• TooManyFoods@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    103
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    5 months ago

    I wonder why the colonies were in that war to begin with. Was it because GB dragged them in kicking and screaming, and the people living there had no say in the matter?

    • mannycalavera@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      68
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 months ago

      That’s kinda what a colony is when you think about it. A colony that can refuse the colonial overlords is… well… not a colony 🤣.

    • merc@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      14
      ·
      edit-2
      5 months ago

      If you’ve ever wondered why many US cities have French names (Baton Rouge, Des Moines, Boise, Terre Haute, St. Louis, Louisville, Dubuque, Detroit, Marquette, New (Nouvelle) Orleans), it’s because those were all under French control when they were named.

      The colonists couldn’t expand westward without hitting French territory, so yes they wanted war against the French.

      The British settlers along the coast were upset that French troops would now be close to the western borders of their colonies. They felt the French would encourage their tribal allies among the North American natives to attack them. Also, the British settlers wanted access to the fertile land of the Ohio River Valley for the new settlers that were flooding into the British colonies seeking farm land

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years'_War

      Do you know what actually started the 7 years war? It was when George Washington (a Lt. Colonel in the British army) ambushed a French force who were building a fort (Fort Duquesne) to defend their territory near the Ohio river. The French then attacked Washington’s army and forced it to surrender. The first battlefront in the 7 years war was in North America, and it was a territorial dispute over the Ohio river valley.

      • TooManyFoods@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        I do see where my mistake was here and my ignorance was sort of awkwardly positioned. I was aware of the Prussian Austrian front, and had the impression that that was the start. The years given for the war here seem to coincide with that don’t, but wars start before official dates. That’s not a good reason at all, in fact the separate page for the French and Indian War give the earlier year. It’s a poor excuse for my ignorance. In these wars within wars some people, myself as well, can get confused.

    • Not_mikey@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      5 months ago

      Idk, the colonists had a vested interest in expelling the French from the Ohio territory, so that they could expel all the Indians and take the land. Also most of them still considered themselves English, and therefore despised the French so public support for the war was probably pretty high.