Impacts of the Seven Years War

This brings us to the Seven Years War / French Indian War it's important to know perhaps that before 1756 there had already been a bunch of wars between the British and the French and a number of other countries throughout Europe as well and whenever there was a war in Europe the combat always ended up filtrating down to the colonies that those European nations might have had, so the American colonists have already fought in several Wars of empire between the American French and the American English fighting each other and sometimes the Spanish too so this is not going to be anything new to the colonists, but to the Empires of Europe, this war has massive implications. France's empire is nearly destroyed by the end and England is at the rise of its own empire. the British were making so much money off of this colonial trade that they had set up as a mercantilist trade system (which we will define) that they're able to finance other forms of conquest in the mid 18th century. The British are Remember the first English colony that was successful was in 1607, so we're now in the 1750's and the British people are now doing much better economically than they were doing before. number of other countries and that's a different kind of class that we've This is the war that allows England to invade India, and sets England up to be the kind of force that can face Napoleon at the turn of the century. One theater of this large war is over here in North America. This pink-ish region here is French colonial territory, along the Easter seaboard here. The fighting between the English and French in N.America is the part of the Seven Years' War that is called the French and Indian War. The reason why Americans call it that is because the Americans that lived here were going to be fighting against the French and their native allies. It may be interesting to note that in North America, the natives generally sided with the French, partially because the French made really good relationships with native tribes whereas the English were more likely to push the natives away; they would settle and they would build their towns that would grow into cities and the natives would be either killed or pushed out of the region. Okay let's define a couple of things This image shows what is known as the "Triangle of Trade" in the Atlantic ocean, where English colonists send raw goods (produce, iron, lumber, etc) to England, and English industries would convert these raw goods into manufactured goods and sell those products back to the colonists. This mercantilist model will be the foundation of the looming British Industrial Revolution in the mid 1800'ds. This is a symbiotic internal system of trade that bypasses Europe and makes a lot of money for the British, who live on an island and have few raw goods to work with without their colonies. Of course both sides are sending goods down to Africa where then slaves will be imported throughout the British Empire including America for the cheap labor wing of this system. During this time, Britain did not govern the colonies directly. In the 1630's, as the first American colonies were growing, there was a great deal of turmoil in England that resulted in a violent civil war, and three decades of strife. While this was going on, the colonies were largely on their own, which the colonists generally liked. The wealth being exchanged between these two groups (Britain and the American colonies) was substantial, and good for both sides. During this time, therefore, the colonists tended to develop their own ideas of culture and government, thanks to the lack of English oversight. Let's define these two ideas we just discussed: Mercantilism (reading slide) Now, Salutary Neglect: This one is VERY important: Reading slide: Reading slide England was in turmoil and so they just said, "let the colonies govern themselves until we're ready" Let us be clear: THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE FOR BRITAIN. At the exact same time as England took a back-seat in governing their colonies, an important era known as the "Enlightenment & Scientific Revolution" was under way. This is the era of John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu and Voltaire and Newton & Hume and women such as Wollstonecraft; this was an era where wealthier Europeans were inventing new ideas of 'natural rights,' humanism, and creating an idea that monarchies were outdated forms of government. Americans in the colonies and these read the writings of guys like this and started to create an American version of these ideas. You might recognize John Locke's ideas as being very similar to the language in the Declaration of Independence. There is a reason for this: Jefferson was an avid reader of Locke. Although these Enlightenment thinkers were not well liked by the rulers of Europe, there was no one in the American Colonies to stop the spread of these ideas. Therefore, ideas of elected governments, the Rights of Man, rights to life, liberty and property that cannot be taken away by a good government; these ideas gained easy traction in the American colonies. To illustrate one of the main arguments of the time between Enlightenment thinkers, let's look at Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Hobbes will argue for why things should not change; including why a dictator was necessary for the survival of a civilization. John Locke is gonna argue something very different which is the need to get rid of dictators in favor of elected governments that protect natural rights over that of tyranny. Hobbes will write a book called "The Leviathon," where he describes how humans are chaotic beings that need a dictator to rule them and keep order. Obviously, Hobbes will be the favorite of European aristocrats and kings, while Locke will quickly be a favorite of many colonists that liked the idea of self-rule. Due to the English policy of Salutary Neglect, therefore, these Lockian (and more) ideas spread and the colonists generally got used to them as being normal. Almost all 13 colonies had created elected legislatures that were only loosely beholden to Royal Governors by 1730. As we approach the Seven Years' War, when tens of thousands of English soldiers and their aristocratic officers would come to the American colonies, there was bound to be a culture clash: Colonists who celebrated Salutary Neglect and all the freedoms they enjoyed, and the British authorities, who would be shocked by how far the colonists had moved with Enlightenment ideals. As an idea of the differences in British and American social customs, Paul Revere and Ben Franklin, well known American Founders, both started as poor indentured servants and moved up both society and in wealth as they gained skills and reputation. By the time of the Seven Years' War, both were relatively wealthy individuals, yet both had started with almost nothing. This kind of social mobility was virtually impossible in England, where one had to be born into both wealth and reputation, where in the colonies, reputation and wealth were created, as opposed to being given through who one was born to. Okay, so here is a satellite view of where the Seven Years' War started: right in the center of the modern city of Pittsburgh. Back in 1754, there was just a forest and a small French fort, called Ft. Dusquene. Notes defining the conflict (reading slide) The colonists will ultimately support the war coming to their shores, because a victory against the French would mean that the colonists could move into French colonial territory. By 1754, there were roughly 2.5 million American colonists, many of whom were interested in gaining new land further west. This this territory has a geographical feature known as the Appalachian Mountains and there is a dense forest here, which is why the American colonists haven't really gone much further than this boundary and then on this side you've got the French colonists and the here's your province of Quebec; the French colonial capitol. Right around 1752, the British decided they were going to push the French into a war by invading French colonial territory. This involved sending small British task-forces into the disputed French zone and building forts. It is sort of a game: Get there first, build a fort, see if the other guys try to take it back. If they do, then your country can apologize and back down, or use the moment to declare a full-scale war. One of these task-forces of 1000 soldiers and 400 colonial volunteers will march from Baltimore to where Pittsburgh PA is today, specifically to build a fort and claim French territory for Britain. The 400 colonial volunteers, by the way, were led by a local plantation owner named George Washington. In this map, you'll see that there were other British task-forces doing the same thing. Forts Niagara and Crown Point were successfully built, but something different happens for General Braddock's men. The British force that made it to where Pittsburgh now is found that the French had already built a fort, which they called Duquesne ("Du Kane"). As the French were in a fort building program of their own, they really did not want Braddock and his troops to return to British territory and have them report that the French are preparing their defenses. So, when Braddock's force tried to go home (they did not have enough men or artillery to take a fort), the French sent their Native allies along the thin road the British army was marching home on. Keep in mind that in Europe, armies did not attack each-other without a proper declaration of war, and in some cases, officers of both sides met to discuss terms first. In the American colonies, there was no such tradition. Guerrilla warfare was a perfectly acceptable way to fight, including an ambush. So, General Braddock was not prepared for an ambush by French Allied Indians upon his force, even though he was warned by Washington. The French-Indians will completely destroy Braddock's army, though most of the colonial militia will escape under command of George Washington, and will make it home to report in. To the colonists, Washington will be a hero who saved other colonists from certain death. In Britain, Washington will be seen as a bit of coward who ran away in the thick of the fight. This is the military beginning of bitter feelings between the colonists and the British army as the war gets going. When Washington does arrive back to Baltimore, he reports what happened, and soon, Britain will use this incident in the American forest as the reason to declare war on France. Hence, the Seven Years' War will begin. For some years it goes well for the British everywhere else; the British Navy does an excellent job defeating the French everywhere it goes and in kicking the French out of India and most of the Caribbean. In America, where British troops were not used to fighting in the woods were Natives and colonists did not obey any rules of war. As the war in America had stalled, Prime Minister William Pitt approached colonial leaders respectfully and asked for colonial assistance, which had not been formally requested before. Offering repayment and French territory after the war was over, Pitt desired colonists to help fight with the British army, supply food, gunpowder and labor. End of the war: Reading slide. As a result of losing this war, the French lose a great deal of economic power and prestige, whereas Britain gains it. In exchange for peace, the Spanish will be allowed some of the former French territory, while the British will take the rest. okay so let's start to close this up. The war greatly enlarged English debt; they had to borrow a LOT to fight this war, and now they had to repay it. The British also had an expanded empire in American and India, and they were going to have to defend it. In short, the British were now land rich and cash poor. In addition, the British have come into contact with colonial leaders and have learned that the colonists already see themselves as somewhat equal, if not independent in self-governance, at least, of Britain. Many British officers will return home, and will influence new policies on America, which will ultimately include 1. not repaying the colonists for their part in the war, 2. Not allowing costly American expansion, & 3. Ending Salutary Neglect so that the British could directly rule the colonies. Here is a short video clip to sum it all up: in February 1763 Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris ending at last the Seven Years War King George the third now rules more territory across the globe than was ever held by the Roman Empire but the territory in North America is now so vast the British must find a new way to manage it money the war had doubled Britain's national debt British taxpayers had long shouldered the burden now Parliament expected American colonists to pay their share a small tax on paper the Stamp Act causes an unexpectedly violent reaction in the colonies riots break up tax officials are burned in effigy and forced from their jobs the tax is widely ignored why is the reaction so incendiary the root of colonial frustrations can be traced to the French and Indian War as far back as 1755 General Braddock had met resistance when he demanded the colonists pay toward the cost of the war you cannot tell me you have not the power to make these little assemblies through the Kings will the relationship changed when William Pitt became the Kings Prime Minister and treated the colonists with respect letters gentleman from London they had been happy to contribute to the war effort as long as they were considered full partners in the Empire with the same rights as people in Britain but now Parliament imposes this new tax without their consent the colonists feel betrayed in New England a clash of expectations leads to mounting tension British rule is seen as heavy-handed a riot ends when Redcoats kill five in what colonists call the Boston Massacre they see Britain as riding roughshod over the rights of colonial assemblies radicals increasingly assert the right of self you'll and December 1773 things come to a head over yet another tax this time aunty Britain's reaction to the Boston Tea Party is severe the crown floods Boston with troops and rewrites the colonies charters in April 1775 fighting erupts in Massachusetts between colonial and British forces this is no longer a family feud a dispute between loyal members of the Empire once blood has been shed there's no going back in 1754 no one in America imagined that a backwoods territorial dispute would end up transforming the world but the French and Indian War did just that by eliminating france's empire in north america by allowing british leaders to believe they could exercise power without restraint by convincing colonists they had no choice but to resist that power even to the point of revolution and by depriving indian people of the Allies needed to help protect their land and their autonomy no one expected any of this to happen but by changing the face of the continent the French and Indian War became the war that made America you here's the slide here 1765 britain wants to maintain an army of about ten thousand soldiers in officials in the colonies to enforce new trade rules and to basically can control the colonies a bit more like the limiting smuggling and such right oh the traditional rule in the colonies what all the colonists were used to was that taxes upon the columns can only be legally made at the approval of local colonial legislatures this was the way that English Parliament handled colonial relations before the Seven Years War after the Seven Years War when sia terry neglect is removed the british are gonna try something new which is instead of having colonial representatives approve the taxes king george and parliament are simply going to issue taxes on the on the colonies and see if they will just accept those taxes without any kind of approvals process this is the way it's gonna be there was a a feeling of respect between Britain and the colonies before and now there's more of a feeling of direct rule where you've got the king talent telling the colonists like a petulant child pay or else okay and so the colonists are gonna feel that this is very aggressive and intrusive upon their rights and the colonists are gonna feel like Britain is being incredibly styled really well I'll think of it in any case the deal is is that this is the change that happens in the colonies regarding their system of rule okay and the colonists are going to react to this a lot of colonists well taxes all right oh yeah I should I should mention that the one thing that could have been done but but was not was remember this whole issue is that the colonies are going to be protesting the idea that the British will just change this on them will just change the idea that the colonial governments get to have an approvals process and a process that they create of how to pay taxes to the government of Britain it's not that colonies haven't paid taxes it's just that they had a way that they got to have their own way to handle it I need to say well the deal is is that if England hadn't let the colonies somehow have parliamentary representation have a seat in parliament somewhere this might not have been such an issue I'm not sure about that that's revisionist history for me to say that for sure but it may not have been such a problem the idea of having involved in in Parliament would have given the colonies more power and they would have liked that I think however instead of giving the colonies the chance to continue doing what they were doing which was to be told by the king that taxes were needed and the colonies were allowed to decide how they raised those taxes and how they paint the King instead you now have the king simply saying you owe me taxes paid earn a die kind of thing it was a very different way of treating the colonies and so this is a problem okay so what happens you're gonna have a series of taxes that will be be met by greater and greater protests and when we say protests we're talking about boycotts and tar and feathering of officials from time to time and we're mostly talking about people just kind of going into the streets and protesting mostly so the first tax is just on sugar British sugar coming to the colonies and the way they call mishandle it will simply do not buy sugar for a while okay then there is a stamp tax and the stamp tax was a stamp on everything that that really required people and it's the British Empire so everything requires paper there's records for everything so there's simply an extra tax on top of everything that requires a receipt a bill a license anything like that and and there's now a tax on it so the colonists couldn't really escape this they couldn't just not live you know so so they they had to pay these taxes and they really hated it and then a guy named Lord Thomson comes in who is going to be a Prime Minister of England and Lord Townsend is going to make some new rules with what the British can do in the colonies and so wow this this is gonna get crazy so I want to give you this quote from John Dickinson he was the most outspoken colonial leaders when it came down to to the idea the British just being allowed the tax the colonies without any kind of colonial involvement or parliamentary representation or anything like that right his his big statement paying the British taxes worse than slavery in his death he says right it's the enema of a letter he be put into a newspaper another quote of his it is inseparably essential to the freedom of the people that no taxes be imposed upon them but with their own consent given personally or by their representatives so this sort of thing is obviously some ideas that the column is have about how they handle the rule of their country where as maybe the British government doesn't understand that the colonies have these ideas where did the colonists get these ideas again Siot area neglect right the British just weren't paying attention for a while and the Enlightenment came right so the Americans have these ideas okay so let's get there if your Lord Townsend you finally take over Parliament and one of your jobs is to figure out how to get the colonists to stop protesting and to basically play the game and so what is he gonna do he's gonna raise a new series of duties of loss that increased taxes on the colonies but he's using them in a very interesting way okay so what he wants to do is bring in more soldiers which is only gonna increase the problem between the British authorities and the colonists you know as far as protests go but he wants to bring in more soldiers and he wants to replace the royal governors in in the colonies with new ones that are directly being working with with himself alright so he wants to get rid of basically colonial governments and replaced them with his own government and then he's going to repeal parliamentary rules okay that allowed colonial legislatures to approve taxes so they're going to overturn right here or Township is really the guy excuse me Townsend is really the guy that is going to remove the the right of approval from the colonists basically this is the official overturning of salutary neglect and that's where things are gonna get really ugly and I'm gonna show you why so far it seems pretty mild and in the the taxes are only on glass LED paint paper and tea but what is it that people are going to be allowed to do meaning officials are going to be allowed to do to convince the colonists with a tyrannical arm that they need to allow British Authority complete rule and and to have people watching them at all times Customs Enforcement let me show you part of the Townshend Acts okay a revenue should be raised in America for making a more in certain adequate provision for the civil government what this means is that the Townshend Acts and the colonists will read this and will start to protest is a new series of taxes specifically designed to replace the American system of government so all those colonial legislatures in thirteen colonies can be if necessary replaced by this Townson act right that's huge and then we go down further and and look what British soldiers and officers are allowed to do in America they're not allowed to do this at this point in their own country in Great Britain but they can in the colonies and the colonists are fully aware of that disparity it is now lawful for any officer of his Majesty's Customs Authority to take a constable it's like a sheriff unto a place and go into any house shop cellar warehouse or room or other place and in case of resistance to break open doors chests trunks and other packages there to seize and from then offense to bring any kind of goods for merchandise whatsoever and put them in the majesty storehouses I want you to imagine in this era of time this time of the Enlightenment this time of john locke this time where american colonists are saying maybe all men are created equal or whatever right i want you to imagine in this time the british army actually making a law so that it's legal for them to go and just break into people's stuff and take it if they want to cuz that's basically what this is there are even further two laws that go forth and say that british officials will no longer be answerable to colonial law so if they do something let's say they actually kill somebody or harm somebody in the process well normally they work there would be a court trial but under tension they would no longer be a court trial it was just the american colonies for something new now to the british which was a complete direct ruled column so you have events like this you know like the boston massacre which was very engineered but still it happens where you've got people going up against each other in some very visual way right and we finally get to this between 1774 and 1782 America Britain Prussia and France will fight again but at this time it is the French and Americans versus the British and Prussians and ultimately so so this is going to be an opportunity for France to try to kind of beat the British back a little bit and repay the British for what they did in the Seven Years War which was to take France out of all over Collins the deal is is that this event is called the American War of Independence and the American War of Independence is almost like a 7 Years War part two in so many ways and so America and France versus Russia and Britain and you've got that war you may have heard that there were Hessians a german-speaking soldiers coming into America to fight the war those were mercenaries hired by the British some of them came out of Prussia some of them came out of Anna let's see so that that's it for the lecture what you're going to be looking at this week is the arguments in Parliament regarding treating the colonies so differently that they would actually result in actual War of Independence how does this happen and you'll be reading the documents of Edmund Burke who makes the case in Parliament that the people of Parliament the lawmakers need to be very careful with what they're doing and how they're treating the colonists thank you very much.

This brings us to the Seven Years War / French Indian War it's important to know perhaps that before 1756 there had already been a bunch of wars between the British and the French and a number of other countries throughout Europe as well and whenever there was a war in Europe the combat always ended up filtrating down to the colonies that those European nations might have had, so the American colonists have already fought in several Wars of empire between the American French and the American English fighting each other and sometimes the Spanish too so this is not going to be anything new to the colonists, but to the Empires of Europe, this war has massive implications. France's empire is nearly destroyed by the end and England is at the rise of its own empire. the British were making so much money off of this colonial trade that they had set up as a mercantilist trade system (which we will define) that they're able to finance other forms of conquest in the mid 18th century. The British are Remember the first English colony that was successful was in 1607, so we're now in the 1750's and the British people are now doing much better economically than they were doing before. number of other countries and that's a different kind of class that we've This is the war that allows England to invade India, and sets England up to be the kind of force that can face Napoleon at the turn of the century. One theater of this large war is over here in North America. This pink-ish region here is French colonial territory, along the Easter seaboard here. The fighting between the English and French in N.America is the part of the Seven Years' War that is called the French and Indian War. The reason why Americans call it that is because the Americans that lived here were going to be fighting against the French and their native allies. It may be interesting to note that in North America, the natives generally sided with the French, partially because the French made really good relationships with native tribes whereas the English were more likely to push the natives away; they would settle and they would build their towns that would grow into cities and the natives would be either killed or pushed out of the region. Okay let's define a couple of things This image shows what is known as the "Triangle of Trade" in the Atlantic ocean, where English colonists send raw goods (produce, iron, lumber, etc) to England, and English industries would convert these raw goods into manufactured goods and sell those products back to the colonists. This mercantilist model will be the foundation of the looming British Industrial Revolution in the mid 1800'ds. This is a symbiotic internal system of trade that bypasses Europe and makes a lot of money for the British, who live on an island and have few raw goods to work with without their colonies. Of course both sides are sending goods down to Africa where then slaves will be imported throughout the British Empire including America for the cheap labor wing of this system. During this time, Britain did not govern the colonies directly. In the 1630's, as the first American colonies were growing, there was a great deal of turmoil in England that resulted in a violent civil war, and three decades of strife. While this was going on, the colonies were largely on their own, which the colonists generally liked. The wealth being exchanged between these two groups (Britain and the American colonies) was substantial, and good for both sides. During this time, therefore, the colonists tended to develop their own ideas of culture and government, thanks to the lack of English oversight. Let's define these two ideas we just discussed: Mercantilism (reading slide) Now, Salutary Neglect: This one is VERY important: Reading slide: Reading slide England was in turmoil and so they just said, "let the colonies govern themselves until we're ready" Let us be clear: THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE FOR BRITAIN. At the exact same time as England took a back-seat in governing their colonies, an important era known as the "Enlightenment & Scientific Revolution" was under way. This is the era of John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu and Voltaire and Newton & Hume and women such as Wollstonecraft; this was an era where wealthier Europeans were inventing new ideas of 'natural rights,' humanism, and creating an idea that monarchies were outdated forms of government. Americans in the colonies and these read the writings of guys like this and started to create an American version of these ideas. You might recognize John Locke's ideas as being very similar to the language in the Declaration of Independence. There is a reason for this: Jefferson was an avid reader of Locke. Although these Enlightenment thinkers were not well liked by the rulers of Europe, there was no one in the American Colonies to stop the spread of these ideas. Therefore, ideas of elected governments, the Rights of Man, rights to life, liberty and property that cannot be taken away by a good government; these ideas gained easy traction in the American colonies. To illustrate one of the main arguments of the time between Enlightenment thinkers, let's look at Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Hobbes will argue for why things should not change; including why a dictator was necessary for the survival of a civilization. John Locke is gonna argue something very different which is the need to get rid of dictators in favor of elected governments that protect natural rights over that of tyranny. Hobbes will write a book called "The Leviathon," where he describes how humans are chaotic beings that need a dictator to rule them and keep order. Obviously, Hobbes will be the favorite of European aristocrats and kings, while Locke will quickly be a favorite of many colonists that liked the idea of self-rule. Due to the English policy of Salutary Neglect, therefore, these Lockian (and more) ideas spread and the colonists generally got used to them as being normal. Almost all 13 colonies had created elected legislatures that were only loosely beholden to Royal Governors by 1730. As we approach the Seven Years' War, when tens of thousands of English soldiers and their aristocratic officers would come to the American colonies, there was bound to be a culture clash: Colonists who celebrated Salutary Neglect and all the freedoms they enjoyed, and the British authorities, who would be shocked by how far the colonists had moved with Enlightenment ideals. As an idea of the differences in British and American social customs, Paul Revere and Ben Franklin, well known American Founders, both started as poor indentured servants and moved up both society and in wealth as they gained skills and reputation. By the time of the Seven Years' War, both were relatively wealthy individuals, yet both had started with almost nothing. This kind of social mobility was virtually impossible in England, where one had to be born into both wealth and reputation, where in the colonies, reputation and wealth were created, as opposed to being given through who one was born to. Okay, so here is a satellite view of where the Seven Years' War started: right in the center of the modern city of Pittsburgh. Back in 1754, there was just a forest and a small French fort, called Ft. Dusquene. Notes defining the conflict (reading slide) The colonists will ultimately support the war coming to their shores, because a victory against the French would mean that the colonists could move into French colonial territory. By 1754, there were roughly 2.5 million American colonists, many of whom were interested in gaining new land further west. This this territory has a geographical feature known as the Appalachian Mountains and there is a dense forest here, which is why the American colonists haven't really gone much further than this boundary and then on this side you've got the French colonists and the here's your province of Quebec; the French colonial capitol. Right around 1752, the British decided they were going to push the French into a war by invading French colonial territory. This involved sending small British task-forces into the disputed French zone and building forts. It is sort of a game: Get there first, build a fort, see if the other guys try to take it back. If they do, then your country can apologize and back down, or use the moment to declare a full-scale war. One of these task-forces of 1000 soldiers and 400 colonial volunteers will march from Baltimore to where Pittsburgh PA is today, specifically to build a fort and claim French territory for Britain. The 400 colonial volunteers, by the way, were led by a local plantation owner named George Washington. In this map, you'll see that there were other British task-forces doing the same thing. Forts Niagara and Crown Point were successfully built, but something different happens for General Braddock's men. The British force that made it to where Pittsburgh now is found that the French had already built a fort, which they called Duquesne ("Du Kane"). As the French were in a fort building program of their own, they really did not want Braddock and his troops to return to British territory and have them report that the French are preparing their defenses. So, when Braddock's force tried to go home (they did not have enough men or artillery to take a fort), the French sent their Native allies along the thin road the British army was marching home on. Keep in mind that in Europe, armies did not attack each-other without a proper declaration of war, and in some cases, officers of both sides met to discuss terms first. In the American colonies, there was no such tradition. Guerrilla warfare was a perfectly acceptable way to fight, including an ambush. So, General Braddock was not prepared for an ambush by French Allied Indians upon his force, even though he was warned by Washington. The French-Indians will completely destroy Braddock's army, though most of the colonial militia will escape under command of George Washington, and will make it home to report in. To the colonists, Washington will be a hero who saved other colonists from certain death. In Britain, Washington will be seen as a bit of coward who ran away in the thick of the fight. This is the military beginning of bitter feelings between the colonists and the British army as the war gets going. When Washington does arrive back to Baltimore, he reports what happened, and soon, Britain will use this incident in the American forest as the reason to declare war on France. Hence, the Seven Years' War will begin. For some years it goes well for the British everywhere else; the British Navy does an excellent job defeating the French everywhere it goes and in kicking the French out of India and most of the Caribbean. In America, where British troops were not used to fighting in the woods were Natives and colonists did not obey any rules of war.  As the war in America had stalled, Prime Minister William Pitt approached colonial leaders respectfully and asked for colonial assistance, which had not been formally requested before. Offering repayment and French territory after the war was over, Pitt desired colonists to help fight with the British army, supply food, gunpowder and labor. End of the war: Reading slide. As a result of losing this war, the French lose a great deal of economic power and prestige, whereas Britain gains it. In exchange for peace, the Spanish will be allowed some of the former French territory, while the British will take the rest. okay so let's start to close this up. The war greatly enlarged English debt; they had to borrow a LOT to fight this war, and now they had to repay it. The British also had an expanded empire in American and India, and they were going to have to defend it. In short, the British were now land rich and cash poor. In addition, the British have come into contact with colonial leaders and have learned that the colonists already see themselves as somewhat equal, if not independent in self-governance, at least, of Britain. Many British officers will return home, and will influence new policies on America, which will ultimately include 1. not repaying the colonists for their part in the war, 2. Not allowing costly American expansion, & 3. Ending Salutary Neglect so that the British could directly rule the colonies. Here is a short video clip to sum it all up: in February 1763 Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris ending at last the Seven Years War King George the third now rules more territory across the globe than was ever held by the Roman Empire but the territory in North America is now so vast the British must find a new way to manage it money the war had doubled Britain's national debt British taxpayers had long shouldered the burden now Parliament expected American colonists to pay their share a small tax on paper the Stamp Act causes an unexpectedly violent reaction in the colonies riots break up tax officials are burned in effigy and forced from their jobs the tax is widely ignored why is the reaction so incendiary the root of colonial frustrations can be traced to the French and Indian War as far back as 1755 General Braddock had met resistance when he demanded the colonists pay toward the cost of the war you cannot tell me you have not the power to make these little assemblies through the Kings will the relationship changed when William Pitt became the Kings Prime Minister and treated the colonists with respect letters gentleman from London they had been happy to contribute to the war effort as long as they were considered full partners in the Empire with the same rights as people in Britain but now Parliament imposes this new tax without their consent the colonists feel betrayed in New England a clash of expectations leads to mounting tension British rule is seen as heavy-handed a riot ends when Redcoats kill five in what colonists call the Boston Massacre they see Britain as riding roughshod over the rights of colonial assemblies radicals increasingly assert the right of self you'll and December 1773 things come to a head over yet another tax this time aunty Britain's reaction to the Boston Tea Party is severe the crown floods Boston with troops and rewrites the colonies charters in April 1775 fighting erupts in Massachusetts between colonial and British forces this is no longer a family feud a dispute between loyal members of the Empire once blood has been shed there's no going back in 1754 no one in America imagined that a backwoods territorial dispute would end up transforming the world but the French and Indian War did just that by eliminating france's empire in north america by allowing british leaders to believe they could exercise power without restraint by convincing colonists they had no choice but to resist that power even to the point of revolution and by depriving indian people of the Allies needed to help protect their land and their autonomy no one expected any of this to happen but by changing the face of the continent the French and Indian War became the war that made America you here's the slide here 1765 britain wants to maintain an army of about ten thousand soldiers in officials in the colonies to enforce new trade rules and to basically can control the colonies a bit more like the limiting smuggling and such right oh the traditional rule in the colonies what all the colonists were used to was that taxes upon the columns can only be legally made at the approval of local colonial legislatures this was the way that English Parliament handled colonial relations before the Seven Years War after the Seven Years War when sia terry neglect is removed the british are gonna try something new which is instead of having colonial representatives approve the taxes king george and parliament are simply going to issue taxes on the on the colonies and see if they will just accept those taxes without any kind of approvals process this is the way it's gonna be there was a a feeling of respect between Britain and the colonies before and now there's more of a feeling of direct rule where you've got the king talent telling the colonists like a petulant child pay or else okay and so the colonists are gonna feel that this is very aggressive and intrusive upon their rights and the colonists are gonna feel like Britain is being incredibly styled really well I'll think of it in any case the deal is is that this is the change that happens in the colonies regarding their system of rule okay and the colonists are going to react to this a lot of colonists well taxes all right oh yeah I should I should mention that the one thing that could have been done but but was not was remember this whole issue is that the colonies are going to be protesting the idea that the British will just change this on them will just change the idea that the colonial governments get to have an approvals process and a process that they create of how to pay taxes to the government of Britain it's not that colonies haven't paid taxes it's just that they had a way that they got to have their own way to handle it I need to say well the deal is is that if England hadn't let the colonies somehow have parliamentary representation have a seat in parliament somewhere this might not have been such an issue I'm not sure about that that's revisionist history for me to say that for sure but it may not have been such a problem the idea of having involved in in Parliament would have given the colonies more power and they would have liked that I think however instead of giving the colonies the chance to continue doing what they were doing which was to be told by the king that taxes were needed and the colonies were allowed to decide how they raised those taxes and how they paint the King instead you now have the king simply saying you owe me taxes paid earn a die kind of thing it was a very different way of treating the colonies and so this is a problem okay so what happens you're gonna have a series of taxes that will be be met by greater and greater protests and when we say protests we're talking about boycotts and tar and feathering of officials from time to time and we're mostly talking about people just kind of going into the streets and protesting mostly so the first tax is just on sugar British sugar coming to the colonies and the way they call mishandle it will simply do not buy sugar for a while okay then there is a stamp tax and the stamp tax was a stamp on everything that that really required people and it's the British Empire so everything requires paper there's records for everything so there's simply an extra tax on top of everything that requires a receipt a bill a license anything like that and and there's now a tax on it so the colonists couldn't really escape this they couldn't just not live you know so so they they had to pay these taxes and they really hated it and then a guy named Lord Thomson comes in who is going to be a Prime Minister of England and Lord Townsend is going to make some new rules with what the British can do in the colonies and so wow this this is gonna get crazy so I want to give you this quote from John Dickinson he was the most outspoken colonial leaders when it came down to to the idea the British just being allowed the tax the colonies without any kind of colonial involvement or parliamentary representation or anything like that right his his big statement paying the British taxes worse than slavery in his death he says right it's the enema of a letter he be put into a newspaper another quote of his it is inseparably essential to the freedom of the people that no taxes be imposed upon them but with their own consent given personally or by their representatives so this sort of thing is obviously some ideas that the column is have about how they handle the rule of their country where as maybe the British government doesn't understand that the colonies have these ideas where did the colonists get these ideas again Siot area neglect right the British just weren't paying attention for a while and the Enlightenment came right so the Americans have these ideas okay so let's get there if your Lord Townsend you finally take over Parliament and one of your jobs is to figure out how to get the colonists to stop protesting and to basically play the game and so what is he gonna do he's gonna raise a new series of duties of loss that increased taxes on the colonies but he's using them in a very interesting way okay so what he wants to do is bring in more soldiers which is only gonna increase the problem between the British authorities and the colonists you know as far as protests go but he wants to bring in more soldiers and he wants to replace the royal governors in in the colonies with new ones that are directly being working with with himself alright so he wants to get rid of basically colonial governments and replaced them with his own government and then he's going to repeal parliamentary rules okay that allowed colonial legislatures to approve taxes so they're going to overturn right here or Township is really the guy excuse me Townsend is really the guy that is going to remove the the right of approval from the colonists basically this is the official overturning of salutary neglect and that's where things are gonna get really ugly and I'm gonna show you why so far it seems pretty mild and in the the taxes are only on glass LED paint paper and tea but what is it that people are going to be allowed to do meaning officials are going to be allowed to do to convince the colonists with a tyrannical arm that they need to allow British Authority complete rule and and to have people watching them at all times Customs Enforcement let me show you part of the Townshend Acts okay a revenue should be raised in America for making a more in certain adequate provision for the civil government what this means is that the Townshend Acts and the colonists will read this and will start to protest is a new series of taxes specifically designed to replace the American system of government so all those colonial legislatures in thirteen colonies can be if necessary replaced by this Townson act right that's huge and then we go down further and and look what British soldiers and officers are allowed to do in America they're not allowed to do this at this point in their own country in Great Britain but they can in the colonies and the colonists are fully aware of that disparity it is now lawful for any officer of his Majesty's Customs Authority to take a constable it's like a sheriff unto a place and go into any house shop cellar warehouse or room or other place and in case of resistance to break open doors chests trunks and other packages there to seize and from then offense to bring any kind of goods for merchandise whatsoever and put them in the majesty storehouses I want you to imagine in this era of time this time of the Enlightenment this time of john locke this time where american colonists are saying maybe all men are created equal or whatever right i want you to imagine in this time the british army actually making a law so that it's legal for them to go and just break into people's stuff and take it if they want to cuz that's basically what this is there are even further two laws that go forth and say that british officials will no longer be answerable to colonial law so if they do something let's say they actually kill somebody or harm somebody in the process well normally they work there would be a court trial but under tension they would no longer be a court trial it was just the american colonies for something new now to the british which was a complete direct ruled column so you have events like this you know like the boston massacre which was very engineered but still it happens where you've got people going up against each other in some very visual way right and we finally get to this between 1774 and 1782 America Britain Prussia and France will fight again but at this time it is the French and Americans versus the British and Prussians and ultimately so so this is going to be an opportunity for France to try to kind of beat the British back a little bit and repay the British for what they did in the Seven Years War which was to take France out of all over Collins the deal is is that this event is called the American War of Independence and the American War of Independence is almost like a 7 Years War part two in so many ways and so America and France versus Russia and Britain and you've got that war you may have heard that there were Hessians a german-speaking soldiers coming into America to fight the war those were mercenaries hired by the British some of them came out of Prussia some of them came out of Anna let's see so that that's it for the lecture what you're going to be looking at this week is the arguments in Parliament regarding treating the colonies so differently that they would actually result in actual War of Independence how does this happen and you'll be reading the documents of Edmund Burke who makes the case in Parliament that the people of Parliament the lawmakers need to be very careful with what they're doing and how they're treating the colonists thank you very much.

Transcript for:Impacts of the Seven Years War

Transcript for:
Impacts of the Seven Years War