Lead Up to Revolution:Neglect and War

For much of the late 1600’s and early 1700’s England followed a relatively hands off policy towards the American colonies.

Although most of the colonies were taken under direct control of the crown there was no concerted effort on the part of the English government to curtail the level of autonomy the colonies enjoyed.

After the Glorious Revolution and the succession of the German born kings George I and George II more and more power was placed in the office of prime minister.

These modern prime ministers, such as Robert Walpole, were more beholden to the wealthy merchants and landholders of England than to the crown. This meant they were hesitant to interfere with trade through implementing new taxes.

The British government did not have a department solely devoted to the colonies; colonial affairs were dispersed a wide range of departments.

American agents in England, such as Benjamin Franklin, worked to discourage interference in colonial business.

Many of the people appointed to serve as royal officials in the colonies were of poor quality and often took bribes or submitted to intimidation by locals. This meant they played a minor role in the day-to-day operations of the colonies.

By the 1750s many of the American assemblies had taken over such powers as:

Taxation Approve government appointments Make appropriations (budget) Pass laws for the colonies

Colonial assemblies came to think of themselves as relatively self governing and sovereign within the greater framework of the Empire.

Although the colonies viewed each other as greatly different from one another there were some things that drew them together. The colonial postal service, for example, enabled colonists to communicate from New Hampshire to Georgia by the mid 1700s.

In 1754 representatives from several colonies agreed to a plan ( the Albany Plan) proposed by Benjamin Franklin that would have created a confederation of colonies under one government- it did not survive.

The French and Indian War(or as Europeans call it- The Seven Years War)The Combatants:

England France Native allies Prussia Russia Austria Holy Roman Empire Portugal Spain Sweden

The war in Europe began as an action by France, Austria and Russia to limit the power of Prussia.

Prussia was relatively small but its army was well trained, well organized, and very efficient. It was also commanded by a genius- Frederick the Great.

Prussia faced what seemed to be overwhelming odds and with only financial support from Britain things looked grim. Fortunately for Prussia the alliance that opposed it was weak and eventually crumbled after several defeats and some side-switching by Russia.

For England and France the war in Europe was a small part of a larger clash of empires. Fighting took place in India and North America.

The war in North America actually began in 1754, two years before the war in Europe.

It was sparked by a young Virginia militia officer- George Washington.

His defeat by French forces at his hastily built Fort Necessity in 1754 provided the excuse for France to escalate the conflict. Approximately a third of Washington’s soldiers died during the battle.

During the early stages the war was conducted mainly by colonial militias- poorly trained and poorly led groups of “citizen soldiers”.

The British native allies- the Iroquois- undertook few offensives of their own and played only a small role in the overall events of the war. They followed a policy of limited engagement for fear of being on the wrong side at the end.

With the outbreak of fighting in Europe (1756) Britain took greater interest in the Colonies and began to send British regulars to fight. Colonials resented this in part because they were forced to house and supply the troops, often without compensation.

By 1758, following protest riots in New York, hostility between the colonists and the British government was serious enough that it threatened the outcome of the war and English secretary of state, William Pitt, made concessions that addressed most of the colonist’s complaints.

British forces won a series of victories- the most important being the capture of Louisbourg in July of 1758, and the fall of Quebec city on September 13, 1759.

The French officially surrendered in September 1760.

Impact of the WarThe Peace of Paris, signed in 1763, brought

the war officially to an end. As part of the settlement France transferred all of its North American territory east of the Mississippi (except for New Orleans) to Great Britain.

The war brought the colonies together like never before. It gave them a sense of common purpose and fraternity.

Grievances against Britain were not forgotten at war’s end. Britain’s increased interest and control of the colonies did not sit well with the Americans.

The debts that Great Britain incurred during the war prompted them to implement tighter financial control over commerce in the colonies (taxation) and led to less support for such things as protection from native attacks along the expanded western frontier.