King George's War
King George's War | |||||||
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Part of the War of Austrian Succession and the American Indian Wars | |||||||
French and Mi'kmaq raid on Grand Pré, February 1747 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Wabanaki Confederacy |
Iroquois Confederacy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre Father Pierre Maillard Louis Du Pont Duchambon Pierre Morpain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu |
William Pepperrell Peter Warren |
King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay (which included Maine as well as Massachusetts at the time), New Hampshire (which included Vermont at the time), and Nova Scotia. Its most significant action was an expedition organized by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley that besieged and ultimately captured the French fortress of Louisbourg, on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, in 1745. In French, it is known as the Troisième Guerre Intercoloniale or Third Intercolonial War.[1]
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war in 1748 and restored Louisbourg to France, but failed to resolve any outstanding territorial issues.
Causes
The
War was not formally declared between Britain and France until March 1744. Massachusetts did not declare war against Canada and France until June 2.[2]
Course of the war
News of war declarations reached the French
Annapolis had received news of the war declaration, and the British forces were somewhat prepared when the First Nations warriors began besieging Fort Anne. Lacking heavy weapons, the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet withdrew after a few days. Then, in mid-August, a larger French force arrived at Fort Anne, but it was also unable to mount an effective attack or siege against the garrison. The fort had received supplies and reinforcements from Massachusetts.
In 1745, British colonial forces
The war was also fought on the frontiers between the northern British colonies and New France. Each side had allies among the Native Americans, and outlying villages were raided and captives taken for ransom, or sometimes adoption by Native American tribes who had suffered losses to disease or warfare. As a result of the frequent raiding on the northern frontier, Governor William Shirley ordered the construction of a chain of frontier outposts stretching west to its border with New York.
On November 28, 1745, the French with their Indian allies raided and destroyed the village of Saratoga, New York, killing or capturing more than one hundred of its inhabitants. After this, the British abandoned their settlements in New York north of Albany, a major trading city. In July 1746 an Iroquois and intercolonial force assembled in northern New York for a retaliatory attack against British forces.
When the expected British regulars never arrived, the attack was called off. A large (1,000+ man) French and First Nations force mustered to raid in the upper
Aftermath
The war took a heavy toll, especially in the northern British colonies. The losses of Massachusetts men alone in 1745–46 have been estimated as 8% of that colony's adult male population.[citation needed]
According to the
The peace treaty, which restored all colonial borders to their pre-war status, did little to end the lingering enmity between France, Britain, and their respective colonies, nor did it resolve any territorial disputes. Tensions remained in both North America and Europe. They broke out again in 1754, with the start of the French and Indian War in North America, which spread to Europe two years later as the Seven Years' War. Between 1749 and 1755 in Acadia and Nova Scotia, the fighting continued in Father Le Loutre's War.
See also
- American Indian Wars
- Colonial American military history
- Military history of Canada
- Military history of the Mi'kmaq people
- Military history of Nova Scotia
- Military history of the Acadians
- Military of New France
References
- ISBN 9782894481868. Archivedfrom the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ WILLIAM DOUGLASS, M. D. (9 May 2018). "A SUMMARY, HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL, OF THE FIRST PLANTING, PROGRESSIVE IMPROVEMENTS, AND ..." Retrieved 9 May 2018 – via Internet Archive.
Further reading
- Boyer, Clark, Kett, Salisbury, Sitkoff and Woloch. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People
- Drake, Samuel Gardner. A Particular History of the Five Years French and Indian War in New England
- Kingsford, William. The history of Canada, Volume 3
- Murdoch, Beamish (1866). A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie. Vol. II. Halifax: J. Barnes.
- Peckham, Harry H. The Colonial Wars, 1689–1762