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THE INTERCOLONIAL WARS.

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Holland, and Germany on the one side, against Spain and France on the other. The Five Nations (Indians) who lived between the French and the English settlements, having made peace with the French, did not take part in this struggle, so New England was the scene of the warfare, though the most southern colonies suffered somewhat from the Spaniards. Again was Port Royal taken from the French by the united efforts of British and colonial troops, and its name was changed, in honor of the queen, to Annapolis. An expedition against Quebec failed disastrously. After eleven years, peace was made, by the terms of which England retained most of Acadie, which became henceforth Nova Scotia, the possession of which gave England control of the fisheries. During this war Massachusetts suffered greatly from the Indians. Deerfield having been surprised, many persons were massacred, and over a hundred were carried into captivity. Haverhill also was the scene of a terrible attack. Notwithstanding the peace, there were for a long time Indian wars, which were marked with the usual dreadful scenes. During the conflict, the Tuscaroras, a tribe of North Carolina, having suffered at the hands of the settlers whom they had attempted to exterminate, migrated northward and joined the Five Nations in northern and western New York, which now became the "Six Nations" (sect. 2).

68. Third Intercolonial War; King George's War. (17441748.) The third war, King George's War, was again a conflict between England and France. This lasted about four years, and the only important incident was the capture of the strongly fortified town of Louisburg, on the island of Cape Breton, by the combined force of colonial and British troops. This place was considered the Gibraltar of America, and the daring, the bravery, and the perseverance of the

colonial troops gave the colonists a reliance upon their own resources which they never forgot nor lost. To the disgust of the colonies, Louisburg was returned to the French in 1748, on the making of peace.

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69. Lessons of the Intercolonial Wars. In the three wars which have been described, New England bore the brunt of the conflict and suffered the heaviest losses, though in the expedition against Louisburg several of the other colonies had taken part. The colonies had suffered heavy losses in property and life, and gained but little, the conquest of Nova Scotia and the control of the Newfoundland fisheries by the English being the chief. They had, however, learned two things: (1) That they would have to protect themselves, England being ready to sacrifice their interests at any time for her own advantage; and (2) that in efficiency, the colonial, or, as they were often called, the provincial troops, were quite equal to the British regulars, while the provincial officers were often superior to the British officers.

70. Slave Trade. (1713-1776.) A notable instance of the disregard paid to the wishes of the colonists by the mother country was one of the provisions of the treaty of Utrecht, at the end of Queen Anne's War, 1713. This was an agreement known as the "Assiento," by which England secured the right to supply the Spanish-American colonies with negroes from Africa, and in doing this the company, in which the queen was a stockholder, also supplied the English colonies with slaves. It is estimated that in this way about 300,000 negro slaves were brought to the British settlements before 1776. Again and again had colonial legislatures passed acts forbidding the slave trade, only to have them vetoed by the royal governors or by the home government.

CHAPTER IV.

STRUGGLE FOR COLONIAL EMPIRE.

REFERENCES.

General. — G. Bancroft, History of the United States, ii. 319-565; R. Hildreth, History of the United States, ii. 433–513; Bryant and Gay, Popular History of the United States, iii. 254-328; A. B. Hart, Formation of the Union (Epochs of American History), pp. 1-41; W. M. Sloane, French War and Revolution (American History Series), pp. 1–115; F. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, 2 vols., Conspiracy of Pontiac; R. Frothingham, Rise of the Republic, 101-157; B. A. Hinsdale, The Old North West, pp. 21-69; J. R. Green, Short History of the English People, Chap. x., sect. ii. ; F. W. Longman, Frederick the Great (Epoch Series), pp. 167-184; J. A. Doyle, History of the United States, Chaps. xv., xvi.; John Fiske, War of Independence, pp. 1-26, also his American Revolution; J. R. Seeley, The Expansion of England, Course 1, Lectures iv.-viii.; J. M. Ludlow, The War of American Independence (Epoch Series), pp. 58-64; Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. v.

Biographies. American Statesman Series, H. C. Lodge, George Washington; J. T. Morse, Jr., Benj. Franklin; J. K. Hosmer, Samuel Adams; John Fiske, Irving's Washington; John Bigelow, Benj. Franklin; Franklin's Autobiography.

Special. — For Washington's Expedition: W. Irving, Life of Wasliington; Washington's Writings (Sparks' Edition, ii. 422-437), (W. C. Ford's Edition, i. 1-124). For Albany Convention: Franklin's Works (Sparks' Edition), i. 176–178, iii. 22–55; Old South Leaflets, No. 9. For Peace of 1763: American History Leaflets, No. 5, Extracts from the Treaty of Paris, 1763, etc.; J. R. Seeley, The Expansion of England, as above.

71. The French and the English Colonies. (1750.) — By the middle of the eighteenth century it became evident that there would be, before many years had gone by, a struggle between the European settlers for the control of the North

American continent, and that the great conflict would be between the French and English. Up to this time the English settlers had hugged the Atlantic coast, only a few penetrating beyond the Alleghanies. Beyond those mountains, the region from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico was held by the French, who, to secure it, had built about sixty forts. The skill with which the position of these posts was selected is shown by the fact that many of them have since become cities or towns, as Fort Wayne, Detroit, Toledo, Natchez, and New Orleans. The French colonists had made great efforts to establish settlements in the Mississippi valley, but, with the exception of New Orleans and Mobile, they had not been very successful. The home government had neither encouraged emigration, nor given much aid to the colonies; indeed nothing helpful could have been expected from the corrupt government of Louis XIV. After one hundred and fifty years of occupation, the population of the French colonies did not exceed 125,000, while their English rivals probably numbered 1,250,000. The French possessions were held by a string of forts, through a country almost as wild as when the continent was discovered by the Cabots. The bulk of the population was in Canada, and with the exception of New Orleans and one or two other places, there was hardly any other real settlement outside of Canada.

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72. Ohio Company; Activity of the French; Washington. (1753.) The English in their charter had claimed the continent westward to the South Seas, as the Pacific was then called; the French claimed all the territory west of the Alleghanies, by right of discovery and exploration; while the Indians claimed the whole, by right of occupation; but neither the French nor the English regarded any claims that clashed with their personal interests. The conflicting claims

WASHINGTON'S EXPEDITION.

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to this vast tract had not caused trouble until 1748, when a land company, known as the Ohio Company, was organized by English and Virginian speculators, whose object was to induce emigrants to move to the lands in what was really a part of Pennsylvania, but which Virginia claimed under her charter. Explorers who visited the region brought back glowing accounts of the country, and surveyors were sent out to survey and open roads. As soon as the French heard of this movement, they began to increase the number of their forts and to open a second line nearer the English border. They built one at Presque Isle (Erie), also at Venango, and at Franklin, Pennsylvania, and at many other points; they seized the company's surveyors, and destroyed an English post on the Miami. Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia sent George Washington, then a land surveyor, and only twentyone years of age,1 to carry an official letter to the French, protesting against the occupation of lands belonging to Virginia. Washington was also ordered to ascertain the disposition of the Indians towards the English, and, if possible, gain their friendship.

73. Washington's Expedition; Surrenders to French; French and Indian War. (1754.) — The trip was one of great danger, but after having experienced more than one hairbreadth escape, Washington returned in safety. The accounts which he brought back amounted to a declaration of war, for the French flatly refused to give up their posts. This was in 1753. Early in 1754 the Virginia legislature voted men and money to protect the posts which had been begun in the disputed territory. Washington was placed second in command, but soon after the expedition had started, he became 1 George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, 22d February (11th, Old Style), 1732.

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