Introduction: Colonial Wars (1689-1763 AD) 1 |
The Colonial Wars were a series of conflicts fought between France and England (and their respective Indian allies) over a
75 year period. The causes of these conflicts was essentially three-fold:
- France and Great Britain were both expanding into the interior of North America at the same time.
- In Europe, kings were engaged in dynastic struggles with one another for control of the thrones of Spain and Austria.
- Competition over the fur trade.
The Colonial Wars were global in scale, that is, battles took place in Europe, Asia, and North America. Arguably, these were the first ever global wars fought between the empires of Europe. Although our focus is the conflict between France and England, we will also discuss Prussia, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire, so that we get a clear idea as to why events unfolded as they did.
To begin I would like to introduce you to the chart below. This chart lists all the major wars, when they occurred, and the treaties that ended them. This chart is interactive and can be used to move up and down the page quickly to get to the corresponding information.
A Timeline for the Colonial Wars
Years |
North American |
European Theatre |
Treaty |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
War 1 |
1689-1697 |
War of the Grand Alliance |
Treaty of Ryswick (1697) |
|
War 2 |
1702-1713 |
The War of the Spanish Succession |
Treaties of Utrecht (1713) |
|
War 3 |
1740-1748 |
The War of the Austrian Succession |
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) |
|
War 4 |
1756-1763 |
The Seven Years' War |
Treaty of Paris (1763) |
Background Information for 75 Years of Conflict
I have prepared a short film to provide you with some important background information. This presentation is intended to give you a general picture of what caused the Colonial Wars. By the way my film here won the award for best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. I won an award for best narrator and the film was a runner-up in the special effects category.
What Were the Colonial Wars?
If for whatever reason the video doesn't load in the web page, use this link to download and watch.
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Click here to open the Colonial Wars review application. |