CHAPTER VII

THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY

For many

Unrest among Colonies of Various Nations. years well-organized trading companies of European nations vied with one another in the control of foreign commerce. Each tried to gain a monopoly of certain markets, and this led to untold unrest and strife. As each nation established colonies in America, it was generally understood that these would in time prove valuable markets for the mother country, both as a place for sale of home-manufactured goods as well as a place to secure raw products and food supplies. Early Skirmishes. As the interests of one and the other conflicted, struggles between the frontiersmen of Canada and those of New York and New England began. For more than twenty-five years these struggles went on in the form of skirmishes before formal war was declared. In both instances, the frontier settlers were aided by their Indian allies who stood loyally by their European friends.

General Points of Contention. When the westward movement began, there was bound to come a struggle for control of the fur trade, the wide land areas, and the splendid waterways. The French got into the interior easily by way of the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, and it was not long before they determined to claim the great river of the interior. The English were hemmed in by the natural barrier of the Allegheny and Blue Ridge mountains, and made their way comparatively slowly into the country.

Main Points of Contention. There were three main objects of contention between the French and the English. These were:

First, the fisheries on the coast between Newfoundland and Long Island.

Second, the fur trade of the Great Lakes and Northwest Territory. Third, the control of the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers.

French and English Claims on the Coast. The French claimed the whole coast from eastern Maine to Hudson Bay; and the English held a right to the coast from Bay of Fundy to the district of Florida. From time to time, as the fishermen followed the great schools of cod and mackerel back and forth in these waters, they constantly overlapped their claims, causing conflicts such as had occurred to their forefathers when they had contended for the fisheries of the English Channel.

French Claims in the Interior. In the interior, the French claim was even more unlimited, for it included the St. Lawrence Valley and the basin of the Great Lakes, as well as the land drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. This latter district included the valleys of the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland, Yazoo, numerous small streams on the east, besides the immense unexplored tract drained by the Missouri, Arkansas, and Red rivers of the west and known as the Louisiana territory. To yield one portion of this vast territory meant the possibility of the loss of control of the rich fur trade. Absolute protection of these rights became the watchword of the French. To this end, an extensive line of forts was planned which, together with the trapping posts and missions, might prove beyond a doubt that the land was actually occupied.

Overlapping Claims to the South. At the south of the English colonies lay the Spanish possessions of Florida, and south of the French territory of Louisiana were Texas and

New Mexico, other Spanish claims. It was not hard to strike conflicting claims of overlapping territory all through these poorly defined boundaries.

King William's War, 1689-1697. When the great European wars broke out and England and France became engaged in these struggles, it was the signal for outbreaks between the colonists of the nations in America. The first of these conflicts is known in American history as King

William's War, and is mentioned in English history as the War of the English Succession.

In 1688 there occurred in England what was termed the Glorious Revolution. The English people had grown tired of the increasing tyranny of their king, James I., and forced him to leave the country. James fled to France, where he found a ready ally in the French king, Louis XIV. A struggle now began between France and England, which brought the colonies of each of the mother countries into the conflict. The war continued under the name of Queen

Anne's War, and lasted for almost twenty-five years. The New England and New York colonies were most active in these wars as they were nearest the French frontier.

Indian Attacks. Count Frontenac, the governor of Canada, now planned to invade New York and cut this district from the New England colonies. The Iroquois Indians, who were the friends of the English, heard of the plan and they made some attacks upon the Canadian frontier. The French with their Indian allies made their way down the Hudson Valley in the depth of the winter season. One night they stole upon the village of Schenectady, and massacred the inhabitants without warning. They then made similar attacks upon Salmon Falls, Deerfield, and Haverhill, Massachusetts. The suffering of the people was very great, — many of them were cruelly tortured and others driven as prisoners into Canada. The English now planned an attack upon Port Royal in Acadia and captured it. Later attacks were planned upon Quebec and Montreal, but these failed.

Treaty of Ryswick. The treaty of Ryswick closed the first war. By this treaty Acadia was returned to the French in exchange for European possessions of more value to the English. This offended the New England people, who had long desired Port Royal as a fishing base on the Bay of Fundy.

Queen Anne's War, 1702-1713. When the next war broke out, known as Queen Anne's War or the War of the Spanish Succession, another expedition was planned against Port Royal, and it was again captured. Acadia was named Nova Scotia; and Port Royal was renamed Annapolis in honor of the queen. The English were also successful in the Hudson Bay region. By the treaty of Utrecht, signed at the close of the war, they received, besides the Hudson Bay district and Nova Scotia, the island of Newfoundland. This war was also characterized by cruel massacres on the borders. As Spain was engaged in the conflict, some of her

American colonies were drawn into the war, and fighting took place on the Carolina coast.

King George's War, 1744-1748. Many years now passed before another struggle took place, but during the reign of George II., all Europe was drawn into a long and disastrous war known as the War of the Austrian Succession. In America it was called King George's War. Again France and England were opposed to each other. When the conflict broke out, New England sent a fleet of one hundred.

vessels and several thousand troops against Louisburg, the strongest French fortress in America. This fort was located on Cape Breton Island; it was built of stone and had cost several million dollars. The French had always boasted that it could not be taken, but, after a siege, it was captured (1774); and, to the great discontent of the Americans, it was returned to France in exchange for Gibraltar (treaty of Aix la Chapelle, 1748).

French and Indian War. - These wars had the effect of uniting both sides more closely in their own colonies and