duquesne
• British invasion of French Canada in 1757
failed
The Albany Plan of Union
• To make a more coordinated defense plan,
representatives from seven colonies were
called to Albany in 1754
• The Albany Plan of Union was thought up by
Benjamin Franklin
• Ideas included an intercolonial government,
system for recruiting troops, and collecting
taxes
British Victory
• The British retook Louisburg in 1758
• Quebec was surrendered in 1759
• Montreal was taken in 1760
• A peace treaty (The Peace of Paris) was signed
in 1763
• French power in America was ended
• France gave up Louisiana to Spain
Immediate Effects of the War
• Britain was the undisputed naval power in the
world
• American colonies didn’t have to worry about
attacks form the French, Spanish, or the
Indians
• The relationship between the colonies and the
British changed phenomenally
The British View of America
• Low opinion of colonial military
• The colonists were unable and unwilling to
defend their own frontiers
Colonial View of British
• Colonies were proud of their military
performance
• Unimpressed with British troops and
leadership
Reorganization of the British Empire
• Britain no longer let their laws go unenforced
• Policy of Salutary Neglect was abandoned
• Because of the costly nature of the war, King
George III and the Whig party decided to
heavily tax the colonies
Pontiac’s Rebellion
• In 1763, Chief Pontiac attacked the colonies
• Pontiac destroyed forts and settlements from
New York to Virginia
• British immediately sent troops to crush the
rebellion, rather than having the colonies deal
with it
Proclamation of 1763
• The British prohibited the colonists from
settling west of the Appalachian Mountains
• It was hoped that this would prevent more
fights with the Indians
• The Americans didn’t adhere to this
proclamation, and streamed in the thousands
past the boundary
British Actions and Colonial Reactions
Introduction
• Proclamation of 1763 was one of the first acts
that made the colonists angry with their
mother country
• The British saw them as attempting to protect
the colonists
• The colonists saw them as the British taking
away their rights
New Revenues and Regulations
• The Sugar Act of 1764
– Placed taxes on sugar and other luxuries
• Quartering Act
– Colonists were required to provide food and shelter to British
soldiers
• Stamp Act
– A revenue stamp must be placed on all legal documents,
newspapers, pamphlets, and advertisements. It was later
repealed by Parliament when a new Minister came into office.
• Declaratory Act
– Parliament had the right to tax and make laws for the colonies in
all cases whatsoever
Protesting the Stamp Act
• Patrick Henry demanded that the King’s
government recognize the rights of all citizens
• James Otis asked for cooperative action in
protesting the stamp act
• The Sons and Daughters of Liberty tarred and
feathered revenue officials
• Boycotts were the most popular form of
protest
The Second Phase of the Crisis
• Charles Townshend proposed another tax
measure
• Townshend Acts
– Taxes collected on imports of tea, glass, and paper
– Search of private homes for smuggled goods
– A writ of Assistance was required, rather than a
warrant
– Suspended New York’s assembly
Colonial Reaction
• Colonial Leaders protested the new taxes
• In Letters From A Farmer In Pennsylvania, John
Dickinson said that taxation required consent
• Massachusetts Circulation Letter was written
in 1768 by Sam Adams
– Urged colonies to petition to repeal Townshend
Acts
– British increased troops in Boston
Repeal of the Townshend Acts
• Prime Minister Fredrick North repealed the
Townshend Acts in 1770
• A tax on tea was kept to enforce British
superiority
Boston Massacre
• In March 1770, colonists were bothering
soldiers, so the soldiers shot into the crowd
• Five people were killed
• John Adams got them acquitted
Renewal of the Conflict
• The Committees of Correspondence, started
by Sam Adams in 1772, helped spread discord
with the British
The Gaspee
• The British ship, the Gaspee, was a ship that
attacked smugglers
• When the ship ran aground, colonists dressed
as Indians burned the ship
Boston Tea Party
• The Tea Act of 1773 was passed, which made
British tea cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea
• Colonists refused to buy, because they didn’t
want to recognize British taxation
• Colonists disguised as American Indians
dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor in
December 1773
Intolerable Acts
• Collective name given to new laws from
British
• Coercive Acts (1774)
– The Port Act closed the Boston port
– Massachusetts Government Act reduced
Massachusetts legislature power
– Administration of Justice Act let royal officials be
tried in England
Intolerable Acts Continued
• Quebec Act (1774)
– Organized Canadian lands gained from French
• Provisions
– Roman Catholicism was the main religion of
Quebec
– Set up a government without representative
assembly
• American Anger
– Quebec Act viewed as an attack on Colonists
Philosophical Foundations of American
Revolution
The Enlightenment
• In America, the Enlightenment was influenced
by John Locke and his Two Treatises on
Government
• Many enlightenment thinkers in America were
Deists, who believed God established natural
laws
• Believed in Rationalism
• Jean Jacques Rousseau had a large influence
on educated Americans

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