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This is the first time Taylor describes the New World’s conflicts in great details. Like Rebecca said in her previous posts, American Colonies reads more like a social history, but this chapter shifts gear and presents us with the standard military history. Moreover, this chapter sets the stage for the Independence War, like Max suggested in his post. For someone who is not really familiar with colonial American history while reading the first couple of pages, I was hoping that the Native American would rise up and take advantage of the chaotic situation to claim their land. Instead, the conflict prepared for more British colonization and eventual dominance in the region via the American Revolutionary War.
The huge disparity in number of soldiers between France and England made the natives play an important role in the balance of power within North America. They were skilled at guerrilla warfare so they dominated the forest passages between the rival empires. They also exploited the strategic position between the French and the British colonies by receiving favorable prices and presents from both sizes. The French were more diplomatic and generous with the Indians because they needed them as allies to counter the British colonial numbers. However, the British offered better trade goods in better qualities and prices, obligating more Indians to make peace with British officials to obtain more goods. Therefore, the French lost the war without enough combatants; it was 75,000 French men versus 1.2 million English soldiers.
After the English defeated the French, they treated all Indians as their enemies and believed it was a waste of money to sell low priced goods to them. In 1761, British colonial forces invaded the Cherokee country, one of the largest tribe with 40 villages in the southern Appalachian Mountains. As British colonizers enjoyed their victories, English Parliament had to institute more taxes to compensate for the massive debt it incurred. Consequently, it tightened its policies to the colonizers. As some of the colonists travelled back to their homeland, they realized how much liberty and freedom they had enjoyed over the years. The imperial war actually made the British colonizers realize their own power and ideal of establishing a free society. Again, from defeating the French and colonizing the natives, the British colonizers had gained tremendous confidence in their own ability to survive in the New World. Therefore, the war to fight for independence was inevitable.