Domination of North America

During the late 1600s and the to the mid-1700s, countries fought for land and power in order to have global domination. While several countries fought for the same cause, resolving their diffrerences was nearly impossible, and this often led to more wars and conflicts. One of the many conflicts concerned the domination of North America. While many European powers competed for control of North America, Britain gained the most territory through the four French and Indian wars, King William's War, Queen Anne's War, King George's War, and the French and Indian War. As these wars progressed, Britain achieved the most success and eventually became the most dominant power in North America.

King William's War, which occurred from between 1689 to 1697, was the first of a series of colonial conflicts between France and England for supremacy in North America. It started when King William III of England allied himself with the League of Augsburg; certain German states, Spain, Sweden, Austria, and the Netherlands,; to oppose French expansion. In America, King WilliamЎЇs War, or otherwise called The War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was fought between the English and its Indian allies and the French and its Indian allies. The first major conflict occurred on February 9, 1690 when the French and Indian forces from Montreal attacked and burned Schenectady, New York. The English responded by the seizure of Port Royal on May 11, 1690. However, it was recaptured a year later by the French. The city of Quebec was also attacked by English forces in their first major military operation of King William's War, but they were obstructed by the French troops. The war ceased in a stalemate and officially ended with the Treaty of Ryswick, which ended the fighting in America and Europe, and returned all colonial possessions to their prewar status.

After a brief season of peace, the colonists were obliged to face another long and murderous war. Queen Anne's War was the second in a series of four wars fought between France and Great Britain in North America for control of the continent.

It was part of the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe and it occurred between 1702 and 1713. In February, 1704 at daybreak, a party of nearly four hundred French and Indians attacked New England from Canada and broke upon the town of Deerfield, Massachusetts. Nearly fifty of the inhabitants were slain, and more than a hundred were carried into captivity. In 1704, the colonists made an unsuccessful attack by sea on Port Royal and Acadia. Three years later, the British government, finally deciding to aid the colonies, sent a small fleet under Colonel Nicholson. This fleet was joined by an armament from Boston and attacked agian. The attack was successful as Port Royal surrendered in 1710. It was named Annapolis in honor of the English queen, while Acadia was renamed Nova Scotia. province of Nova Scotia. The Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, ended Queen AnneЎЇs War. By the treaty, France ceded the Hudson Bay territory, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia to Great Britain. France kept Cape Breton Island and the islands of the St. Lawrence.

After about 30 years of peace, war broke out again. King George's War, the third of the four wars which occurred between 1744 and 1748, was the name given to the war in North America that was part of the War of the Austrian Succession. It started with the unsuccessful attempt to recapture Port Royal by the French. The main event of King GeorgeЎЇs War, however, was marked by the capture of Louisburg. William Shirley, governor of Massachusetts, and William Pepperell of Maine were