3 The Seventy Years' War (1744-1815)

The Seven Years’ War: Europe

• France  

  • 1756: French siege + conquest of Minorca

  • 1759: plans to invade the British Isles

  • Defeated in the Battle of Quiberon Bay (1759)

• Prussia (Frederick the Great)  

  • Financial support from Britain 

  • Invasion of Saxony + Bohemia

  • 1757: defeated (Kolin) + retreat

  • 1760: Russian occupation of Berlin + kolberg 

  • 1762: new Russian tsar changes camp 

The Seven Years’ War

(1756-63)

• The great change of partners

  • Century versus old enemies France and Austria (and Russia)  

  • Britain (largest navy ) and Prussia (largest land force)

• Outcome

  • 900,000-1,400,000 deaths: first ‘World War’

  • Change in balance of power 

The Seven Years’ War: India - The Seven Years’ ar

• Calcutta  

  • British fortify Calcutta against French

    • After experience w Madras in 1746-48

  • Bengal nawab conquers Calcutta  

  • Robert Clive reconquers Calcutta  

• Bengal 

  • Clive supports new + dependent nawab

  • Defeats the old nawab at Plassey (June 1757)

  • Defeats Indian coalition near Buxar, 1764

• -> British conquest of Bengal

The Seven Years’ War: India - Other powers in India

• French  

  • 1764: Chandarnagar and Pondichéry demilitarized

(remain FR til 1950s but only trade posts)

• Moghuls (= prev rulers of India)

  • Decline after X.X Aurangzeb (1707, last of 6 Great Moghuls)

  • Delhi sacked by Persians in 1739 (Nader Shah)

  • Delhi sacked by Afghans in 1748-61 (Ahmad Shah Durrani) 

• Maratha Empire  (= indigenous Indian people; competitors Moghuls = muslim <-> Ma = Hindu)

  • Defeated by Afghans (Battle of Panipat 1761)

  • Afghans: return to Kabul after 1761 (X conquer S-Asia)

The Seven Years’ War: America

•  1754 1763: French and Indian War

  •  In particular control of the Ohio Country (= betw Nouvelle France + BNA)

• Different approach  

  • France: let the colonies fight for themselves  (X support, EU = priority)

-> French colonies lacked naval support  

• Britain: avoid military commitment on the Continent  

support from London: wanted to weaken FR through colonies)
-> British colonies had numerical superiority  

• British victories  

  • 1758: Louisbourg 

  • 1759: Québec 

  • 1760: Montréal

The Seven Years’ War: America - Outcome

• France loses Nouvelle France  (X in N-Am)

  • (Choice between East of Caribbean (= + profit) and New France)

  • East of Mississippi to Britain 

  • West of  Mississippi to Spain 

    • Compensation of the loss of Florida (1513 Spain) to Britain

• Future developments 

  • 1783: BNA becomes US (War of Independence)

  • 1783: Florida again Spanish

  • 1800: Spanish Louisiana to France

  • 1803: Napoleon sells Louisiana to US

  • 1819/21: Spain cedes Florida to US 

(SPA + FR exchange territory; allies in Napoleonic Wars)

The Seven Years’ War: America - From BNA to USA

• Resentment in BNA

  • London wants compensation after Seven Years’ War

    • Protection against France + Native Americans

    • BNA pays fewer taxes than Caribbean colonies

  • BNA reply: No taxation w/o representation

• Protest

  • Tea Act (1773) withdrawn after Boston Tea Party

  • 1774: First Continental Congress (Philadelphia)

  • Summer of 1775: battle of Bunker Hill

• The Independence War (1776-1783)

  • Declaration of independence on July 4, 1776

The Napoleonic Wars: British Exploration - British + Napoleon

• Egypt: a shortcut to India  

  • French victory against Mamluks (Battle of the Pyramids, 21 July 1798)

  • British victory against French (Battle of the Nile, 1-3 August 1798)

  • (Syrian expedition failed)

(FR remain in EGY, -> W-Asia)

• Oceans

  • Trafalgar (21 October 1805)
    = marks end of FR rule over seas / confirmed BRIT dom over seas/oceans

• Metropoles occupied by France

  • Dutch Rep => Batavia (brother Napoleon)

  • Spain (under other brother Napoleon)

• -> British conquest of new colonies

  • Spain, e;g. Trinidad + Tobago

  • Netherlands, e.g. Cape Colony + Ceylon

The Napoleonic Wars: British Exploration - British expansion in India

• Reasons  

  • Protection of trade + influence

  • French threat, more imagined than real

(Mysore = strong kingdom in India, alliance w FR)

-> Pre-emptive strikes

• Conquest

  • 1792 + 1799: Mysore

  • 1801: Oudh (Awad)

  • 1803: Delhi + Moghuls (Moghuls keep titles, X power)

  • 1802 + 1818: Marathas + Rajput

  • 1816: Treaty w Nepal Gurkhas (X conquered)

• Reasons for British Success

  • Indian discord (weak leaders, X unity, =/= states, religions,... => war between => BRITS profit: divide + rule)

British tech + mil superiority (Ind. Rev.)

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - Hispaniola

Haiti

• 1492-1697 Spanish

• 1697-1804 French

  • Saint-Domingue: richest colony in the world!
    (thru exploitation, forced labour, X care ab slaves)

  • Insurrection under Toussaint L’Ouverture (1791-1803)

(inspo from FR Rev.) -> X.X in FR prison -> Dessalines takes over

• Napoleon’s intervention + Dessalines’ victory

• 1804 independent (new flag, name,...)

Dominican Republic  

• 1492-1795, 1809-21 and 1861-65 Spanish

• 1795-1805 French

• 1805-09 and 1821-44 Haitian

Santa Domingo = only/first colony that asked for re-colonization by Spain (only for 4 years)

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - Haiti’s poverty

Stereotypical explanations

• Nature: mountains  rainfall

• Natural disasters (misfortune, earthquakes, hurricanes)

• Black emperors (Independence => emperors: luxury, = ‘reason why population = poor’, BUT SAM IN EU??)

• Voodoo (= religion, ⇔ ‘black magic /witchcraft/horror’)

French role

• Deforestation + erosion

• Haiti’s debts to France after 1825 (compensation for plantation owners)
  = up to 80% government budget, almost 100 years later

Haiti’s situation

• Pol: international isolation + military priority (+ money -> military protection, never used)
  (only place in Caribbean that stayed colony bc plantation owners = scared op repercussions)

• Soc: new elite after disappearance of white

• Econ: decline of plantation economy

Foreign interference

• 1915-35 US occupation

• US support of dictators in Cold War + beyond 

(Duvalier-family in Haiti)

• Neoliberal measures imposed by IMF

Jean-B = new president, removed from power, ‘re-educated’ in US, again president but new politics -> US interests

=> Econ: + import from US (=> profit for US, - for local land-owners)

=> Spread diseases + abuse by aid-workers

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - New Granada

• 1st to become independent

• 1810: Simon Bolivar starts armed struggle

  • 1813: Caracas

  • 1814: Bogota

• 1819: Republic of Great-Colombia

• 1830: disintegration => 3 =/= states

  • Colombia

  • Venezuela

  • Ecuador

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - La Plata + Lima

• 1810: provisional junta in Buenos Aires

  • 1816: declaration of independent Argentina

• 1817: José de San Martin crosses Andes

  • 1818: Conquers Chilé with Bernardo O’Higgins

• 1821: conquers Lima

  • 1822: Meeting w Bolivar (secret)

  • Peru Presidents inter alia => 2 =/= states

    • Martin 1821-22

    • Bolivar 1824-27

  • 1825: °Rep Bolivia

    • Bolivar = 1st president

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - New Spain

• Mexico

  • 1810-1815: pro-Napoleon insurrection

    • Defeated by loyals to Spanish throne

    • -> remains w Spain

  • 1821: new Spanish constitution

    • Conservative revolution

    • -> Independence

• Federal Republic of Central America (1823-1840)

  • Disintegration:

    • Mexican interference

    • Conflicts conservatives <-> liberals

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - Brazil

• 1808: Portuguese king Joao VI settles in Brazil

  • Remains after 1815

• 1821: Joao returns to Lisbon (ppl :()

  • Restoration old balances betw Lisbon + brazil

  • Dom Pedro (son) = regent in Brazil

• Frustration in Brazil

  • Dom Pedro supports nationalists (rebels)

  • 1822: Brazilian independence under Emperor Pedro

• -> Independence under House of Braganza

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - Violence

• Between metropoles + colonies

  • 9/20 independent countries

  • Colonials (independence fighters) often supported by other Europeans

    • La Fayette in US

    • Britain supports Haiti + Spanish (former) colonies

• Within colonies

  • Loyalists (for BRIT) + revolutionaries (for Independence) in US

  • Slave insurrection in Haiti

• Most quiet country: Brazil

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - Interconnection

• Observation + participation in BNA/US

  • Dominican mulattos in FR army BNA

  • South-Am revolutionaries (inspo by Am. Ind + FR Rev)

• Direct influence

  • Haitian asylum to Bolivar (x2)

• Reverse consequences

  • Canadian nation grows out of anti-revolutionaries (reaction to Am. Ind.)

(British loyalists flee -> Canada)

• Caribbean landowners prefer colonial status-quo to repetition of Haiti (X want insurrections)

The Napoleonic Wars: Decolonization of Latin America - Continuity

• Social

  • Elite: white + affluent (rich) minority

    • Exceptions: US (majority) + Haiti (Black)

  • US + Brazil maintain slavery (almost ‘till 1900)

• Political

  • Empires: Haiti, Brazil, Mexico (w local emperors)

    • Reaction against liberal systems in home countries

  • Exception: constitutional confederation in US

    • Other confederations fail

• Economic

  • Produced goods

White Settler colonies: Canada - The US + Canda

• British since 1763 but large French population  

• US attempts to conquer North (1775-77)

  • Took Montreal and attacked Québec 

  • Not successful in mobilizing French population 

  • Britain had respected language, religion and property 

(FR part stays in BRIT hands)

• Continuing hostility  -> impede progress in US

  • Britain supported Native Americans  

  • Britain prevented trade US France 

• New failed invasion by US in 1812-15 War

White Settler colonies: Canada - Developments in Canada

• Immigration of 40,000 to 60,000 loyalists  

  • 18 th c.: majority of inhabitants of French origin  

  • Mid 19 th c.: majority of British origin  

-> X only due to loyalists, also migration from EN, Ireland,...

• Constitutional Act (1791)  

  • To accommodate English-speaking settlers

  • Division of the province of Québec  

    • Canada West / Upper [Haut] Canada (Ontario): English law  

    • Canada East / Lower [Bas] Canada (Quebec): French law 

  • Name ‘Canada’ = official

White Settler colonies: Canada - Durham Report

(1838)  

• Rebellion of 1837 in the Canadas (BNA, W + E)

-> want + representation

• House of Assembly Canadas neglected by London governor

• Cf. United States two generations earlier  

• Lord Durham -> Canada

  • Ethnic conflict between French + English (X solved by Constituitional Act)

    • 1840: Act of Union (United Province of Canada)

= merge upper + lower Canada

• Encouraged immigration from Britain to Canada

• People’s representation + control

  • Power and control to Legislative Assembly

1848: Responsible government in Nova Scotia

White Settler colonies: Canada - Responsible Government

• What?  

  • Governments are responsible to parliament (local) rather than to the monarch or the imperial government (metropole)

• When and where?  

  • 1848: Nova Scotia 
    1849: Province of Canada 
    1851: Prince Edward Island 
    1854: New Brunswick
    1855: Newfoundland 

White Settler colonies: Canada - Dominion of Canada

• Constitution Act (1867)

  • United Province of Canada (1840-) = impracticable 

  • 3 colonies => 4 provinces

    • Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick + Nova Scotia

(UPC: split into Ontario + Quebec; return to split FR/EN)

• Canada: a federal dominion with own institutions  

  • Autonomous polity nominally under British sovereignty (X independent!)

• Later additions, inter alia: 1871: British Columbia  1873: Prince Edward Island  1898: Yukon 1905: Saskatchewan & Alberta

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - Exploration of the Pacific

• Continuity  

  • Cf. also future previous centuries

• Culture  

  • Fascination w the far away + the savage

(literature, society,...; e.g. Gulliver’s Travels)

• Science (Enlightenment)

  • Myth of a large southern continent: Terra Australis (map X fully drawn yet)

  • 1753: A treatise of the scurvy (vitamin C) 

• Political 

  • Great Britain: vs. Dutch Cape of Good Hope (GB wants + colonies)

  • France: loss of footholds in India and North America (wants new colonies)

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - Early voyages in the Pacific

• Jacob Roggeveen (1721-22): Easter Island

• Vitus Bering (1728): strait betw Asia + America

• John Byron (1764-65): Falklands

• Samuel Wallis (1767-68): Tahiti 

• Louis de Bougainville (1766): first Frenchman who circumnavigated the globe 

• George Vancouver (1791-95): charted North America’s northwestern Pacific Coast regions

• Matthew Flinders (1801-03): circumnavigated Australia  

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - Voyages of James Cook

• First voyage (1768-71) 

  • Mapped New Zealand  

  • Landed at Botany Bay and claims land for Britain  

  • Contribution to science: many unique plant specimens  

• Second voyage (1772-75) 

  • Crossed Antarctic Circle and nearly encountered mainland Antarctica  

• Third voyage (1776-79) 

  • Hawaii and coastline California-Alaska 

  • Killed by Hawaii locals on return 

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - ‘Nation of shoplifters’

• Need for new penal colony (loss of BNA)

  • BNA: 40,000 British convicts by 1777

• 1787: first ships with criminals to Sydney 

  • 26 Jan 1788: establishment of new penal colony
    = Australia Day: official national day of Australia  

• Convicts liberated after some years 

  • 1 in 14 returns home, rest starts new life 

  • 1828: for first time more free than convicts 

• 1868: last convicts’ transportation

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - Societal developments

• White colony 

  • Procreation  (also at sea)

  • Steep decline of population of 350,000 Aboriginals

    • Disease, resettlement, cultural disintegration

    • Tasmania: regulated ethnocide (conscious spread of disease)

• European Settlement Act (1922) 

= British law boosting voluntary emigration to Commonwealth
+ White Australia Policy (1901 - 1949/73) (stimulate immigration from EU, X non-whites)

• Economy  

  • Land acquisitions/claims from Aboribignals

  • Sheep and gold

  • Urban development (governor Lachlan Macquarie )

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - Political developments

• Expansion  

  • 1788: New South Wales  

  • 1829-1859: six colonies

• Unification 

  • 1901: Commonwealth of Australia

  • 1908-27: construction of Canberra (Capital)

• Autonomy 

  • Responsible Government  

    • 1855: Victoria; 1856: New South Wales, New Zealand, South Australia, Tasmania; 1890: Western Australia 

• 1907: Dominion status for Australia and New Zealand

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - New Zealand

• 1839 New Zealand Company  

  • Promotion of settlement and trade  

• 1840 Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs  

  • New Zealand as bi-cultural society, but: 

    • Differences between English and Maori versions  

    • Ignored by settlers and courts   (X respected by British)

• Maori Wars 1845-47 & 1860-72 

  • Maori population: 
    1841: 70 - 90,000 (vs. 2000 Europeans)
    1896: 42,000 (vs. 701,000 Europeans) 

White Settler colonies: Australia + New Zealand - Pacific

• Tahiti  

  • 1797 British missionaries 

  • 1842 French military ship annexes island

• New Caledonia  

  • Annexed for France in 1853 

  • Major prison colony  (10,500 colony island convicts in 1901)  

  • Major settlers’ colony (54,000 French in 1983)

• German New Guinea: Kaiser Wilhelmsland etc. 

• …

White Settler colonies in the 20th century

• Interwar: Autonomous communities within Empire 

  • 1926: Second Balfour Declaration: dominions = ‘equal in status’ as Brit. Emp. 

  • 1931: Statute of Westminster: legal status  

• 1949: Commonwealth of Nations

  • Now: 56 member states (among which 15 realms who recognise British monarch as their own) (X all former British colonies)

• Gradual erosion of interconnectedness  

  • Collapse of the concept of imperial citizenship(post WWII: own citizenship)

    • 1935: Irish Free State asserted its own citizenship

    • 1946: Canada

    • 1948-49: Australia, New Zealand + South Africa

• 1952: Queen of Canada, 1973: Queen of Australia  

• 1965: maple leaf flag instead of union jack 

• Present day debate