Colonization through American Revolution
--American colonies declared independence on July 2, 1776 at the Second Continental Congress;
press release of the declaration was on July 4, 1776
--Thirteen colonies were isolated from Britain; usually took a time of almost three months to
cross the Atlantic Ocean
--along the coast, settlement only extended about 350 miles inland; rest of the land all the way to
the Pacific was unknown
--by the American Revolution, the average person never traveled more than forty miles from
their birthplace
--isolation of one colony to another hindered unity until the creation of a national army during
the Revolutionary War rather than local militias
--until the end of the Revolution, people first thought of themselves as subjects of their state and
secondly as subjects of the empire
--conflict in the colonies also extended to intertribal conflict among Native Americans, although
some tribes united against settlement
--other opposing groups included the Spanish, French, and Dutch until 1664; as a practical
matter, isolation from Britain left local governments largely on their own
--even though London never granted autonomy to the colonies, the colonies developed a habit of
self government; idea of self government was allowed as long as taxes and tariffs were paid
--during the Crisis of Empire, Britain nearly went broke and imposed a change in the form of
direct taxation, which caused outrage and fermented revolution; colonists had always indirectly
paid taxes by way of the state, but never directly to Britain
--the American Revolution emerged out of a centuries old struggle between the forces of the
French and British
--round of conflicts started in 1688 and extended to 1815 with the War of 1812 and the fall of
Napoleon from power
--War of the League of Augsburg/King William’s War (1688-1697) developed out of the
Glorious Revolution in Britain
--James II believed in an absolute monarchy and was Catholic, which ushered in anger and the
placement of William and Mary of the Netherlands on the British throne, an event known as the
Glorious Revolution
,--French tried to take advantage of the situation in the Netherlands by launching the War of the
League of Augsburg (1688-1697)
--during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713), the British and the French fought over
the empty Spanish throne and gained a slight advantage from the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which
gave Newfoundland to Britain and allowed Britain to keep the Rock of Gibraltar
--War of Jenkins Ear (1739) resulted from British smuggling of goods against the Spanish;
Captain Jenkins of the British ship had his ear cut off, which Prime Minister Walpole of Britain
displayed to parliament in an effort to convince them of war; conflict involved Spain on the side
of France
--War of Jenkins Ear merged with the War of Austrian Succession/King George’s War (1740-
1748); Austrian throne had become vacant after the death of Charles as there was fear of how
other nations would react to the king’s daughter, Maria Teresa, being placed on the throne; effort
was made to make peace with the other European countries, which failed as many European
countries attacked when Maria Teresa was placed on the throne
--in the end, the Austro-Hungarian empire lost a small area of territory; main event of war came
when British and British colonial troops attacked and captured the French fort of Louisbourg,
which gave the British control over the St. Lawrence River, the main French supply line into
Canada
--war finally comes to yet another inconclusive end with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle (1748)
--when the British gave Louisbourg back to the French, the British colonial troops became
angered and territory was largely the same as when the fight had first started
--in each conflict, the French and British fought over minimal interests and often to inconclusive
ends that resolved little and largely left both sides in possession of the same amount of territory
--as settlers moved westward into the Ohio River Valley under land deals, Governor Robert
Dinwiddie of Virginia dispatched George Washington to warn the French to leave their posts,
which is refused
--a small British force was sent to the forks of the Ohio River at the Allegheny and Monongahela
and built a fort called Fort LeBoeuf; the French later took over the fort and renamed it Fort
Duquesne
--George Washington along with his militia force ambushed a French force at Jumonville Glen;
after attack, Washington took his forces to the Great Meadows and built a stockade known as
Fort Necessity in preparation for the French counterattack
, --nearly everything goes wrong in the preparation for the French attack; a storm developed,
which made it impractical to fight and Washington signed a surrender document; surrender
document pointed fault at Washington for death of a captured French officer
--Washington’s attack at Jumonville Glen launched the French and Indian War (1754/56-1763),
which the French lost; war left the British nearly bankrupt and the French people in an angry
state, which led the French to look for revenge in the form of aid to the American Revolution;
Revolution began largely in response to direct taxation in the colonies
--British method of colonization was to plant agriculture at the taking of land and detriment of
the Native Americans where the French engaged in the fur trade in cooperation with the Native
Americans
--Henry Pelham, the British prime minister, hoped to avoid another war as the British were still
trying to pay off extensive debts from previous wars
--most prominent proponent of war with France was William Pitt; Lord Halifax, head of the
Board of Trade, hoped to unify the colonists in purposes of military matters against Native
Americans and the French
--Board of Trade sponsored a meeting in Albany to mainly discuss military policy and created
the Albany Plan of Union, largely written by Benjamin Franklin; plan would provide for a
governor general and a continental assembly with representatives from each colony to work
together to make colonial policy
--colonies hated plan for the idea of what power the governor general might hold under the king
while the king hated it for fear of what power the colonies might hold
--war is finally agreed to and British reinforcements are sent to the colonies and Canada; British
do well at beginning with capture of Fort Beausejour in Acadia, which is renamed Nova Scotia
--in effort to control large French population under a small number of British soldiers, thousands
of French are deported from Canada
--debacle ensued for British when General Edward Braddock led a force of British soldiers and
Virginians under Washington to attack Fort Duquesne and was decimated by an inferior force of
French soldiers allied with Delaware and Shawnee Indians; Washington does manage to pull
survivors together and organize a retreat
--problem for British was using tactics and weapons situated for open warfare on European
battlefields rather than confined and covered areas of North America; however, French adopt the
battle tactics and organizational methods of the Native Americans
--American colonies declared independence on July 2, 1776 at the Second Continental Congress;
press release of the declaration was on July 4, 1776
--Thirteen colonies were isolated from Britain; usually took a time of almost three months to
cross the Atlantic Ocean
--along the coast, settlement only extended about 350 miles inland; rest of the land all the way to
the Pacific was unknown
--by the American Revolution, the average person never traveled more than forty miles from
their birthplace
--isolation of one colony to another hindered unity until the creation of a national army during
the Revolutionary War rather than local militias
--until the end of the Revolution, people first thought of themselves as subjects of their state and
secondly as subjects of the empire
--conflict in the colonies also extended to intertribal conflict among Native Americans, although
some tribes united against settlement
--other opposing groups included the Spanish, French, and Dutch until 1664; as a practical
matter, isolation from Britain left local governments largely on their own
--even though London never granted autonomy to the colonies, the colonies developed a habit of
self government; idea of self government was allowed as long as taxes and tariffs were paid
--during the Crisis of Empire, Britain nearly went broke and imposed a change in the form of
direct taxation, which caused outrage and fermented revolution; colonists had always indirectly
paid taxes by way of the state, but never directly to Britain
--the American Revolution emerged out of a centuries old struggle between the forces of the
French and British
--round of conflicts started in 1688 and extended to 1815 with the War of 1812 and the fall of
Napoleon from power
--War of the League of Augsburg/King William’s War (1688-1697) developed out of the
Glorious Revolution in Britain
--James II believed in an absolute monarchy and was Catholic, which ushered in anger and the
placement of William and Mary of the Netherlands on the British throne, an event known as the
Glorious Revolution
,--French tried to take advantage of the situation in the Netherlands by launching the War of the
League of Augsburg (1688-1697)
--during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713), the British and the French fought over
the empty Spanish throne and gained a slight advantage from the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which
gave Newfoundland to Britain and allowed Britain to keep the Rock of Gibraltar
--War of Jenkins Ear (1739) resulted from British smuggling of goods against the Spanish;
Captain Jenkins of the British ship had his ear cut off, which Prime Minister Walpole of Britain
displayed to parliament in an effort to convince them of war; conflict involved Spain on the side
of France
--War of Jenkins Ear merged with the War of Austrian Succession/King George’s War (1740-
1748); Austrian throne had become vacant after the death of Charles as there was fear of how
other nations would react to the king’s daughter, Maria Teresa, being placed on the throne; effort
was made to make peace with the other European countries, which failed as many European
countries attacked when Maria Teresa was placed on the throne
--in the end, the Austro-Hungarian empire lost a small area of territory; main event of war came
when British and British colonial troops attacked and captured the French fort of Louisbourg,
which gave the British control over the St. Lawrence River, the main French supply line into
Canada
--war finally comes to yet another inconclusive end with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle (1748)
--when the British gave Louisbourg back to the French, the British colonial troops became
angered and territory was largely the same as when the fight had first started
--in each conflict, the French and British fought over minimal interests and often to inconclusive
ends that resolved little and largely left both sides in possession of the same amount of territory
--as settlers moved westward into the Ohio River Valley under land deals, Governor Robert
Dinwiddie of Virginia dispatched George Washington to warn the French to leave their posts,
which is refused
--a small British force was sent to the forks of the Ohio River at the Allegheny and Monongahela
and built a fort called Fort LeBoeuf; the French later took over the fort and renamed it Fort
Duquesne
--George Washington along with his militia force ambushed a French force at Jumonville Glen;
after attack, Washington took his forces to the Great Meadows and built a stockade known as
Fort Necessity in preparation for the French counterattack
, --nearly everything goes wrong in the preparation for the French attack; a storm developed,
which made it impractical to fight and Washington signed a surrender document; surrender
document pointed fault at Washington for death of a captured French officer
--Washington’s attack at Jumonville Glen launched the French and Indian War (1754/56-1763),
which the French lost; war left the British nearly bankrupt and the French people in an angry
state, which led the French to look for revenge in the form of aid to the American Revolution;
Revolution began largely in response to direct taxation in the colonies
--British method of colonization was to plant agriculture at the taking of land and detriment of
the Native Americans where the French engaged in the fur trade in cooperation with the Native
Americans
--Henry Pelham, the British prime minister, hoped to avoid another war as the British were still
trying to pay off extensive debts from previous wars
--most prominent proponent of war with France was William Pitt; Lord Halifax, head of the
Board of Trade, hoped to unify the colonists in purposes of military matters against Native
Americans and the French
--Board of Trade sponsored a meeting in Albany to mainly discuss military policy and created
the Albany Plan of Union, largely written by Benjamin Franklin; plan would provide for a
governor general and a continental assembly with representatives from each colony to work
together to make colonial policy
--colonies hated plan for the idea of what power the governor general might hold under the king
while the king hated it for fear of what power the colonies might hold
--war is finally agreed to and British reinforcements are sent to the colonies and Canada; British
do well at beginning with capture of Fort Beausejour in Acadia, which is renamed Nova Scotia
--in effort to control large French population under a small number of British soldiers, thousands
of French are deported from Canada
--debacle ensued for British when General Edward Braddock led a force of British soldiers and
Virginians under Washington to attack Fort Duquesne and was decimated by an inferior force of
French soldiers allied with Delaware and Shawnee Indians; Washington does manage to pull
survivors together and organize a retreat
--problem for British was using tactics and weapons situated for open warfare on European
battlefields rather than confined and covered areas of North America; however, French adopt the
battle tactics and organizational methods of the Native Americans
