Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766In this engrossing narrative of the great military conflagration of the mid-eighteenth century, Fred Anderson transports us into the maelstrom of international rivalries. With the Seven Years' War, Great Britain decisively eliminated French power north of the Caribbean — and in the process destroyed an American diplomatic system in which Native Americans had long played a central, balancing role — permanently changing the political and cultural landscape of North America. Anderson skillfully reveals the clash of inherited perceptions the war created when it gave thousands of American colonists their first experience of real Englishmen and introduced them to the British cultural and class system. We see colonists who assumed that they were partners in the empire encountering British officers who regarded them as subordinates and who treated them accordingly. This laid the groundwork in shared experience for a common view of the world, of the empire, and of the men who had once been their masters. Thus, Anderson shows, the war taught George Washington and other provincials profound emotional lessons, as well as giving them practical instruction in how to be soldiers. Depicting the subsequent British efforts to reform the empire and American resistance — the riots of the Stamp Act crisis and the nearly simultaneous pan-Indian insurrection called Pontiac's Rebellion — as postwar developments rather than as an anticipation of the national independence that no one knew lay ahead (or even desired), Anderson re-creates the perspectives through which contemporaries saw events unfold while they tried to preserve imperial relationships. Interweaving stories of kings and imperial officers with those of Indians, traders, and the diverse colonial peoples, Anderson brings alive a chapter of our history that was shaped as much by individual choices and actions as by social, economic, and political forces. |
Contents
9 | |
Celebrations of Empire Expectations of the Millennium | 38 |
Quiberon | 39 |
An Ambiguous Response to Imperial Initiatives | 63 |
Lord Loudoun Takes Command | 135 |
Oncego | 150 |
The State of the Central Colonies | 158 |
Causes of AngloAmerican Friction | 166 |
Vaudreuil Surrenders at Montréal | 400 |
The Causes of Victory and the Experience of Empire | 410 |
Pitt Confronts an Unexpected Challenge | 415 |
Scenographia Americana | 421 |
VEXED VICTORY 17611763 | 451 |
The Fruits of Victory and the Seeds of Disintegration | 453 |
CRISIS COMPOUNDED 17651766 | 639 |
Nullification by Violence and an Elite Effort | 677 |
Britain Drifts into a European War | 169 |
The Fortunes of War in Europe | 176 |
Loudouns Offensive | 179 |
Fort William Henry | 185 |
Other Disasters and a Ray of Hope | 202 |
Pitt Changes Course | 208 |
TURNING POINT 1758 | 217 |
Deadlock and a New Beginning | 219 |
Old Strategies New Men and a Shift in the Balance | 232 |
The Battle of Ticonderoga | 240 |
Amherst at Louisbourg | 250 |
Supply Holds the Key | 257 |
Bradstreet at Fort Frontenac | 259 |
Indian Diplomacy and the Fall of Fort Duquesne | 267 |
Educations in Arms | 286 |
ANNUS MIRABILIS 1759 | 295 |
The Ascent of William Pitt | 297 |
Ministerial Uncertainties | 312 |
Surfeit of Enthusiasm Shortage of Resources | 317 |
Fort Pitt and the Indians | 325 |
The Siege of Niagara | 330 |
Ticonderoga and Crown Point | 340 |
Wolfe Meets Montcalm at Québec | 344 |
Falls Frustrations | 369 |
CONQUEST COMPLETED 1760 | 385 |
War in Full Career | 387 |
Lévis and Vauquelin at Québec | 391 |
Murray Ascends the St Lawrence | 397 |
EMPIRE PRESERVED? 1766 | 689 |
The Hollowness of Empire | 709 |
The Future of Empire | 729 |
Mount Vernon JUNE 24 1767 | 833 |
839 | |
849 | |
850 | |
852 | |
853 | |
Iroquoia and Empire | 747 |
Washington Steps onto the Stage | 753 |
Disaster on the Monongahela | 759 |
The Cherokee War and Amhersts Reforms in Indian Policy | 799 |
Amhersts Dilemma | 800 |
Pitts Problems | 801 |
Havana 52 Peace 497 503 358 | 802 |
The Rise of Wilkes the Fall of Bute and the Unheeded Lesson of Manila | 804 |
The Fragility of Empire | 805 |
Yankees Invade Wyoming and Pay the Price 56 Amhersts Reforms and Pontiacs | 808 |
Amhersts Recall | 809 |
CRISIS AND REFORM 1764 | 810 |
Grenville and Halifax Confront the Need for Revenue and Control | 811 |
The American Duties Act The Sugar Act | 812 |
The Currency | 813 |
Postwar Conditions and the Context of Colonial Response 507 518 529 535 547 | 814 |
588 | 815 |
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Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British ... Fred Anderson Limited preview - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
Abercromby Albany allies Amherst Anglo-American army arrived assembly attack August battle Braddock Bradstreet Britain British Bute campaign Canada Canadian cannon Captain Cherokee Clements Library Colonel colonies colonists commander in chief Croghan Crown Point Cumberland defeat defend Duquesne empire enemy England English expedition fire Forbes force Fort Carillon Fort Duquesne Fort Edward Fort Frontenac Fort Pitt Fort William Henry forts France French frontier Gage garrison George George Croghan governor Grenville House hundred Iroquois Johnson July king knew Lake land Lieutenant Lord Loudoun Louisbourg Massachusetts merchants miles military Mohawk Montcalm Montréal Newcastle Niagara North America officers Ohio Country Oswego Parliament peace Pennsylvania Pitt Pitt's political Pownall provincials provisions Québec raids redcoats regiments regular River settlement ships Shirley siege Sir William Johnson soldiers Stamp Act supply Tanaghrisson Teedyuscung thousand tion trade troops Valley Virginia Walking Purchase warriors Washington William Henry Wolfe York