Chapter 1: American Colonies by 1763

Question 1

When was the French-Indian war?

Answer 1

1756-1763

Question 2

What were some long-term causes for the outbreak of the French-Indian war?

Answer 2

Prior resentment between colonists after European conflicts e.g. Austrian war of succession 1740s
Competing claims over Ohio between Br & Fr
French military buildup in Nova Scotia - violated Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle
French support for Acadian independence movements
Mutual distrust among colonists - religious differences

Question 3

What was the short term cause for the outbreak of the French-Indian war?

Answer 3

Skirmish in Ohio:
1754 - Ohio Company got a grant of 200,000 acres in ohio
French built forts nearby - Fort Duquesne
George Washington sent to stop them - he lost
Britain sent 2,000 troops & general braddock to america - ambushed and routed by a French-Indian troop in 1755

Question 4

What was the Battle of the Wilderness 1755?

Answer 4

The battle where General Braddock got killed in a French-Indian ambush

Question 5

When was the battle of Quiberon Bay and what was it?

Answer 5

1759 - Admiral Hawke smashed a french fleet at Quiberon Bay - prevented reinforcements going to Canada

Question 6

When did Britain take Quebec?

Answer 6

1759

Question 7

When did Britain take Montreal & susequently all of Canada?

Answer 7

1760

Question 8

What was the Peace of Paris?

Answer 8

A treaty signed 1763 that ended the French-Indian War

Question 9

What were the terms of the Peace of Paris?

Answer 9

Britain received Canada and all french posessions east of the mississippi.
Britain took most of France’s Carribbean islands
France ceded Louisiana to Spain
Britain acquired Florida from Spain

Question 10

What were the results of the Seven Years War?

Answer 10

Britain was the world’s greatest imperial power - controlled most of North America, the Carribbean, and much of India.
War gave training to men that would become leaders in the American army.
Mutual contempt formed between american and british soldiers
Huge amounts of land west of the appalachians was open for settlement
Weakened colonial dependence on the British military

Question 11

What was the economic situation in Britain by 1763?

Answer 11

Rising population - 7.5m people by 1760
Industrial revolution starting to take place

Question 12

What was the social situation in Britain by 1763?

Answer 12

British society was heirarchical - rising middle class

Question 13

What was the political situation in Britain by 1763?

Answer 13

Still a Parliamentary Monarchy
Very small electorate to Parliament - only wealthy could vote
Two major parties - Whigs and Tories (only whigs mattered)

Question 14

What were some signs of a weak relationship between Britain and the colonies by 1763?

Answer 14

Population of the colonies grew massively
Colonists didn’t think of themselves as Britons
Colonies ran their own affairs
Didn’t like British mercantilism - aware of their own economic strengths
Nothing to fear from France - less militarily dependent

Question 15

What were some signs of a strong relationship between Britain and the colonies by 1763?

Answer 15

Most Americans loyal to Britain - 25,000 volunteered to go to war in 1756
No desire to attain colonial unity pre-1763
British rule over America was in practice very easy-going, when compared to other colonies.
No colonist predicted separation in 1763

Question 16

When was the first successful english colony set up?

Answer 16

Virginia in 1607

Question 17

When were the thirteen colonies actually completed?

Answer 17

1732

Question 18

What were the three groups of colonies?

Answer 18

New England - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Conneticut
Middle colonies - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware
Southern Colonies - Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia

Question 19

What was the population growth in the colonies 1700-1763?

Answer 19

250,000 to over 2 million

Question 20

Why did colonial population grow so fast?

Answer 20

High birth rate - Average family had 7 kids
Low death rate - generally prosperous
Immigration

Question 21

What were the five towns of notable size?

Answer 21

Boston
New York
Newport
Philadelphia
Charleston

Question 22

Why was there such huge immigration to America?

Answer 22

Generally prosperous
Huge demand for slaves
Europeans could enter temporary servitude in exchange for free passage

Question 23

How were the colonies mostly run in 1763?

Answer 23

Governors & Colonial assemblies

Question 24

What were the two different types of colonial governor in 1763?

Answer 24

Proprietary colonies had proprietors to run the colony, they appointed the governor. (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware)
Corporate colonies had elected governors to run the colony. (Conneticut, Rhode Island)

Question 25

How were the powers of colonial governors limited in the 1760s?

Answer 25

Could be dismissed by the British
Dependent for revenue on colonial assemblies

Question 26

How were the colonial assemblies organised in the 1760s?

Answer 26

Upper house chosen by the governor
Lower house elected
Assemblies were responsible for money bills & expenditures, as well as local laws.

Question 27

How did the British have control over the colonies?

Answer 27

Charters - these tied the colonies directly to the crown rather than to Parliament.

Question 28

What was the British policy towards the colonies in the early 18th century?

Answer 28

Salutary Neglect - left them to their own devices

Question 29

Why did the colonial economy see a huge boost 1650-1770?

Answer 29

Expansion of inter-colonial trade
Rapid population increase
Increased trade with britain & the empire
New land available

Question 30

What was the main economic activity for the colonists?

Answer 30

Farming

Question 31

What was the main product of each set of colonies?

Answer 31

New England - fish
Middle colonies - Wheat & Flour
Southern colonies - Tobacco

Question 32

What was Mercantilism?

Answer 32

The belief that the colonies existed purely to serve the economic interests of Britain

Question 33

What were some examples of British mercantilist policy?

Answer 33

Woolen Act 1699 - forbade export of colonial yarn & cloth outside the state in which it was produced
Hat Act 1732 - Prohibited export of colonial beaver hats
Iron Act 1750 - banned the export of colonial iron outside the Empire

Question 34

Why did Americans not mind the mercantilist system?

Answer 34

It was badly enforced - smuggling was a fact of life in the colonies
America had a protected market for exports
American shipping profited from the exclusion of foreign ships from colonial trade

Question 35

Who formed the colonial elite?

Answer 35

Wealthy landowners & merchants - no aristocracy like in Britain

Question 36

What was American society like in the early 18th century?

Answer 36

Heirarchical like Britain - still had the wealthy elite and poor working class

Question 37

What was colonial education like in the 1760s?

Answer 37

Good - 75% of colonial white men were literate, compared with 60% in Britain
More than 30 newspapers in circulation

Question 38

What was colonial religion like in the 1760s?

Answer 38

Church membership high
Americans were generally protestant

Question 39

What was the Great Awakening?

Answer 39

A wave of religious revivals in the early 18th century - preachers started to draw huge crowds & religion became more prevalent