What led to war in North America between England and France?
French explorers had travelled widely in North America long before the English colonists arrived. The French became well established in the northern regions of modern Canada. Their first settlement was established in 1608, and its capital became Quebec. Later, French explorers ventured further south and claimed the Mississippi valley for France.
There were relatively few French colonists in North America compared to the number of English colonists. By 1700 there were only 20,000 French settlers, while 250,000 English had settled in the east. Between 1689 and 1748 there were many skirmishes between the French and English. In 1754 serious fighting broke out down the east coast. The French conceded defeat in 1763 and Canada was split into French-and English-speaking regions.
What first led to a revolt against British rule?
After defeating the French in North America, the British needed to occupy their newly acquired lands and garrison them with soldiers. They needed to raise money to pay for this, and chose to tax sugar exports. These increased taxes were bitterly resented by the Americans, who had no say in the governing of their country. They retaliated by banning British imports and then, in 1776, by signing the Declaration of Independence triggering war with Britain.
At first the British were successful, but gradually the difficulty of supplying their troops over long distances wore them down. In 1783, Britain recognized the independence of her former colony. The fighting continued until 1815 when the position of the Canadian border was settled.
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