XXXII

WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE

(1754-1763)

POINTS TO BE NOTICED

Nature of the struggles between England and France; causes of their rivalry in America; war begins over the "territory on the Ohio"; George Washington and Fort Duquesne; defeat of General Braddock.

Origin of the "Seven Years' War" in Europe; allies of England and of France; how William Pitt saved England; General Wolfe captures Quebec; all Canada conquered.

The English and French in India; Clive defeats the French; the "Black Hole" of Calcutta; Clive's victory at Plassey; French influence in India destroyed.

Close of the war in Europe; George III. abandons Frederick the Great; how Prussia was saved; terms of the Peace of Paris; the British Empire established.

French and

FOR six or eight years following the War of the Austrian Succession, England and France were at peace. But the enmity between the two nations continued. English They now understood that they were really rivalry. engaged in a world-wide struggle for colonial empire, for the mastery of the seas, and for commercial supremacy. In whatever part of the world English colonists or merchants went, they found Frenchmen disputing the ground, and fighting often occurred between English and French sailors or settlers.

Their
Colonies

England and France both had colonies in Americathe French in the valleys of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, and about the Great Lakes; and the English along the Atlantic coast. Virginia, Maryland, and the four New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire) had been founded under James I.

in North America.

and Charles I. New York, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and Delaware were founded under Charles II. Georgia, the last of the thirteen English colonies, was established in the reign of George II. In addition Great Britain possessed Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay Territory.

The English came as permanent settlers, and their numbers increased rapidly. The French, in the main, came for the fur-trade only, and expected some day to return to their beloved France.

The English colonists soon began to feel that their boundaries were too narrow for them, and turned their gaze toward the great unsettled valleys beyond the Appalachian mountains. They claimed these western lands on the ground that their settlements on the coast gave them a right to the territory clear across the continent. The French, on the other hand, claimed this territory on the ground that their settlements about the

mouths of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi gave tnem the right to all the country drained by these rivers.

To support their claim, the French built a chain of forts connecting the Ohio river with the St. Lawrence, and sent a message to the English colonists, saying that "France would permit no English settlements" on the Ohio. But the English government told the colonists that France "had not the least pretense of right to the territory on the Ohio," and ordered the colonial governors to drive out the French "whenever they are found within the undoubted limits of your provinces."

The result was a struggle between the English and French in America, which in turn contributed to a

War begun in America (1754).

renewal of the war in Europe. The chief of the French forts was Fort Duquesne at "the Forks of the Ohio," where the city of Pittsburgh now stands. The governor of the colony of Virginia sent a young Virginian, named George Washington, with a small body of troops, to prevent the building of this fort; but they were unsuccessful, and were obliged to return home. The next year (1755), General Braddock was sent over, with British regular soldiers, and tried to capture Fort Duquesne. He marched carelessly through the forest, not heeding Washington's caution to beware of hidden French and Indians; so his troops were surprised and defeated, and he himself was slain.

In Europe, meanwhile, the leading nations were drifting into war. Its chief cause was the desire of Austria to recover the lands which Frederick the Great had taken from her. To do this, she made a secret league with Russia and Saxony, to attack Prussia and to divide the Prussian territories. Frederick the Great learned through his spies of this agreement, and resolved

to strike first. This he did, in 1756, by marching his army into Saxony; and thus the war began.

in Europe

(1756-63).

England and France both entered into this European war, as usual, and on opposite sides. England now took the side of Prussia, because Austria would "Seven not promise to protect Hanover; and France years' war" was won over to the side of Austria, in spite of the fact that France and Austria had been fighting each other for two hundred years. The war in Europe is known as "the Seven Years' War," from the length of time that it lasted. The English colonists in America called it "the French and Indian War." Like the preceding one, this war was fought in Europe, in America, in India, and on the sea. The changes which it produced were among the greatest in history.

During the first two years of the war, England accomplished very little, either in Europe or in America. One of the English statesmen explained this by saying:

"We first engaged in war, and then began to prepare ourselves."

The government at this time was very badly managed. The Prime Minister was a fussy nobleman who owed his power entirely to his wealth and family influence, and not to any ability which he had. Men openly made fun of him, and said that he acted as if he "had lost a halfhour in the morning, and was running after it all the rest of the day."

But there was one man in political life who had the ability, and the determination, and the patriotism, and the eloquence, to carry on the government William properly, if he only had the chance. This Pitt saves was William Pitt, who afterward became Earl of Chatham. But Pitt did not belong to the great noble families of England, and it was very rare for any

England.

man, at that time, to become Prime Minister unless he belonged to this select governing circle. Moreover, Pitt had angered George II. by opposing his plans for Hanover.

Nevertheless, things went so badly, and the people demanded Pitt so loudly, that the King was at last obliged to yield, and to appoint him to the chief place in the government. "Sire, give me your

confidence," said Pitt, "and I will deserve it."

"Deserve my confidence," replied the King, "and you shall have it."

On both sides the promise

was fully kept.

proudly said:

Pitt had

"I know that I can save the country, and that no one else can."

This spirit of self-confidence he succeeded in inspiring in others also. It was said that

66

no one ever entered Pitt's room who did not come out of it a braver man." He put his whole heart into his work, and soon stirred up all departments of the government to great activity. He appointed officers in the navy and army, not for favor or because of their family connections, but solely on account of their energy and ability. Thus, he soon overcame the effects of other men's bad management,. and began to win victories.

In America, the turning point of the war came in 1759. The greatest stronghold of the French was at Quebec, on the St. Lawrence river; and against that place Pitt