changed, ANALYSIS. 17. 'In 1752, the trustees of Georgia, wearied with complaints against the system of government which they 1752. had established, and finding that the province languished 1. Form of government under their care, resigned their charter to the king; and why. and the province was formed into a royal government. "The people were then favored with the same liberties and privileges that were enjoyed by the provinces of Carolina; but it was not until the close of the French and Indian war, and the surrender of the Floridas to England, by which security was given to the frontiers, that the .colony began to assume a flourishing condition. a. July 1. b. Oct. 2. What gave prosperity to the colony the Chapter. I. Causes of the War, and events of 1754.-II. 1755: Expeditions of Divisions of 1. First Divis ion. rate accounts of Why sepathe colonies have been thus far given. 1. CAUSES OF THE WAR, AND EVENTS OF 1754,'Thus far separate accounts of the early American colonies have been given, for the purpose of preserving that unity of narration which seemed best adapted to render prominent the distinctive features which marked the settlement and progress of each. But as we have arrived 2 Changes at a period when the several colonies have become firmly and for what established, and when their individual histories become less eventful, and less interesting, their general history will now be taken up, and continued in those more important events which subsequently affected all the colonies. this period is This period is distinguished by the final struggle for do now made, reason. 3. By that distinguished. ANALYSIS. minion in America, between the rival powers of France and England. 1. Previous wars be and Eng land. 2. Those previous wars between the two countries, tween France which had so often embroiled their transatlantic colonies, had chiefly arisen from disputes of European origin; and the events which occurred in America, were regarded as of secondary importance to those which, in a greater measure, affected the influence of the rival powers in the 2. What led affairs of Europe. But the growing importance of the to the French American possessions of the two countries, occasioning disputes about territories tenfold more extensive than either possessed in Europe, at length became the sole cause of involving them in another contest, more important to America than any preceding one, and which is commonly known as the French and Indian war. and Indian war. 3. What was and what The English claim 4. Upon what the French 3. The English, by virtue of the early discovery by the ground, the Cabots, claimed the whole seacoast from Newfoundthe extent of land to Florida; and by numerous grants of territory, before the French had established any settlements in the Valley of the Mississippi, they had extended their claims westward to the Pacific Ocean. The French, on the contrary, founded their claims upon the actual occupation founded their and exploration of the country. Besides their settlements 5 Hoo far in New France, or Canada, and Acadia, they had long occupied Detroit,* had explored the Valley of the Missis 'sippi, and formed settlements at Kaskaskiat and Vincennes,‡, and along the northern border of the Gulf of Mexico. claims. their settle ments es tended • Extent of the French claim 4. According to the French claims, their northern possessions of New France and Acadia embraced, within their southern limits, the half of New York, and the greater portion of New England; while their western possessions, of Upper and Lower Louisiana, were held to embrace the entire valley of the Mississippi and its tributary streams. 7. Prepara 7For the purpose of vindicating their claims to these extensive territories, and confining the English to the country east of the Alleghanies, the French were busily engaged in erecting a chain of forts, by way of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico. tions to de fend it. 8. Immediate cause of controversy. a 1749. 5. A royal grant of an extensive tract of land on the Ohio River, to a company of merchants, called the Ohio • Detroit. (See Map, p. 449) Kaskaskia, in the southwestern part of the state of Illinois, is situated on the W. side of Kaskaskia River, seven miles above its junction with the Mississippi. Vincennes is in the southwestern part of Indiana, and is situated on the E. bank of the Wabash River, 100 miles, by the river's course, above its entrance into the Ohio. The Ohio River is formed by the confluence of the Alleghany from the N., and the Monongahela from the S., at Pittsburg, in the western part of Pennsylvania. From Pittsburg 1. Violent measures that a. 1753. company, gave the French the first apprehension that the 1753. English were designing to deprive them of their western trade with the Indians, and cut off their communication between Canada and Louisiana. 'While the company were surveying these lands, with the view of settlement,llowed. three British traders were seized by a party of French and Indians, and conveyed to a French fort at Presque Isle.* The Twightwees, a tribe of Indians friendly to the English, resenting the violence done to their allies, seized several French traders, and sent them to Pennsylvania. 6. "The French soon after began the erection of forts south of Lake Erie, which called forth serious complaints from the Ohio Company. As the territory in dispute was within the original charter limits of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant-governor of the colony, deemed it his duty to remonstrate with the French commandant of the western posts, against his proceedings, and demand a withdrawal of his troops. The person employed to convey a letter to the French commandant was George Washington, an enterprising and public-spirited young man, then in his twenty-second year, who thus early engaged in the public service, and who afterwards became illustrious in the annals of his country. 2. Remon Governor Dinwiddie. stranee of 3. George Washington. vice to which Washington was called. 5. His journey. 7. "The service to which Washington was thus called, The ser was both difficult and dangerous; as half of his route, of four hundred miles, lay through a trackless wilderness, inhabited by Indian tribes, whose feelings were hostile to the English. Departing, on the 31st of October, from Williamsburg, then the seat of government of the province, on the 4th of December he reached a French fort at the mouth of French Creek,‡ from which he was conducted to another fort higher up the stream, where he found the French commandant, M. De St. Pierre, who entertained b Pronounhim with great politeness, and gave him a written answer to Governor Dinwiddie's letter. ced Pe-åre. the general course of the river is S.W. to the Mississippi, a distance of 950 miles by the river, but only about 520 in a direct line. It separates the states of Virginia and Kentucky on the S., from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on the N., and drains a valley containing more than 200,000 square miles. The only considerable falls in the river are at Louisville, where the water descends twenty-two and a half feet in two miles, around which has been completed a canal that admits the passage of the largest steamboats. Presque Isle (almost an island as its name implies,) is a small peninsula on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the northwestern extremity of Pennsylvania. The place referred to in history as Presque Isle is the present village of Erie, which is situated on the S.W. side of the bay formed between Presque Isle and the mainland. t Williamsburg is situated on elevated ground between James and York Rivers, a few miles N.E. from Jamestown. It is the seat of William and Mary College, founded in 1693. (See Map, p. 136.) 1 French Creek, called by the French Aux Boeufs, (0 Buff,) enters Alleghany River from the west, in the present county of Venango, sixty-five miles N. from Pittsburg. The French fort, called Venango, was on the site of the present village of Franklin, the capital of Venango County. ANALYSIS. 1. Dangers during his return. a. Dec. 16. 8. Having secretly taken the dimensions of the fort, and made all possible observations, he set out on his return. encountered At one time he providentially escaped being murdered by a party of hostile Indians; one of whom, at a short distance, fired upon him, but fortunately missed him. At another time, while crossing a river on a raft, he was thrown from it by the floating ice; and, after a narrow escape from drowning, he suffered greatly from the intense 2. Answer of severity of the cold. On his arrival at Williamsburg, commander. the letter of St. Pierre was found to contain a refusal to b. Jan. 16. withdraw his troops; with the assurance that he was acting in obedience to the commands of the governor-general of Canada, whose orders alone he should obey. 1754. the French a Measures that were taken in 9. "The hostile designs of the French being apparent from the reply of St. Pierre, the governor of Virginia consequence made immediate preparations to resist their encroachments. The Ohio Company sent out a party of thirty men to erect a fort at the confluence of the Alleghany* and Monongahela; and a body of provincial troops, placed under the command of Washington, marched into the disputed territory. "The men sent out by the Ohio Company had scarcely commenced their fort, when they were driven from the ground by the French, who completed the works, and named the place Fort du Quesne.d 4. The Ohio Company's men. c. April 18. d Pronounced du-Kane. 5. Fate of Jumonville's party. 10. 'An advance party under Jumonville, which had been sent out to intercept the approach of Washington, was surprised in the night; and all but one were either 6. The next killed or taken prisoners. 'After erecting a small fort, Washington. which he named Fort Necessity, and being joined by e. May 28. movements of g. July 3. some additional troops from New York and Carolina, Washington proceeded with four hundred men towards Fort du Quesne, when, hearing of the advance of a large body of French and Indians, under the command of M. f. Vil-le-are. de Villiers, he returned to Fort Necessity, where he was soon after attacked by nearly fifteen hundred of the enemy. After an obstinate resistance of ten hours, Washington agreed to a capitulation, which allowed him the honorable terms of retiring unmolested to Virginia. 7. Plan of 11. It having been seen by England, that war with France would be inevitable, the colonies had been advised to unite upon some plan of union for the general defence. af Albany. A convention had likewise been proposed to be held at union ad vised. 8. Convention The Alleghany River rises in the northern part of Pennsylvania, and runs, first N.W. into New York, and then, turning to the S. W., again enters Pennsylvania, and at Pittsburg unites with the Monongahela to form the Ohio. The Monongahela rises by numerous branches in the northwestern part of Virginia, and running north enters Pennsylvania, and unites with the Alleghany at Pittsburg. The remains of Fort Necessity are still to be seen near the national road from Cumberland to Wheeling, in the southeastern part of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. |