Discuss the British victories from 1758 to 1760 which gave victory to Great Britain over the French in North America. What impact did this victory have on the American colonies?

Great Britain and the French had ceaselessly been fighting and the British were not looking so well. It was only until 1758 that the British began to make a turn around against the French, that not only led to many victories, but also led to friendly rivalries. Although the Colonials and the British fought together and obtained their goals, a new conflict evolved, thrusting a spire of scorn between the two prior allies. Led by William Pitt the British essentially gained the upper hand on the French when they cut off their supply from the mother country to Canada via British naval forces at sea. Because the French relied heavily on goods transported at sea, they were left crippled and in a defense only mode. With this strategic gain, Pitt set out to conquer all and take over french territory by overtaking Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Louisbourg, Fort Duquesne and Quebec. Aside from the failure by Abercromby at Ticonderoga that was later redeemed, the British objectives were a success and the French were devastated. The most devastating blow was the attack on Quebec and Montreal where the British aimed “to rip the heart out of Canada.” (Millet & Maslowski 1994). Britain was successful and took over Quebec although France made great efforts to retake it in failure. Later in 1763, the Peace of Paris was signed therefore ending the war in North America. With this treaty being signed, it distributed land rights and ownership between Britain and France, giving nearly all of American territory to Britain. With such victory at hand, one would think that joy would fill the air but tensions grew between Colonials, Indians and British. The British believed that Colonials “were ill-disciplined and lazy and, lacking even elementary knowledge of camp sanitation, suffered an appalling rate of sickness.”(Millet & Maslowski 1994). Along with this, they didn't think they had a grasp of military affairs nor virtue. The Colonials had their own opinions towards the British in same regards. They believed that British discipline was over the top and immoral, where the colonials resorted only to banishing wrong doers. The British also displayed immoral practices during leisure time such as swearing, prostitution and excess drinking that was heavily frowned upon by the colonials. Walkers expedition was an excellent display of tension between the two forces and where they were headed. The British victories between 1758 and 1760 were not only monumental checkpoints in the development of the Americas, but also led to larger and more dynamic events between the British and the Colonials. Eliminating the French was a must, but in doing so, eyes were opened to internal threats of allies. Ultimately, the view each force had of each other became an overwhelming rage and tantrums of disgust grew into something much more than petty fights.

References

Millett A. R. & Maslowski P. (1994) FOR THE COMMON DEFENSE/ A Military History of the United States of America, Pgs. 42-46. rev. and exp. The Free Press , 1994.