The Great War for Empire

Changing Roles of New France

Changing Roles of New France

• By 1663 New France became a royal province of France.

• The colony was relatively small and under developed.

• Contained few French settlements and

only 2000 colonists.

• Remained dependent on France and vulnerable to the military might of the Iroquois before France sent in 1000 troops in 1665.

Louis XIVLouis XIV

• 1663 Louis XIV assumed the political, military, and economic responsibility for New France.

• By this time France had emerged as the most powerful empire in Europe.

• He believed that a nation obtained strength and prosperity through self sufficiency.

• Colonies provided the greatest means by which France could become more powerful, because they were sources of raw materials and ready markets for finished goods.

Represented the king

Entrusted power to the bishop, governor, intendant, and several councilors-from the elite in society.

Role: oversee the economic development of New France

Intendant: in New France, the administrator responsible for finance and justice.

The Sovereign Council

The Sovereign Council

Jean Talon

• 1ST Intendant of New France (1665-1672) • Goal: to increase colony’s population by enticing

prospective settlers with the lure of free land and passage.

• Men greatly outnumbered the women, so Talon recruited young women from rural Normandy to be brides.

• Encouraged marriage at a young age as well as large families, which helped to double the population.

• By 1681 there were 10 000 settlers in New France. • Although little subsequent immigration took place, by

1763 the colon would reach 70 000 through natural increase.

Acadia

• Founded in 1605 with the settlement at Port Royal.

• Over the next 100 years, control over Acadia bounded back and forth between England and France during their many wars.

• In 1690 Acadia fell once more to the British, but it was returned to France in 1697.

• When Port Royal was captured for the last time by British troops in 1710, the region was named Nova Scotia.

• The Acadians prospered under British rule and lived peacefully for the next 45 years.

Treaty of Utrecht 1713

• France ceded: • Acadia • Fishing rights in Newfoundland • Trading posts in Rupert’s Land to

England (went to HBC). • Acadians (who were neutral) lived

under British rule.

Gen. Edward Braddock is sent to evict the French from the Ohio Valley & Canada

A Draws up a plan to attack Ohio Valley, Mohawk Valley,& Acadia (Nova Scotia)

A General Johnson with Mohawk allies would fight the French to a stalemate in the Mohawk valley. There, British forces would build Fort William Henry

1755 Britain Decides to Eliminate French Presence in North

America

1755 Britain Decides to Eliminate French Presence in North

America

A Braddock would lead the attack in the Ohio Valley against Fort Duquesne but would be ambushed by French and Native forces. Braddock and half his forces would be killed in an embarrassing British defeat

A In Acadia –which the British called Nova Scotia – the Acadians would be deported, though they had lived as British subjects for over forty years

1756 War Is Formally

Declared!

1756 War Is Formally

Declared! Seven Years’ War would begin which would include most of the major powers of Europe and would be fought in Europe, Africa, India, and North America.

France and Great Britain would be enemies in this war and their North American conflict would become a full fledged war

Seven Years’ War

• First truly global war• Involved many countries and

colonies in: • Africa, Asia, Europe, North

America, and the Caribbean. • Britain, Prussia Hanover vs.

France, Austria, Sweden, Saxony, Russia and Spain.

Reasons for French Success The French owed these successes early in

the war to their Native allies. The French had been trading and living

alongside Native Americans for over a century.

The majority of the British did not treat the Native Americans with the same level of respect.

Thus the majority of Native Americans would support the French

Losing battles in both North America and Europe, Great Britain would have to change its strategy

1758-1761 The Tide Turns for England

1758-1761 The Tide Turns for England

• While France is focused on the larger war at home, Britain decides to focus on North America – as a result thousands of British soldiers are sent to North America while the French send only a handful of recruits.

• Montcalm may be a brilliant general – but against such numbers he would not be able to hold out for long.

• Montcalm would pull his forces back to Canada as he knew he could not defend his gains with the forces he had.

1758-1761 The Tide Turns for England

1758-1761 The Tide Turns for England

• July 1758 – Fortress of Louisbourg – on Cape Breton Island – would fall after a siege of almost two months. The British had sent a massive fleet from Halifax along with almost 14,000 soldiers and 12,000 sailors and marines

• The French Commander of Louisbourg knew if he could hold out long enough the British would not be able to continue on to Quebec until the next year. In this he would at least be successful

Siege of Louisbourg 1758

Siege of Louisbourg 1758

• Fall 1758 – as Montcalm prepares for the inevitable siege of Quebec, back in the Ohio country there is a new General in charge

• General John Forbes will not make the same mistake as Braddock. He makes peace with a number of Native tribes and then marches on Fort Duquesne, building a fort every 50 miles – this path will one day be the Pennsylvania turnpike.

• November 1758 - He is able to take Fort Duquesne with little effort and renames it Fort Pitt after British Prime Minister William Pitt – in time it will become Pittsburgh

Fort Duquesne fallsFort Duquesne falls

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham 1759

• The British under major General James Wolfe bring 9000 men to Quebec.

• On September 13 1759 the Battle of the Plains of Abraham ends with the defeat of Montcalm and Quebec surrenders.

• A year later the British are defeated on the same field but the siege by the French is lifted when the British Navy sails up the St. Lawrence

THE SIEGE OF QUÉBEC 1759

• They scaled the cliffs and advanced to the Plains of Abraham. The Marquis de Montcalm, the French commander, left a strong position just outside the city and fought them with an army of 4500 French regulars, Canadiens, and First Peoples.

• The British won following an intense, 30-minute battle. Both Montcalm and Wolfe were mortally wounded. Québec surrendered four days later.

THE FALL OF NEW FRANCE1760-1763

• French forces attacked St. John’s

• This could give France more bargaining power.

• France wins but they were eventually defeated by the British

• The French surrendered on 8 September

Battle of Signal Hill (St. John’s NFLD)

• In June 1762, the French again captured St. John's, this time to strengthen France's bargaining position after the loss of Louisbourg and Quebec

• In September, the British reclaimed the Town when Lieutenant-Colonel William Amherst advanced on St. John's from Torbay

• By taking Signal Hill first, Amherst had a strategic advantage over the French at Fort William. They surrendered after a night of mortar bombardment from the Hill

The Royal Proclamation 1763

• issued by King George III to establish a basis of government administration in the North American territories formally ceded by France to Britain in the Treaty of Paris, 1763

• It established the constitutional framework for the negotiation of treaties with the Aboriginal inhabitants of large sections of Canada

• The Proclamation is also significant because it contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775 — as it legally defined the North American interior west of the Appalachian Mountains as a vast Aboriginal reserve, thus angering inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies who desired western expansion

France --> lost her Canadian possessions, most of her empire in India, and claims to lands east of the Mississippi River.

Spain --> got all French lands west of the Mississippi River, New Orleans, but lost Florida to England.England --> got all French lands in Canada, exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade, and commercial dominance in India.

1763 Treaty of Paris

1763 Treaty of Paris

North America in 1763

North America in 1763

1763 Pontiac’s Rebellion

Fort Detroit

British “gifts” of smallpox-infected blankets from Fort Pitt.

The Aftermath: Tensions Along the

Frontier

The Aftermath: Tensions Along the

Frontier

Pontiac’s Rebellion

• Pontiac was an Ottawa Aboriginal chief that has become known through history. He was quite successful in protecting his land and his people from enemies.

• Pontiac was an ally of the French. However, the French lost the war, losing their property and holdings to the British.

• Unlike the agreements Pontiac and the tribe had with the French, the British did not trade supplies and goods with the Indians or ask for permission before building forts.

• This did not sit well with Chief Pontiac, and in 1763, the Ottawa began what would be referred to as Pontiac’s Rebellion

Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)

Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)

1. It increased her colonial empire in the Americas.

2. It greatly enlarged England’s debt.

3. Britain’s contempt for the colonials created bitter feelings.

Therefore, England felt that amajor reorganization of her

American Empire was necessary!

Effects of the War on Britain?

Effects of the War on Britain?

1. It united them against a common enemy for the first time.

2. It created a socializing experience for all the colonials who participated.

3. It created bitter feelings

towards the British that would only intensify.

Effects of the War on the American

Colonials

Effects of the War on the American

Colonials

1. The French of Acadia (Nova Scotia) were uprooted and their land was confiscated

2. The French of Quebec would find themselves under a foreign power that would try and assimilate and/or oppress many times throughout the centuries

3. There would be many political and some military conflicts between French and British colonialists that would stretch all the way into the 21st century

Effects of the War on the French ColonialsEffects of the War on the French Colonials

1. Those Native Americans that had sided with the French now found themselves under the distrustful and in many cases vindictive rule of the British

2. Those Native Americans who sided with the British faired a little better but many British promises were left unfulfilled – eventual most of these British allied Native Americans would find themselves on the losing side of the American Revolution

3. All Native Americans now faced the reality that the French were gone and the British no longer needed them (minor exceptions during the American Revolution and the War of 1812). The lose of land to Europeans would intensify exponentially after this war

Effects of the War on the First Nations

Effects of the War on the First Nations