Chapter 19Part 3Colonial Wars

Colonial Wars 1689--1815

The Brits and the French were the two main contenders in the wars for colonial empires

Period is sometimes called the Second Hundred Years’ War

1701-1783 wars between the two concerned maritime trade and colonial expansion

France v Brits France had the largest army on land

and was working to build up its naval forces

Brits had the largest navy

The Netherlands and Spain were in decline

BUT France sought Spain’s help against the Brits as an ally

Wars between 1689-1815 Were considered world wars They involved fighting in Europe, the

high seas, and in the New World

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713)

The possibility of the Bourbons inheriting the Spanish throne and merging the French and Spanish Empires was a major threat to the balance of power in Europe AND a threat to the Brits in North America

In North America If Spanish and French empires

merged, the British American colonies would be surrounded by New France in the North and Spanish territory in Florida and in the West

The Treaty of Utrecht 1713

France lost Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the Hudson Bay area to Great Britain

Spain lost the asiento to Britain: the West African Slave trade to the New World

Spain also agreed to allow one British ship to trade with Panama annually …a real opportunity for the Brits to gain the Spanish colonial market

The War of Jenkins’ Ear Began in 1739 and expanded into

the War of the Austrian Succession

Spain believed that the Brits had abused the provision in the Treaty of Utrecht regarding the one ship a year to Panama

Belief that the Brits were trading with Spanish colonies more than once a year

The War of Jenkins’ Ear Spanish officials boarded a British ship

suspected of smuggling goods into Latin America

Spanish officials cut off the ear of the captain (Jenkins) of the British ship

Jenkins kept his ear in a jar of Brandy and presented it to Parliament 7 years later

The War of Jenkins’ Ear George II declared war on Spain in

response

Led to the War of the Austrian succession the following year (1740)

The War of the Austrian Succession in North

America 1740-1748 Remember Frederick the

Great attacked Austrian possession: Silesia

Also involved battles between England and France in North America and India

Spain also fought to keep its colonial empire intact

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle: no impact on colonies

The Seven Years’ Waraka The French and

Indian War 1754-1763 Biggest war of the 18th

century Began in the Ohio Valley George Washington and troops

engaged the French at Ft. Duquesne

In Europe it was the 7 Years’ War and began after Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 (when Maria Theresa tried to crush Prussia and regain Silesia)

William Pitt(Britain’s Prime

Minister) Changed Britain’s war strategy in

the middle of the war by focusing more attention on North America

Remember…the Brits were allied with Prussia but did not fight much in Europe…gave Prussia $ and support instead

The French and Indian War

The British Royal navy clobbered the French navy many times during the war

The French had hoped to invade Britain but was impossible due to the many naval defeats

French trade with its West Indian colonies was choked off and Spain suffered similarly as an ally of France

The Treaty of Paris 1763 Ended the 7 Years’ War France was no longer a major

colonial power France lost Canada to Britain France lost all possessions east of

the Mississippi to Britain

France lost possessions west of the Mississippi to Spain

The Treaty of Paris France kept some posts in India but

lost much there to the Brits

Spain lost Florida to the Brits

So…Britain became the world’s dominant colonial power

The American Revolution

1775-1783 France and Spain gave significant

financial and military support to Americans in order to weaken Britain’s world empire

The 13 American colonies were Britain’s most valuable colonial possessions…for both raw materials and as a market for surplus British goods

By 1775 Over 2.5 million people lived in the

American colonies

The British American colonies had the highest standard of living in the world at the onset of the war for independence

Colonial Latin America By the 18th Century, Spain’s colonies

continued to be an important part of the Atlantic Economy

Silver mining in Mexico and Peru quadrupled between 1700-1800

Accounted for ½ of the world’s supply of silver

Philip V (the Bourbon Spanish King)

Spain recovered somewhat under the leadership of Philip V (grandson of Louis XIV)

Spain had the world’s 3rd largest navy in the world

Spain gained more control over its colonial empire and incorporated administrative and economic reforms under Charles III (Enlightened Despot)

Creoles Spaniards born in Latin America About 20% of the American

population Tried to recreate a European-style

aristocracy in Latin America Some were wealthy class merchants

who prospered from smuggling Natives went from forced labor to

debt peonage

Mestizos The children born to Spanish fathers and

Native American mothers

Represented about 30% of the population

Amerindians about 70% of population Most Spanish landowners believed

Amerindians should do the hard labor

Black slavery in sugar plantations of Cuba and Puerto Rico

Portuguese Brazil Portugal imported massive numbers

of slaves to work in the Brazilian sugar plantations

By early 19th century, ½ of Brazil’s population was of African descent

More intermixed population than in Spanish colonies (Portuguese, Indian, African)