Chapter 3.2 The Rise of a Global Economy
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Explain how the Seven Years’ War established a new balance of power in Europe
- Discuss the causes and effects of Britain’s colonization of India
- Analyze the ways in which the Qing dynasty developed and maintained a favorable balance of trade with Europe
- Describe how colonized societies responded to the expansion of European empires
In the mid-1700s, the British Empire grew from a minor player on the world stage to a dominant superpower. Trade that flowed through and from the British North American colonies made many British business and political leaders rich. Victory in the Seven Years’ War consolidated their power over European rivals. In hopes of further increasing their political and economic power, many supported further expansion of the empire into new areas. Britain therefore expanded its colonies in India and turned its eyes to China.
The Seven Years’ War
The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that began as a fight for dominance between European powers, primarily Great Britain and France, but it quickly involved groups from India, Africa, and the Americas (Figure 3.10). Conflicts that overlapped with the Seven Years’ War were the French and Indian War in North America and the Third Carnatic War in India.
In the late 1600s and early 1700s, New France grew steadily. In 1663, King Louis XIV canceled the royal charter with the Company of New France and transformed the settlement into a royal colony. French merchants and priests gradually expanded their reach from Quebec through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River, founding New Orleans near the Gulf of Mexico in 1718. The English proved a serious obstacle for the growth of New France, however. Wealthy farmers in the English colonies of North America wanted to expand into the Ohio River Valley, territory claimed by France and its Native American allies. In 1754, violence broke out between French soldiers and members of the Virginia militia near what is now Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Initially the French and their Native American allies performed well, launching skillful ambushes on English troops and forcing George Washington, a young officer in the Virginia colonial militia, to surrender Britain’s Fort Necessity.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
George Washington on the French and Indian War
George Washington wrote to his mother on July 18, 1755, when he was twenty-three years old and fighting in the French and Indian War. His letter, excerpted here, describes the battle near Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. British soldiers and members of the Virginia militia met a surprise attack by French and Indian fighters and were defeated.
HONORED MADAM: As I doubt not but you have heard of our defeat, and perhaps have had it represented in a worse light (if possible) than it deserves; I have taken this earliest opportunity to give you some account of the engagement