Important Take Away:
Key Words:
Read the description below and the site listed below and then answer the following questions in your document titled "Your Name Colonies" under the heading "French and Indian War"
And most importantly
The final Colonial War (1689-1763) was the French and Indian War.
This is the name given to the American theater of a massive conflict involving Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden called the Seven Years War.
The Seven Years War occurred throughout the world in Europe, India, and North America.
In Europe, Sweden , Austria, and France were allied (partnered together) to crush the rising power of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.
The English and the French battled for colonial domination in North America, the Caribbean, and in India.
The English did ultimately come to dominate the colonial outposts, but at a cost so staggering that the resulting debt nearly destroyed the English government.
The debt from the Seven Years War caused the increased tensions leading to the Revolutionary War in the United States.
English Parliament was desperate to obtain two objectives from its colonies;
The French and Indian War, as it was referred to in the colonies, was the beginning of open hostilities between the colonies and Great Britain.
Between 1700 and 1750 the population in the colonies grew from 250,000 in 1700, to 1.25 million in 1750.
Britain, after the Seven Years War, required raw materials including copper, hemp, tar, and turpentine. Britain, also required a great deal of money, and so they provided that all of these American products be shipped exclusively to England (the Navigation Acts).
The British began to create taxes to deter the American colonies from trading with the French. In addition, these taxes raised money for the British government.
Enforcement of these regulations became difficult, so the English government established extensive customs services, and vice-admiralty courts empowered to identify, try, and convict suspected smugglers. These devices were exclusive of, and superior to, the colonial mechanisms of justice.
During the French and Indian War the colonies wanted to defeat the the French in North America. The colonists appealed to the King for permission to raise armies and monies to defend themselves.
King George II was suspicious of the intentions of the colonial governments and declined their offer.
English officers in America were also widely contemptuous of colonials who volunteered for service. A few of the men who signed the Declaration had been members of volunteer militia who, as young men, had been dressed down and sent home when they applied for duty.
Communities throughout the colonies questioned the British authorities who would demand horses, feed, wagons, and quarters — but deny the colonists the right to fight in defense of the Empire, a right which they considered central to their self-image as Englishmen.
***Brainstorm: What right did the colonists want?
After finishing the reading above - it is optional to check out the Duckster's Site for the French and Indian War.