The Colonial Wars were a series of conflicts fought between France and England (and their respective Indian allies) over a 75 year period. The causes of these conflicts were essentially two-fold:

1. France and Great Britain were both expanding into the interior of North America at the same time.
2. In Europe, kings were engaged in dynastic struggles with one another for control of the thrones of Spain and Austria.

The Colonial Wars were global in scale, that is, battles took place in Europe, Asia, and North America. Arguably, these were the first ever global wars fought between the empires of Europe. Although our focus is the conflict between France and England, we will also discuss Prussia, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire, so that we get a clear idea as to why events unfolded as they did.

To begin I would like to introduce you to the chart below. This chart lists all the major wars, when they occurred, and the treaties that ended them. This chart is interactive and can be used to move up and down the page quickly to get to the corresponding information. And because there is a lot of information to absorb, I have included a special study guide or companion to the colonial wars. You can access this resource by clicking the link at the bottom of the page (or by clicking here).

A Timeline for the Colonial Wars

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First Colonial War (1689-97 AD)
All of the Colonial Wars took place specifically in the colonies and wilderness of the North American theatre. The first colonial war was called King William's War. A war called the War of the Grand Alliance was taking place in Europe at the exact same time; however, as this is a Canadian history course I am primarily concerned with the conflicts taking place in North America.

This does not mean what was happening in Europe was irrelevant. I just do not want to burden you with a bunch of information for no good reason. I do recommend you at least become familiar with events taking place in the European theatre. Use the (+) and (-) buttons below to expand and collapse information related to Europe.

European Theatre: War of the Grand Alliance

The First Colonial War had two primary causes:

1. France and England were fighting each other for control of the fur trade in North America
2. France was expanding its influence in Europe while England attempted to check (stop/limit) the growth of French power

If you read about what was happening in Europe, you would know that England didn't join the League of Augsburg until 1690. Once England had entered the alliance, French forces in New France led by Governor Frontenac launched a series of attacks on the Thirteen Colonies. A combined force of regular French troops and Native allies, wandered up and down the American frontier killing settlers, wreaking havoc, and just generally being unpleasant. The original intention of the attacks was to frighten and demoralize the English-Americans. Instead, the raids encouraged the English to launch a series of brutal counter-attacks.

In particular, the English launched a successful assault on the settlement of Port Royal in Acadia. The English-American force then struck at the heart of New France by laying siege to the the Citadel of Quebec. The English army was commanded by Sir William Phips. Phips' siege ended at the onset of winter. He had to leave or risk his ships becoming locked in the icey floes of the St. Lawrence River. With the departure of the English, the French started right where they left off: a war party of Canadiens and native allies returned to the American frontier to scalp English people for the greater glory of France.

Treaty of Ryswick
The conflict in both North America and Europe was officially brought to a close on September 30th, 1697, with the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick. The treaty demonstrated just how pointless the whole war had been, in that, all the colonial possessions that had been captured by either side were returned to their pre-war owners. Moreover, this agreement was less a treaty and more a temporary truce as the problems which had caused the war in the first place remained unresolved.

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Second Colonial War (1702-13)

European Theatre: War of the Spanish Succession

Queen Anne's War was the second of the four major colonial wars (and counterpart to the War of the Spanish Succession). The English attacked the Spanish in Florida and enjoyed some success. And while England was busy killing Spaniards in the south, the French were back scalping people from the Thirteen Colonies in the north. The attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts, by the French and their First Nations allies was particularly brutal.

The English returned to Port Royal and conquered it. After the the conquest of Port Royal, the English moved on to Quebec. Although the siege of Quebec failed, the operation was not a complete failure: the British took back Newfoundland (for some reason). Oh, yeah, the cod....

Treaty of Utrecht
The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). England received Acadia and was allowed to keep Newfoundland. Ironically, the treaty would be a cause of a future war. E.g. According to the agreement the English insisted that France had agreed to give up all of Acadia. The English had understood this word to mean the entire peninsula of what is today known as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The French interpreted "Acadia" as simply "Port Royal." As you can well imagine, the differing interpretations left the door open to war. Officially speaking, the peace between France and England would not be broken until 1744. However, violence would continue "un-officially" along the shared frontiers of the Hudson Bay and Ohio Valley regions.

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Third Colonial War (1740-48)

The Third Colonial War is also known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. In 1731, Robert Jenkins (a British sailor) had his ear cut off during an incident involving the Spanish navy. The "ear incident" did not cause much of a stir at the time because Spain and Britain were on good terms; however, when their relationship turned sour a few years later the British looked for any excuse to pick a fight. They found it when Mr. Jenkins appeared before Parliament bearing his severed ear in a pickling jar. Britain "reluctantly" declared war on Spain in order to defend their honor. The lesson? Avoid the temptation of being overly emotional when circumstances arise that might lead your country and another to war. Reason and diplomacy, at all times, should prevail because too often the public is manipulated into a thinking in a "herd mentality" (like they have no other option but war). The American invasion of its former ally Iraq (2003) was justified similarly on emotional grounds (not on facts).

European Theatre: War of the Austrian Succession

War broke out in 1744. The French were suffering from a severe case of the "shakes" because they hadn't collected any scalps for nearly a decade. Thus, to meet their scalp-quota the French attacked some British people at Canso, Nova Scotia. The people of Canso, having been forewarned of the approaching French Army, shaved their heads. Dismayed at not being able to scalp anyone proper-like, the French contented themselves with destroying all the homes of the English settlers. The French also made a pathetic attempt to recapture Port Royal (since renamed Annapolis Royal), but failed.

Hatred of the French was strongest in New England. In particular, American merchants had suffered great financial loss at the hand of French pirates based out of the port of Fort Louisbourg. And making matters worse the Protestants of New England had a natural dislike of the Roman Catholic French. And these were Protestants you did not want to get angry, I.e. Salem Witch Trials.

In 1745, a large army was raised in Maine by William Pepperella. He was given the job of taking Louisbourg, and his army was supported by the English navy led by Commodore Peter Warren (Lionel Ritchie was offered the job but refused). The English-American force laid siege to Louisbourg for two-months. The fortress eventually fell.

Having lost Louisbourg, the French officers said to themselves, "We didn't need that fort any ways." So the French and their Native allies went right back to collecting scalps on the American frontier. Tired of being the scalpee and wanting to be the scalper, the English under Sir William Johnson responded by organizing an Iroquois strike force to hit the French. Hair loss on both sides was at an all-time high, but no clear victor emerged from this very important fighting in North America.

In 1746, the French planned an offensive that would have enabled them to retake Louisbourg and then attack Boston. But before the French could set sail a major storm broke out scattering the French fleet (and sinking their flagship containing all their essential hair care products).

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Peace was achieved with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. In return for receiving Madras in India, the British returned Louisbourg to the French. The American Colonies were so upset that Louisbourg had been returned to the French that the British Parliament reimbursed the colonial governments for funds spent on the Pepperrella campaigns.

King George’s War did not resolve the rivalry between France and Britain; that resolution would not occur for another 15 years.


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Fourth Colonial War (1754-63)

New France and the Thirteen Colonies both had the bright idea of settling an area called the Ohio Valley. In 1748, a group of Virginians created the Ohio Company to help English people establish homesteads in this coveted region. The French anticipated the move and established two forts to prevent American expansion into the Ohio.

The Virginians were particularly incensed at the French move to block American expansion. The Americans sent an emissary, George Washington, to formally protest the French action. The protests fell on deaf ears as the French continued to build new forts along the frontier. These forts hemmed in the Americans and completely prevented their westward expansion.

The Thirteen Colonies, alarmed by construction of the French forts, agreed to go to war together against the French; however, approval from the British Parliament would be required before formal war could begin. Nonetheless, for the first time in the 75 year conflict, war had broken out in North America before in Europe.

The final episode, the French and Indian Wars, was important because the conflict over control of the fur trade would be settled once and for all. The British wanted to capture French forts, I.e. Duquesne, Frontenac, and Niagara, etc. to break the hold of France on the continent's interior. They also set out to take Louisbourg (again) and the French cities on the St. Lawrence—Quebec and Montreal. The English at first failed in their attempts. For instance, the expedition led by General Edward Braddock against Fort Duquesne in 1755 was a fiasco, and the attempt by Admiral Boscawen to establish a naval blockade of New France proved ineffective.

Following the English-American victory in the French- Indian War, Amherst purportedly considered using biological warfare to kill native Americans. He proposed using smallpox as a weapon to end something called Pontiac's Rebellion (1763). He wanted to send infected blankets as offerings of peace to the natives. In an interesting twist, the tactic had already been tried by the English colonists of the Thirteen Colonies with some success.

After 1757, the war started to go a little bit better for the Thirteen Colonies. General Amherst led an English-American force against Louisbourg in 1758. The successful siege itself was conducted by the capable Brigadier-General James Wolfe. And later that same year General John Forbes captured Fort Duquesne (and renamed it Fort Pitt).

On the French side there was General Louis Joseph de Montcalm (a French guy in case you couldn't tell by his outrageously long name). Montcalm, distinguished himself in 1758 by repulsing an American attack at Fort Carillon. Carillon would fall to the English the next summer.

The war then shifted away from the interior and moved towards the St. Lawrence region. And it was at Quebec City where Montcalm would fight his final battle against the army of General Wolfe. The climax came in 1759 in an open battle on the Plains of Abraham. Both Wolfe and Montcalm were killed, and Quebec fell to the British. In 1760, Montreal also fell, and the war was over. The Treaty of Paris signed in 1763 permanently ended French control of New France. The fate of Canada (another popular name to describe New France) now became the sole responsibility of the British.

The Seven Years' War

Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris (February 10, 1763) ended the Seven Years' War. The main results for France and England were as follows:

• France lost all of its possessions on the North American continent
• The only European presence in North America now were the British and Spaniards
  
  

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