Conflict on the Edge of Empires
European Wars for Empire
European wars for empire were primarily fought outside of Europe in the 18th century.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War created conditions leading to the American Revolution and Britain's loss of colonies.
Indigenous Allies
Indigenous allies often determined victory or defeat in North American wars of empire.
Example: Susanna Willard Johnson
In 1754, Susanna Willard Johnson lived in Town Number Four (now Charleston, New Hampshire) with her husband James and three children, expecting a fourth.
James, formerly an indentured servant, bought his way out of the contract to marry Susanna.
They traded with local Abenaki indigenous nations, who were French allies.
On August 30, 1754, Abenaki men captured the Johnsons and marched them north.
Susanna gave birth to a daughter, named Captive, during captivity.
The Johnsons were held in Canada for five years and later sent to England as part of a prisoner exchange.
This event marked the beginning of the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), the first global war, which altered the imperial balance of power in North America and set the stage for the American Revolution.
The indigenous peoples manipulated the war to their advantage by trading captives for ransom or prisoner exchange.
New England Colonies
The New England colonies suffered from internal religious tensions and external conflicts with indigenous peoples.
The indigenous population was estimated around 100,000 people, organized around strong Sachems (chiefs).
Conflicts arose over Puritan religious ideology, land, and resources.
Pequot War (1637)
The Pequot War was the first major conflict between Puritans and indigenous people.
The Pequot tried to control trade, but the Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Mohegan spread rumors of Pequot attacks.
The Puritans declared war, claiming it was a just war to maintain their innocence.
This reflects a tradition in American culture of using wars to maintain a sense of innocence to justify conflicts.
The Puritans waged a genocidal war against the Pequots.
In 1637, the English and their allies surrounded the Pequot town of Mystic, which had 400 residents, mostly women, children, and old people.
The Puritans burned the village, killing those who fled.
Governor William Bradford described the event, noting, "It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire and the streams of blood quenching the same and horrible was the stink and scent thereof. But the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice and we gave the praise thereof to God who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus an enclosure their enemies in their hand and given them so speedily a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy."
The Puritans saw their victory as evidence of God's blessing and their chosen status.
The Puritans hunted down the Pequots, executing captured men and enslaving women and children, who were then sold to Caribbean colonies.
A Pequot community survives in the Caribbean, particularly on St. David's Island, where they hold an annual powwow and visit New England.
The Pequot War cast a long shadow on Puritan-indigenous relations, making indigenous allies wary.
Puritans continued to view conflicts within a framework of God testing them.
Missionization and Praying Towns
After the Pequot War, the Puritans increased missionization efforts through "praying towns."
Indigenous people were gathered into these villages and offered help and protection in exchange for abandoning their own culture.
They had to convert to Christianity, adopt English names and clothing, cut their hair, take up English forms of labor, give up hunting, and observe the Sabbath.
By 1674, there were approximately 14 praying towns throughout New England with about 1,600 native inhabitants.
Some towns still exist today.
Metacombs War (King Philip's War) (1675)
Violence broke out again in 1675, due to English encroachment on indigenous lands which mirrors the Pueblo revolt.
Metacom, also known as King Philip, was a Wampanoag Sachem.
The English launched a genocidal war with the goal of wiping them out.
It eventually became a civil war among indigenous communities due to English manipulation.
Indigenous warriors attacked 52 of 90 New England towns, destroying 12 English settlements in a coordinated attack.
The Puritans interpreted the war as a test of their resolve from God and attacked praying towns.
Hundreds of indigenous peoples in praying towns were murdered by colonists.
Colonial officials turned to the traditional enemies of Metacom, resulting in an all-out civil war among indigenous peoples.
English lost about a thousand people. About 3,000 indigenous peoples died, roughly one quarter of the population.
After the war, indigenous peoples were pushed onto tiny reservations, cheated of their land, and consigned to wage labor.
This genocide allowed for unrestrained expansion of English colonies, leading to conflicts with other European empires.
European Empires in the Americas (1700s)
By the beginning of the 18th century, European empires in the Americas were growing and about to clash.
New Spain spread into the American Southwest, Texas, and Florida.
France added Louisiana to its territory, claiming the Missouri and Mississippi river basins and expanding to the Gulf of Mexico.
England claimed colonies along the East Coast and nominally claimed Hudson Bay and Rupert's Land.
France's colonial power was on the rise, while Spain's empire was declining.
In 1718, New Orleans was established at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Spain and France were primarily concerned about the increasing power of the British, especially the growing British population in North America.
In 1700, the British had about 250,000 settlers, while the French had about 15,000.
By 1750, the British had 1,500,000 settlers, while the French had only 70,000.
Imperial Conflicts
Most imperial conflicts in North America were between England and France, with Spain siding with France.
Some scholars view these conflicts as one long world war between the French and the British.
Conflicts also occurred in India, the West Indies, and the East Indies.
North America was seen as the great colonial prize due to its land, resources, and proximity to Europe.
Relations with North American indigenous peoples were crucial for success.
By the 1750s, most indigenous communities were inclined to help the French because they were seen as less of a threat.
British settlers came in large numbers, using land more intensely and pushing out weaker indigenous communities.
The French used the entrepot system, occupying small forts focused on trade without extensive settlement.
The British cleared forests, built farms, and created many villages to house their settlers.
The British often refused to follow indigenous protocols, such as giving gifts, marrying into communities, or learning languages.
The British had a trade advantage, providing more trade goods of higher quality at a cheaper price due to greater manufacturing capacity and access to capital.
They also had a better and stronger Navy, facilitating the shipment of goods from England to North America at lower rates.
Colonial industries began to produce goods for indigenous consumption.
The British dominated the Atlantic, giving them advantages in trade and war.
Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)
The Seven Years' War is now recognized as the world's first world war, with cascading alliances across Europe and conflicts in various places.
It began in 1754 in the Americas over land.
Robert Dinwiddie, the governor of Virginia, wanted the Ohio River Valley to sell to Virginian farmers.
The Ohio Valley was occupied by indigenous nations allied with the French, who sought to maintain connections between Canada and Louisiana.
Fort Duquesne, located in present-day Pittsburgh, was the lynchpin to French control in the Ohio Valley.
British colonial officials saw Fort Duquesne as a provocation.
Dinwiddie sent George Washington to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley before an official declaration of war.
Washington attacked a French detachment but was surrounded by the French and their indigenous allies.
The French allowed Washington to surrender and sent him back to Virginia under house arrest.
London interpreted this as the French starting the war.
British Strategy
The British decided to fight the French in North America, leveraging their superior Navy to offset the French land army.
They also aimed to draw upon a larger population in North America.
Initially, the war did not go well for the British.
Edward Braddock led a second attempt on Fort Duquesne with George Washington as the second in command.
Braddock had no experience leading troops in North American forests.
Despite Ben Franklin's warning, Braddock refused to alter his tactics and insulted the indigenous guides, who then abandoned the British.
Braddock marched his troops into a French and indigenous ambush, losing two-thirds of his forces, including himself.
George Washington led a successful retreat, demonstrating his greatest military skill.
Braddock's defeat emboldened indigenous nations and the French to attack British settlements.
The British frontier was pushed back to within 100 miles of Philadelphia, resulting in the death of over 700 colonists.
European Front
In Europe, France expanded the war, sending troops against British and Prussian troops.
These battles did not go well for Prussia or Great Britain.
The British ousted the government and supported a new administration headed by William Pitt, who vowed to win the war at any expense.
Pitt doubled Britain's spending on the war, helping them win but almost bankrupting the empire.
Second Phase of the War (1758-1760)
The second phase began with a thrust to remove the French from Fort Duquesne, succeeding this time.
France's indigenous allies abandoned them.
The British Navy shut down French shipping.
After burning Fort Duquesne, the British erected Fort Pitt, which became Pittsburgh.
The British captured Quebec and Montreal.
The British won the Seven Years' War by outspending the French and overwhelming them.
The British invested tremendous amounts of money and took on tremendous amounts of debt.
They waged the war on a global scale, using their Navy to stretch the French forces.
Treaty of Paris (1763)
Spain joined the war in 1762, but the British seized Spanish possessions in the Philippines and Cuba.
The war ended with the first Treaty of Paris in 1763, largely negotiated on British terms.
The goal was to weaken France, with some French concessions going to Spain.
French concessions:
Give up Canada and all claims east of the Mississippi River, including the Ohio Valley.
Lost smaller West Indian colonies but kept a few.
Give Spain New Orleans and much of the territory of Louisiana west of the Mississippi.
Spanish concessions:
Give up Florida to the British to regain Havana.
Results
The greatest result of the Seven Years' War was that it redrew the map of colonial North America.
The Mississippi River became the dividing line between British and Spanish colonial domains in North America.
The French were largely kicked out of North America, angering many indigenous nations who were not consulted.
British victories made other European nations nervous, leading them to not support British expansion.
During the American Revolution, the British recruited indigenous allies, and France became a natural ally for the American colonies.
Conclusion
Eighteenth-century wars of empire in the Americas shifted the balance of power on a global scale.
It marks the ascendancy of Britain and the descent of France and Spain.
Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War set the stage for the American Revolution and Britain's loss of its American colonies.
It saddled the empire with enormous debt and stripped Britain of potential allies in Europe.