The French and Indian War: Impact
Restless colonies
o Increased confidence in their military strength
 Officers and men had fought alongside British regulars, and considered themselves “veteran”
 20,000 American colonists ad served in the war
o Reduced the mythological status of the British army
 Braddock’s defeat saw British regulars fleeing, or huddling in fear
o Tension between the British military and colonial militia
 Would not recognize any colonial rank above Captain
 Referred to militia as “the dirtiest, most contemptible, cowardly dogs that you can conceive.”
 British nationals felt the colonists were uncivilized, back-country scum
o British government resented colonial merchants and shippers who bypassed trade laws
 Felt they were not only disloyal, but hurting the broader British economy
 During the final year of the war, the British banned all exports from the middle and northern colonies
o Many colonists (and some entire colonies) refused to support the war with either money or troops
 They saw no immediate benefit for themselves
 Only when the British offered to reimburse expenses, did they join the effort
 This was viewed by most British as a sign of disloyalty
o Bridging colonial gaps
 Many colonies were still divided by geography, rivers, distance, religion, government preferences, social
class, national origins etc.
 Some unity began to emerge during the war
Soldiers who served from different regions found common bonds with one another
Did not break down all of the barriers, but it was an encouraging start
Americans!
o With the removal of the French menace, British colonists desired bold westward expansion
o Spain was now eliminated from Florida, though it now controlled the western two-thirds of the country
o The Indians, especially powerful tribes and confederations lost their most powerful weapon
 With the loss of the French and Spanish, they could not play the powers against one another
 All negotiations had to be made solely with the British
o Pontiac’s War
 Feeling the pressure of British expansion, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa Indians launched a war to drive the
British out of the Ohio Valley
 Organized multiple tribes and remaining French traders
 Overran Detroit, and most British outposts west of the Appalachian Mountains
 Killed over 2000 soldiers and settlers
 The British counterattacked, and defeated the Indians fairly quickly, and a shaky peace established
 One commander issued blankets used by smallpox victims to the Indians
 Pontiac was killed in 1769 by a rival tribe
 Demonstrated a need to regulate westward expansion, and to station troops along the frontier
Colonists would not be happy to find out that they were expected to pay for this
o Westward!
 Kentucky and Tennessee had already been breached by adventurous frontiersmen
 A new flood of settlers came streaming over the Appalachians
 The Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement west of the Appalachians
True purpose was to resolve frontier issues, and protect settlers from Indian attacks
Colonists proceeded to ignore the proclamation, and begin crossing the mountains
 A new sense of entitlement was born… the right to expand westward