Chapter IV Responses

1) (read last blog post)

2)The outbreak of the French and Indian War was caused by the struggle between the English and French in North America for control of the Ohio river valley. After the English attempted to build a fort on the opposite side of a river of a French fort, the French kicked them out and discontinued the English fort building. This heightened tensions. Also, the Native Americans has to choose sides and loyalties which further escalated the conflict between the French and English. The key ignition for the war was when Washington accidentally attacked French diplomats and then the half-king leader of the Indians killed him. By conduct of European warfare, Washington was supposed to capture him as a POW, but the half-king leader was out to get revenge for his humiliation that happened earlier, caused by the English getting driven out of their fort (the half-king had convinced his tribe that the English were well-suited as allies, but their defeat at the fort showed otherwise. Therefore he killed the Frenchmen for revenge because they embarrassed him).
The effects of the war were that they put Britain in huge debt, which resulted in them taxing the colonies, which resulted in the colonies getting mad, which led to the American Revolution. Although, at the conclusion of the French and Indian War, since England had won, their was a strong atmosphere of English loyalty floating about the colonies.

3)For: The French and Indian War was a key contributor to the anti-English sentiments. Without the F & I War, there would not have been a huge bill at England's table. This gave England the excuse to tax the colonies, which set off the colonist's resentments.
Against: Without the French and Indian War, the American Revolution would have happened anyway. After the Navigation Acts, England was quite happy with the results it had got. Therefore, who says they wouldn't have imposed more taxes after the one they just imposed went so well? England was already beginning to interfere in the colonies. It had wanted to start making them worthwhile and profitable to itself. Therefore, since the colonies had started out with so much freedom, England was bound to take some of it away somehow at sometime. This would have angered the colonists because they had lost something that they had previously had. So whatever England does to it's colonies, it can only make the colonists angry. Also, the colonies were bound to expand into the Ohio River Valley for more land and such. Therefore, they would've inevitably met the French and had to duke it out with them for the area. Thus, England would get involved in some way which would lead to them restricting the colonies in some way; whether to put soldiers or taxes on them. Their reason would be because the colonies owed them for their services and that they had to fund their own protection. Nonetheless, the colonies would start to grow apart from England.