Introduction
During the early 18th century, North America was controlled by Spain, England, and France. While Spain took control of Florida, France remained dominant in the northern and central regions, and Britain took control of the east. It came impossible for all the three nations to exist together peacefully because every country wanted to become more dominant in the region. This led to war in which these nations were fighting each other to have control of the territories around the world. The French and Indian war was mainly to decide who was more powerful between France and Britain in North America. France and its colonists fought against Britain and its allies. The battle began primarily due to conflict over land, trade, and control of the natural resources that were in plenty ( Goldfield et al., 2017 ). The French and Britain also fought over the control of the river valleys and the lake regions. The war between France and the Indians led to a change in the relationship between the colonies and England.
Overview of the War
The war between the European nations started due to the conflict over land. French were the first Europeans to explore the lands around the great lakes and rivers around it, and they had set up their trading centers around this land. However, the same land was claimed by Britain. The land at the coastal areas was crowded forcing the settlers to move towards the west. The Europeans started destroying the hunting areas for the Indians making them worry about their land. However, the Indians were divided, and this prevented them from together stopping the whites from destroying their hunting land ( Goldfield et al., 2017 ). When the war between the Britain and French began, some Indians sided with Britain while others went to the side of the French.
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Europeans invasion into America
One of the primary reasons why the Europeans invaded America was to gain wealth through trade. North America had a variety of natural resources that the Europeans had wanted to utilize and transport back to their countries. The areas around the coast and great lakes had vast natural resources which the Europeans had targeted. They also wanted to acquire wealth through trade in fur and timber with the locals, the goods which they could later transport back to their own countries ( Zinn, 2015 ). By invading America, the Europeans settlers also wanted to establish a trade route to Asia so that they can trade in carpet and other trading items present in Asia.
The early Europeans also came to America to seek religious freedom and escape the religious prosecution. For example, there was no religious freedom in the French colonies, and any person who wanted to settle in France had to be a Roman Catholic. Due to this religious prosecution and lack of freedom, some of the Europeans ran to America so that they can get the freedom to practice their religion of choice. Europeans also wanted to explore America, learn the new life of the natives and their economic activities. Also, they wanted to build their territories in America and have control of the natural resources, trade, land and other wealth in the land ( Wesseling, 2015 ). This is seen when the early French explorers sent people to mark a territory around the great lake areas and establish their trading center. The trading centers were aimed at ensuring that they trade with the natives who mainly had fur and timber which they took back to their homes. No one wanted to lose their territory, and all the three European nations wanted to remain dominant in North America and its areas.
Causes of War between France and Britain
The three major causes of war between France and Britain were the disputes over land possession, the control of trade in fur and the balance of power. These three reasons led to the two nations fighting where Britain emerged as the winner and the most powerful nation in North America. There were three kinds of wars that the French and Britain engaged in and these included King William’s War, Queen Anne’s war and the French and India war. King William’s War was mainly fought in the areas around the great lake and Ohio valley as well as in the southern frontiers ( Salisbury, 2017 ). This war was fought due to the balance of power. French had moved to Mississippi and constructed forts that aimed that keeping Britain away from the land.
Queen Anne’s war was fought in the areas around the southern frontier, Quebec and the lake regions. The fight was to gain the possession of these lands and expand the territory in North America. The French and Indians war became part of the seven-year battle that took place between the two leading European nations in North America. The reason for this war was to gain control of North America and the fur trade. In early 1717, French had occupied great lakes areas and build their trade centers. They also developed a route through Ohio Rivers to the western parts of the region ( Daniels & Kennedy, 2013) . Conflict arose due to Britain having an interest in the same area. French went ahead to build forts in the regions to keep off the Britain who were interested in controlling the same piece of land. Britain demanded the removal of the forts that had been constructed, and this led to war between the two nations.
Early in the war, French made many successes and seemed determined to win the fight due to its large army and backing from the natives. However, things seemed to change towards 1757 when the British prime minister vowed to win the war. Better trained Britain soldiers were added, and Britain began to win the battle. The first win was when they conquered Fort Duquesne, a move that boosted the morale of the soldiers. Britain gained control of many parts of North America after they overpowered France ( King, 2017 ).
After seeing defeat in North America and having most of their territories were taken by Britain, French sought to get into a peaceful negotiation with Britain. However, the talks failed leading to Spain and France signing a peace agreement that was aimed at pressuring Britain to end the war and get to peaceful negotiations. As a result, the British also declared war on Spain, and due to its strong military, Britain emerged the winner. In 1763, French and Spanish sought peace deal leading to the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Britain was the biggest beneficiary after it gained large territories during the war and expanding its power to North America ( Washington & Army, 2014 ).
The relationship between the Colonials and England after France and Indian War
The French and Indians war in North America went for seven years between 1754 and 1763. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, with Britain emerging with a great victory. Britain benefited from the territorial gains in many parts of North America. The French and Indians war started due to the rising tension in North America as all the European nations wanted to extend their territory in the frontier areas. The war involved France, French colonists and their natives fighting against Britain and the Iroquois who supported them. There was no clear border between the French and Britain. The French government had built many forts to mark their territories, and when Britain forced attempted to expel the French, they were defeated ( Baugh & Baugh, 2014 ). This news of defeat reached the British prime minister who then declared a revenge plan thus resulting in full war.
For the next seven years, there was a full-scale war in North America. While the war seemed to go in favor of the French at the beginning, things seemed to change towards the end as Britain acquired more territories in North America. The British forces defeated the French troops, moving further to invade Canada. After being beaten in North America, the French government sought to have a peace deal with Britain, but this did not materialize. The French and Spain later signed a peace agreement declaring that if Britain fails to end the war by 1762, Spain will declare war on Britain ( Taylor, 2010 ). This was intended to put pressure on Britain to enter into a peace agreement. This however never worked as it was later decided that France will continue to fight Britain. This further led to British government opening war on Spain after this bitter exchange.
Britain was now facing a war against both the French and Spain. But due to their strong military, Britain emerged the winners of the war. The British acquired many territories that were initially owned controlled by French and Spain. Towards the beginning of 1763, French and Spanish began to seek peace talks after being defeated. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris. In the end, however, Britain acquired many territories in North America including the great lake regions and coats which were initially controlled by the French.
Despite this victory, the costs of the war were so high for the Britain government who had then to seek alternative sources to fund its activities. As a result, the British government attempted to impose tax policies on the colonies to raise more funds. This led to colonial resentment and tension with the colonies who were against British attempt to increase its authority over the colonies. The war between Britain and the French had left the colonists in their own devices, and the colonial leaders had enjoyed the great deal of autonomy during the war period ( Kelton, 2012 ). The end of the war, however, led to economic and political dynamic. Britain incurred massive debt during the war times and had opted to collect more taxes from the colonies. This did not go well with the colonies because this affected their industries and income. As a result, there was increased agitation from the colonies who felt that Britain was exerting too much authority on them.
Due to the rising agitation from the colonies over the taxation policy, Britain increased the presence of the military in America. This further angered the colonies leading to warfare between the colonies and Britain. However, this war had different effects on the colonials ( Skaggs & Nelson, 2012 ). Previously before the war, the colonies were divided with one group supporting Britain while the other group was supporting France. After the war, they learned to be united against a common enemy. Having previously existed in mutual distrust with no common ground, the colonies later changed and trusted each other. They learned that there was one common enemy that they had to fight against and that this needed unity amongst them.
After France was removed from North America, the remaining parts of America remained open, and the Britain government made a different decision. They introduced a controlled movement of the population while at the same time controlling the movement to the west. This further annoyed the colonies who felt that Britain was stopping them from accessing their land which they had rights to utilize. The Indians, on the other hand, saw disaster in the victory of Britain. The Indians were divided, with some supporting the French while others were supporting Britain. This led to enmity between the two groups, a situation that threatened their unity. The Iroquois Confederacy which had supported Britain also ended up conflicting with Britain as they contested the control of the Ohio valley yet they could not match Britain in military strength ( Pares, 2012 ).
What France gained over war between France and Indians?
The outcome of the French and Indians war was that Britain gained a lot of territories while the French lost everything after being defeated in the battle. The end of the war marked the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1973. While Britain was the chief beneficiaries of the fight due to the number of territories that they acquired from France after the war, the French power and control of North America were reduced. The signing of the peace agreement which ended French influence in North America also gave Spanish Florida to the British. However, Britain later gave Spain Louisiana territory which was initially controlled by France leaving them with completely nothing in North America. After losing almost everything, the French settlers were told to stay in Louisiana and collaborate with the Spanish governors to limit Britain’s expansion into North America ( Brinkley, 2015 ). Instead, the French colonists revolted against the Spanish. France therefore lost all its territories in the war to England.
The rise of Revolution
After the end of the seven-year war in which Britain emerged victorious, they noticed that the war had been costly and had used a lot of their resources. Found in this situation, they had become the master of the empire, and it was clear that they had a huge debt that was incurred during the war. The British government decided that they would increase their control over the colonies and impose a new tax policy to reduce the debt burden. For long, the Americans were not permitted to circulate their local printed currencies and also commanded to house the British soldiers. Sometimes, they were forced to comply with the restrictive shipping policies and forced to pay huge taxes to the British government. Those who defied these policies found themselves in the hands of the British judge. This angered Americans who felt that their liberty and freedom had been taken away and their rights violated by Britain ( Abad, Davies & Van, 2012 ). As a result, there was a desire to rebel against the Britain authority. This time saw the colonies unite together against the Britain who they had perceived as a common enemy. Within a period of fewer than twenty years following the end of the French and Indians war, Revolution war broke up in 1775. The colonies staged mass demonstrations against the hostility of the British government, and this led to fighting for independence in America.
After Britain emerging victorious in the war, it was now clear that the British would in the future determine the history of North America. The victory of Britain played a significant role in determining the loyalty of the American colonists to the British government. Before the start of the war, there was a strong connection between the American colonists and the British. After the war, however, the colonists saw Britain continue to depend on the country instead of bringing any benefits. Instead, they saw more authority being put on them by Britain, something that they did not like. The increased taxation, the administration, and expansion of the colonial power settlement and increase control over the colonies led to friction which eventually led to revolution war ( Anderson, 2012 ).
The Stamp Act of 1765 which required the colonists to pay taxes in the form of a stamp on various goods led to the colonists rebelling against the Britain. The Townshend Act of 1767 also authorized the parliament to impose taxes on in-demand import goods. This did not further please the colonies who started rising against Britain leading to soldiers being brought to Boston to cool the tension ( Debo, 2013 ). There was also tension over the continued presence of the soldiers in Boston leading to protests and killing of the protesters by the soldiers which further fueled the tension. A combination of these events and activities led to the rise of the American Revolution that saw America declared a free country.
One of the major effects of the revolution was the declaration of America as an independent country free from the British rule. After the rise of the revolution, Americans fought for their freedom and this led to the gain of independence in which they broke from the Britain rule which had frustrated them for many years. The immediate step in the declaration of the independence was the creation of state constitution in1777. This also led to the unleashing of compelling social, economic and political forces that later transformed the society and brought self-governance and religious tolerance ( Hoxie & Iverson, 2014 ).
Iroquois Confederacy
Iroquois sided and supported Britain during the French and Indian war. The Iroquois had claimed that they owned the land in the parts of the Ohio regions which was dominated by France. They felt that France had taken their land and had wanted to claim it back. Britain used the argument by the Iroquois to claim that France did not have a legal title deed for the land in Ohio. However, Iroquois did not want to support any side that will lose the war because they knew that there would be gains if they sided with the winning side. While they wished to support Britain, the early parts of the war saw France appear to be winning and this made Iroquois remain neutral because they did not want to support Britain which seemed to be losing the war ( Baugh & Baugh, 2014 ). However, the war turned in favor of Britain in 1758, which saw them win several battles and gaining many territories. At this point, Iroquois decided to put their support behind Britain because they knew they would win the war. They reasoned that they could benefit by supporting the winning side and also gain back their land in Ohio.
Conclusion
The war between the European countries in North America had many effects on the colonial societies. Both France, Britain and Spain fought to have control over the land, power, and trade. Due to its strong military power, Britain emerged winners thus expanding their territories. However, the war led to various effects such as imposing tax policies to recover the cost of the war and the increased authority over the colonies. This never went well with the colonies which then formed a rebellion against the British crown. The rising tension saw the colonies who were initially divided coming together to unite against a common enemy. The result was the emergence of the revolutionary war that led to the American Revolution. Fight for independence began making America separate from the British rule and becoming an independent country with self-governance and an established constitution. This led to America becoming a fully independent country that runs its activities without external influence.
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