The contest for North America between the French and British

Cougar Face
   The French and Indian War was a crucial contest that decided our boundaries and nations on The soil of North America.The defeat of the French was basically the defeat of Eastern and woodland Indians and any significant I dependence of Indian nations. Historian Walter Borneman has written one of the best books presenting the triumph of the British over the French and their Indian allies. His book called simply "The French And Indian War" details all the garrisons,military conflicts, and operations from the start of the war in 1754 which was an extension of a global contest between England and France which saw armies and navies battling from the Caribbean to India. The French sent British explorers packing quickly establishing forts on the Ohio river to protect their interests and trading Native American trading partners. This sped up the process of formation among the various  English colonies of uniting their militias and basically was based on the Iroquois union of tribes that statesmen like Benjamin Franklin green with envy. Men like him couldn't  comprehended that savages could form such an effective alliance and system. The war starts and early English catastrophes such as the destruction of Braddock's army and all the great battles of this war are highlighted with illustrative maps that Borneman describes in detail giving a reader a more axiomatic view of what pre-revolutionary warfare and tactics were like. The French though couldn't coordinate action better with the Natives Americans to   counter the population imbalances between English and French colonial power. The lake Champaign campaign was crucial in determining control of the resource rich lands of the Ohio valley and the Great Lakes. The escapades of the first ranger fighting unit who took the fighting techniques of Native Americans is described in this book by the author who mentions Robert Rogers and his various raids of his "rangers" who fought unconventionally and would influence the American rebels in the following decades. This was an amazing war where generals could very well expire and fought on the front lines and the tragedy of the French defeat would spell doom for their Indian allies who were now at the mercy of the British. A proclamation line would be established as a boundary, but this wouldn't stop the illegal expansion of American settlers. These individualist founders of the nation after the defeat of the French in this war felt entitled to the spoils of the war and cost the British were now demanding as repayment. The book in its final chapters describes the results of the war and the other battles of North America the pioneers would fight against the Indians and British world empire that was up for grabs and had the French won a predominantly French speaking métis cou try of Lousiana would exist in half of the country today.

No comments:

Post a Comment