The Revolutionary War ~ Lesson 1
The Molasses Act of 1733
Although the British gave their colonies more freedom than the Spanish or French, they still made a number of laws that helped the businessmen in England more than the colonists. The Molasses Act of 1733 is an example of this.
Many New Englanders made a living by turning molasses and sugar into rum. The Molasses Act helped the sugar plantation owners on the islands of the British West Indies. A tax was placed on the sugar and molasses that came from the islands. On top of this, the law stated that traders in New England could only trade with the British Islands. Many businessmen had been trading with the French and the Dutch. Now these men would lose money. This made the New Englanders upset with the British.
The French and Indian War The French fought a war against the colonists and the British over the land in America. This was started in 1754 and lasted until 1763. Europeans called this the Seven Years War.
Many Indians fought on the side of the French. The French had befriended the Indians through their fur trading.
The war ended with the British and colonists winning. France lost Canada and all of the French territory east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans.
This war changed the way of thinking for the colonists. During the war the colonists fought alongside the British Army. This taught the colonists how to fight as well as making the colonists realize that they no longer needed the British Army for protection. Another result of this war was the colonists learned they must work together to keep their land.
After the war many colonists moved across the mountains. They no longer feared the French would attack them.
Timeline for the French and Indian War |
|
October 1753 |
Governor Dinwiddie sent George Washington to tell the French to stop building forts in the Ohio Valley. The French paid no attention to the warning. |
May 1754 |
Washington built Fort Necessity. |
July 9, 1755 |
Washington lost the Battle of the Wilderness. Washington warned Braddock that the French and Native Americans fought from behind trees instead of marching into battle. Braddock's army was surprised and Braddock was killed. |
Summer 1755 |
Seven thousand French peasants living in Nova Scotia (Arcadians) were rounded up and sent away from their homes by the British. |
May 1756 |
England and France formally declared war. |
1755-1757 |
The French won battle after battle. |
1758 |
General Wolfe began leading the colonial armies. Fort Duquesne was captured. |
October 1758 |
Peace was made between the Native Americans in the Ohio Valley and the British. |
September 13, 1759 |
The British defeated the French at Quebec. |
February 1763 |
The Peace of Paris awarded all of North America east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans, including Canada and Florida to the British. |
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