Source: "Croscup's United States History" by George E. Croscup, B.A.; 1911; pgs 10-16 Transcribed by Kathy Leigh, March 27, 2001

COLONIAL PERIOD
From 1607-1763--156 years

With this Period the actual history of the United States begins. It is conveniently subdivided as follows:

SECTION I
TIME OF SETTLEMENT
1607 to 1689-82 years

SUGGESTED READINGS:
   CHANNING, History of the United States, 1, 160-537; II, 1-213;
   TYLER, England in America (The American Nation Series);
   ANDREWS, Colonial Self-government (The American Nation Series);
   EGGLESTON, Beginners of a Nation;    HART, American History Told by Contemporaries, I, Nos. 44-172.

LEADING FEATURES:--Twelve of the original Thirteen Colonies were established (Georgia following in 1733). New England and Virginia increased in population and influence. The power of the Eastern Indians was broken, and border contests began with the French who occupied the St. Lawrence and Mississippi Valleys.

ENGLISH COLONIZATION

1607

The Plymouth Company established a colony on the Kennebec River, in Maine. The leader was Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The colony failed.

The London Company made a successful settlement, THE FIRST PERMANENT ENGLISH SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA, AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA (MAY 13).

Jamestown was named after the English King, James I.

   The settlement had from the start great difficulties: 1. The immigrants were adventurers, broken gentlemen, and criminals; 2. The situation of the settlement was undesirable on account of malarial conditions; 3. The colonists gave their attention to seeking gold, finding a passageway through the continent, and hunting adventure; 4. The industrial system, according to which all labored for a common store, did not encourage thrift; 5. The government was cumbersome. There was to be a home-council in England and another in the colony, both of which were appointed by the King; 6. The incompetence of the King's appointees.
   The ability of John Smith helped the colony through some of its early difficulties. He compelled the colonists to work and secured the friendship of the Indians.

1608

CHAMPLAIN added QUEBEC to the list of French settlements in the north.

1609

HENRY HUDSON, employed by the Dutch East India Company, SAILED UP THE HUDSON RIVER searching for a passage to the Indies.

CHAMPLAIN discovered the lake named after him.

   Various conditions led the later settlements of the French to extend into the west instead of to the south. Champlain was partially accountable for this because he antagonized the powerful Iroquois tribe of Indians, who thereafter blocked French advance southward.

1611

TOBACCO WAS FIRST CULTIVATED by Virginia colonists.

1614

The DUTCH established trading stations on Manhattan Island and at Fort Orange (Albany) on the Hudson. They called their possessions NEW NETHERLAND.

1615

Champlain searching for a western waterway discovered Lake Huron after forcing his way up the rapids of the Ottawa River.

1617

The Dutch made their first settlement in New Jersey at Bergen.

1619

The FIRST SLAVES were sold in Virginia.

Virginia settlers procured a share in their government by the establishment of the FIRST REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY IN AMERICA, called The House of Burgesses.

   The Puritans in England were already quarreling with the King (see Chart), and they were anxious to establish political freedom in America. Twenty-two representatives of the various Virginian plantations sat with the General Counsellors in this new House of Burgesses.

1620

The Pilgrim Fathers landed at Cape Cod November 11 and formed the FIRST SETTLEMENT IN NEW ENGLAND AT PLYMOUTH (December 22).

   During the religious strife in England a number of Puritans had been driven from England to Holland. They did not desire to become Dutchmen and arranged with some merchant-adventurers in England to transport them to America.

The "Council for New England" succeeded to the possessions of the Plymouth Company in North America from 4O^o to 48^o of latitude.

The FIRST REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA was established at Plymouth.

   The Pilgrims, before landing, signed an agreement called "The Mayflower Compact." By this compact they established themselves into a body politic, agreeing to be governed by the will of the majority. This is evidence that the Pilgrims did not intend to be temporary residents in the new world.

1622

Sir Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason obtained a grant of land between the Merrimac and Kennebec Rivers from the Plymouth Company, and made a settlement at Saco, Maine.

An Indian attack was made on Jamestown.

1623

The Dutch founded a settlement on Manhattan Island which they called NEW AMSTERDAM.

The Dutch erected Fort Nassau on the Delaware River.

John Mason established the first settlement in New Hampshire on the Piscataqua River.

1624

Virginia was made into a royal colony.

   In the English troubles between King and Puritan King James found much opposition among the Puritans of the Virginia Company, and, therefore, took over the control of the colony. Charles I, however, who immediately succeeded him, did not take away any of the liberties which the colonists had previously gained.

1626

Peter Minuit, director-general of New Netherland, purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians for $24.

The Swedes settled in Delaware.

The Puritans bought over the stock of the mercantile company that had sent them to America.

1628

The permanent settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony, in New England, began by the settlement of SALEM under JOHN ENDICOTT.

1629

The MASSACHUSETTS BAY COMPANY was organized.

   It was granted land by the New England Council and its management was in the hands of Puritans. They sent over in this year and years following hundreds of English Puritans who hoped to find political and religious liberty in America.

New Netherland instituted the "Patroon System."

   According to this system any person who should send fifty adults to New Netherland could have land fronting either on the Hudson or the Delaware, sixteen miles on one bank, or eight miles on both, and extending into the interior. Furthermore, the lord-patron was given rights of a feudal lord--such as making laws, limiting hunting and fishing rights, and requiring all corn to be ground at his mill. One of the greatest of these families was the Van Rensselaer family, which demanded feudal rights in New York as late as 1840.

Mason and Gorges divided their lands. Gorges named his share NEW HAMPSHIRE.

1630

BOSTON WAS FOUNDED by the English Puritans.

   The first general court in New England met there October 19.

1633

Connecticut was settled at WINDSOR, on the Connecticut River, by Pilgrims. The Dutch had already erected a trading fort at Hartford. Both were overawed by later arrivals from Massachusetts Bay.

1634

Lord Baltimore sent out Leonard Calvert, who made the first permanent settlement in Maryland at ST. MARY'S.

   The first Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman, obtained in 1632 a charter to Maryland from King Charles I. Baltimore wished to make Maryland a refuge for Catholics, who were persecuted by all religious sects in England.

Nicollet discovered Lake Michigan for the French. He traversed Lake Huron and went through the Straits of Mackinaw.

1636

Puritans emigrated from Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut River.

   There were various causes for this emigration from Massachusetts Bay: 1. The aristocratic government of Massachusetts Bay was much disliked; 2. There was not enough available fertile land; 3. There was need for frontier posts against the Dutch and Indians; 4. Ambitious leaders desired an opportunity for their abilities. The Connecticut towns three years later drew up the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.
   By 1653 there were twelve towns in Connecticut.

SETTLEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND BY ROGER WILLIAMS.

   Williams was persecuted in Massachusetts Bay because: 1. He believed in entire separation of Church and State; 2. He claimed that the colonists had no right to their lands except through Indian purchase.
   The opposition of the Puritan ministers, who controlled the government, caused him to be driven from the State. He was befriended by the Indians and founded a settlement at PROVIDENCE.

Harvard College was founded.

1637

THE PEQUOT INDIAN WAR occurred in Connecticut.

   The Pequots extended from the Hudson to Narragansett Bay. They were a menace to Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and Plymouth, who sent out a joint expedition against them, under Mason and Underhill. These leaders slaughtered thousands of the Pequots.

1638

A Swedish settlement was made near Wilmington, on the Delaware.

Ann Hutchinson settled in Rhode Island.

   Mrs. Ann Hutchinson opposed the religious government of Massachusetts Bay and held that every person could make his peace with God without the intervention of an established Church. The Puritans, therefore, expelled her from the colony.

Two extremely conservative Puritans, Eaton and Davenport, settled NEW HAVEN.

   It was a strict "Bible Commonwealth."

1639

The first printing press was set up at Harvard College. Stephen Daye was the printer, and THE FIRST AMERICAN BOOK was "The Bay Psalm Book."

1641

Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted a series of Colonial laws known as the Body of Liberties.

1643

THE FIRST INTER-COLONIAL UNION IN AMERICA.

   1. The confederation was called "THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND"; 2. It included Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut colonies; 3. It was formed for protection against French, Dutch, and Indians; for "mutual help and strength," because England was not able at this time to protect the colonies; and to spread the Gospel; 4. Each colony had two representatives, though military quotas were based upon population. This worked an injustice to the largest colony, Massachusetts Bay; 5. All matters were decided by three-quarters vote of the Commissioners.

1645

Maryland Catholics and Virginia Puritans engaged in a rebellion, and during a year the Puritan Clayborne ruled Maryland.

Massachusetts established free schools supported by the State.

1649

A TOLERATION Act was passed by the Maryland Assembly.

   Though religious toleration had been introduced into other colonies previously by individual proprietors or governors, this was the earliest legislative enactment in America asserting the principle of religious toleration.

Virginia became a refuge for Cavaliers.

   Governor Berkeley, who had been Governor since 1642, had Charles II proclaimed as King and invited him to assume the administration of Virginia.

1652

Puritan Commissioners with an army compelled Virginia to accept the rule of the Puritan Commonwealth.

1653

The settlement of ALBEMARLE, North Carolina, was made by Virginia pioneers.

1655

Stuyvesant conquered New Sweden with its center on the Delaware River.

   Holland was given a free hand after the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which terminated the "THIRTY-YEARS' WAR" in Europe. Sweden definitely abandoned American colonization to England and Holland after her defeat.

1658

Massachusetts made it a capital offense for any Quaker to return to the colony after expulsion.

   The Quakers believed that a man's religious belief should be determined by his conscience and not by Church authority. They believed in absolute religious and political equality, and desired to become martyrs to the cause of religious toleration. Under the Massachusetts law of 1658 four Quakers were put to death on the Boston Common.

1660

The restoration of Charles II in England brought about the return of Berkeley in Virginia.

   The restoration was welcomed by the Cavaliers of Virginia, but the Massachusetts Puritans delayed a year before proclaiming Charles king. A SECOND INFLUX OF PURITAN IMMIGRANTS FOLLOWED THE RESTORATION.

A rigorous NAVIGATION ACT was passed by the Government of the Restoration.

   During Cromwell's administration a navigation act had been passed for the purpose of stifling the commercial rivalry of Holland. The Act of 1660 was for this same object, but also for the purpose of aiding the English merchants and manufacturers. According to the Act all English possessions could allow only English or Colonial vessels entrance to their ports; certain articles, produced in the colonies, such as sugar and tobacco, were known as "enumerated" goods, and were to be shipped to England only. An addition to the Act, some time later, required the colonies to purchase all goods from England direct. These acts were not rigorously enforced and a system of illicit trade grew up, which was carried on throughout the inter-colonial wars.

1662

Connecticut was granted a liberal charter by Charles II, and to the colony was added the neighboring colony of New Haven.

1663

Rhode Island was granted a new charter and Providence added to it.

   The charters of these two colonies were so liberal that they continued to be the fundamental law of Connecticut and Rhode Island to 1818 and 1842. Their citizens practically enjoyed complete self-government, except that laws might be annulled by the King and Council. The Rhode Island charter also provided for religious equality.

CAROLINA was granted to a company of nobles.

1664

King Charles granted to his brother, the Duke of York (afterward King James II), large tracts of America, including the Dutch possession of New Netherland.

Commissioners from England arrived in Massachusetts to pass on complaints made to the King by the northern settlements and Rhode Island. Massachusetts prepared for armed resistance, and the Commissioners' forces were too small to compel acquiescence.

   The invasion of England by the Dutch diverted England from Massachusetts' affairs.

Richard Nicolls, in command of AN ENGLISH FLEET, TOOK NEW NETHERLAND without fighting (Aug.27). THE NAME, NEW NETHERLAND, WAS CHANGED TO NEW YORK, and for the first time ALL THE ATLANTIC COAST, FROM MAINE TO FLORIDA, CAME UNDER ENGLISH CONTROL.

New Jersey was granted by the Duke of York to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. ELIZABETH, New Jersey, was settled this year.

1668

Father Marquette planted a missionary station at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. This was THE FIRST PERMANENT FRENCH SETTLEMENT IN THE NORTHWEST.

   The situation in France permitted of renewed Colonial effort. Three different classes now undertook the task of spreading French influences: 1. The Jesuit missionary; 2. The fur traders and trappers; 3. The soldier or explorer who desired to extend the political sway of France, rather than to further her religious or commercial interests.

1669

John Locke drafted a constitution for Carolina. This document, known as The Grand Model, provided for titles of nobility and a feudal organization of society, but never went into effect.

1670

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, was settled.

1673

MARQUETTE reached the upper waters of the Mississippi and sailed down that stream for nearly a thousand miles.

A Dutch fleet reconquered New Netherland and Dutch supremacy was temporarily restored.

1674

New Netherland was permanently made English by a European treaty of peace. Sir Edmond Andros was made Governor.

1675

KING PHILIP'S WAR broke out in New England.

   The Indian chieftain, Philip, had united all the Indians of New England in a general assault upon the whites. This was the most serious of all the Indian wars of the Colonial period. The power of the Narragansett tribe, which was at the center of the rebellion, was broken at the battle of South Kingston, Rhode Island (December 19). The death of King Philip put an end to the war (1676), and so many Indians were killed that New England was freed for some time from Indian attacks.

1676

BACON'S REBELLION broke out in Virginia.

   This rebellion, headed by Nathaniel Bacon, was an attempt to overthrow the autocratic government of Berkeley, who had installed his friends in offices and refused to take active measures against the Indians, because he and his friends were interested in the fur trade. Bacon captured and burned Jamestown, but his movement fell to pieces upon his death soon after. Governor Berkeley executed so many of the remaining rebel leaders that the King recalled him.

1677

Maine became a part of Massachusetts through purchase from its nominal English owners.

1679

English Commissioners were sent over by King Charles to investigate the disobediences of the Massachusetts colony.

New Hampshire was formally separated from Massachusetts and was made a royal province.

1681

WILLIAM PENN secured a charter and a grant of land from Charles II, which included Delaware and Pennsylvania.

   Penn was a Quaker and wished to establish an asylum for his Quaker friends, many of whom immigrated to the new world.

1682

PENN came to America in person and established a constitutional government, which contained many liberal features. He purchased land from the Indians and FOUNDED PHILADELPHIA.

LA SALLE EXPLORED THE MISSISSIPPI to its mouth.

   He claimed not only the land watered by the Mississippi, but also the territory drained by its tributaries. He named the vast region "LOUISIANA" after Louis XIV of France.

1685

New York became a royal colony.

1686

The charter of Massachusetts Bay was annulled and SIR EDMOND ANDROS WAS APPOINTED GOVERNOR OVER ALL NEW ENGLAND.

   Andros gradually took possession of the various colonial governments, including New York. His administration in Massachusetts was especially severe. He invalidated land titles; he overthrew the Congregational churches; and intrenched on the privileges of legislature and courts.

1688

New Rochelle, in New York, was colonized by Huguenots.

   Religious conditions in France caused the migration of many huguenots to other American colonies, especially the Carolinas and Virginia. Failure of the French government to allow them to settle in New France gave the English colonies a desirable addition to their population.

1689

Andros was driven out of Massachusetts Bay and the New England colonies re�stablished their former governments.

A rebellion under Jacob Leisler occurred in New York.

SECTION II
TIME OF CONSOLIDATION
OR THE ANGLO-FRENCH STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA
From 1689 to 1763--74 years

LEADING FEATURES:--The Colonies grew in power, in mutual acquaintance, and in self-reliance. The struggle between England and France for possession of the New World filled the period and came to an end with the expulsion of the French.

1689

Frontenac, the ablest of the French Governors of Canada, was again sent out as Governor by Louis XIV.

   Frontenac's energetic policy, in dealing with the English and the Indians, forced the English colonists into concerted and offensive action.

KING WILLIAM'S WAR (1689-1697). The FIRST INTER-COLONIAL WAR BEGAN.

   This marked the beginning of a contest which continued with little intermission until the downfall of French power in America.

1690

The French and their Indian allies attacked the Northern frontier. Massacres occurred at Schenectady, New York; Salmon Falls, New Hampshire; and other places.

Representatives of the various English colonies met at Albany to arrange for cooperation and defense.

Two Colonial expeditions were sent against the French in Canada.

   A naval force which was commanded by Sir William Phips, of Maine, took temporary possession of Nova Scotia. It then advanced up the St Lawrence against Quebec, but was easily repelled. A land expedition, sent north against Montreal, was also compelled to retreat.

1691

Massachusetts was granted a new but less independent charter. The old Plymouth settlement was now permanently incorporated with Massachusetts. Maine and Nova Scotia were also included in its government, but New Hampshire became once more a separate province.

Delaware was separated temporarily from Pennsylvania.

1692

The SALEM WITCHCRAFT DELUSION reached its height.

   More than twenty persons were executed and hundreds were imprisoned throughout Massachusetts as witches before Sanity was restored.

"THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY" was established in Virginia.

1693

Penn was temporarily deprived of his proprietorship in Pennsylvania.

1694

French and Indian raiders massacred the population of Durham, N.H.

1695

RICE was planted in South Carolina for the first time.

The French erected a fort at KASKASKIA, the first permanent settlement within the present State of Illinois.

1696

Andover, Mass., was sacked by the French and Indians.

1697

The TREATY OF RYSWICK closed the FIRST INTER-COLONIAL WAR. No territorial, or other change, was recognized by the treaty.

1699

William Kidd, the noted pirate, was arrested and afterwards hanged.

Biloxi was founded as the French capital of Louisiana. Mobile became the permanent capital two years later.

1701

YALE COLLEGE was established in Connecticut.

The first important military colony in the North Central region was established by the French at Detroit.

Penn granted a Charter of Privileges to Pennsylvania, which remained in force until 1776.

1702

QUEEN ANNE'S WAR (1702-1714). The SECOND INTER-COLONIAL WAR BEGAN between France and England, and the frontiers were again harried by the Indians.

This war was confined mainly to the east; the French attacking New England, and the New Englanders retaliating.

Spain, being allied with France, the colonists of South Carolina conducted a partly successful expedition against the Spaniards at St. Augustine. The town was plundered but the fortress held out.

The capital of Louisiana was removed by the French to the Mobile River, near Mobile, and the first settlement in the present Alabama was thus begun.

1703

The Carolinians attacked the Indian allies of the Spaniards and slew many.

1706

The French and Spaniards united in a retaliatory attack on Charleston. Their fleet was beaten off after a severe battle.

1707

The New England colonists sent an expedition against Canada in revenge for the Indian massacres; it failed.

17O9

A public slave market was set up in New York City.

1710

An expedition, sent by all the northern colonies, captured Port Royal, in Nova Scotia, and named it ANNAPOLIS after Queen Anne.

1711

A large force of British and Colonials sailed up the St. Lawrence, intending to conquer Canada. Most of the ships were wrecked and the expedition failed.

The Tuscarora Indian tribe massacred over a hundred North Carolina settlers. They were driven from the South.

1712

A negro plot to burn the city of New York was discovered, or suspected, and nineteen negroes were executed.

1713

QUEEN ANNE'S WAR was ended by the TREATY OF UTRECHT.

   This was the "First important treaty in the diplomatic history of the United States." Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay were given to England; fishing rights in the north were reserved to the French.

1715

This year closed the great Indian war in Carolina. The Yemmasees were defeated. A lasting peace was then concluded between the English and the southern Indians.

1716

The English westward movement of population began.

1717

NEW ORLEANS was founded by the French.

1729

The city of BALTIMORE was founded.

North and South Carolina were finally and permanently divided into two provinces.

The most extensive of all the Indian massacres within the United States' limits occurred at the French settlement at Natchez in Louisiana.

   The town was suddenly surprised and out of about six hundred inhabitants only twenty-six escaped. All the rest were slain or carried off as prisoners.

New York and Philadelphia were connected by a regular stage line running once a fortnight.

1733

GEORGIA, the last of the thirteen original colonies, was settled as a buffer against the Spaniards to the south.

   SAVANNAH was the first settlement. The colony was controlled by a body of trustees, but the philanthropist, JAMES OGLETHORPE, was the leading spirit. He tried to make the colony a refuge for debtors.

1735

Vincennes, in Indiana, was settled by a number of French colonists. A few settlers had probably erected a fort here as early as 1705.

John Peter Zenger, a German editor of New York, was tried for libel and acquitted.

   Zenger had criticized the English government in his paper, the New York Weekly Journal. He was arrested and ably defended by Andrew Hamilton, a Scotch lawyer from Philadelphia. As a result of his acquittal, the muzzle was removed from the colonial press and great freedom in political discussion went on down to the Revolution.

1739

George Whitefleld, the celebrated religious reformer, traveled around the colonies preaching; a widespread religious revival was the result.

1740

General Oglethorpe, with the aid of an English fleet, attacked St. Augustine, but was repulsed.

1741

A second negro plot to burn New York City was suspected and numerous hangings and burnings of negroes followed.

1742

The Spaniards attacked Georgia. They were completely defeated by Oglethorpe; the war ended the next year.

1744

KING GEORGE'S WAR (1744-1748), the THIRD INTER-COLONIAL WAR, broke out between England and France.

1745

LOUISBURG the Gibraltar of the North, the chief fortress of Cape Breton, was besieged and captured by a New England force under William Pepperell.

1748

The TREATY OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE closed King George's War.

   Louisburg was restored to France, much to the dissatisfaction of the New England colonists.

1749

The Ohio Company was formed to colonize the Ohio valley; it received a grant of a vast tract of land from King George.

1750

The English Parliament passed a law limiting the erection of iron mills and forges in America, so as to compel the importation of wrought iron from England.

   This policy had been used already in connection with other manufactured products, but only in this instance was an infant industry stifled. It was a part of England's mercantile policy to confine the colonies to the production of raw materials.

1752

Benjamin Franklin became famous for his discoveries in electricity.

1753

George Washington was sent by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to order the French pioneers out of the Ohio valley.

   The English based their claims to this region on the charters which made the Pacific Ocean the western boundary of colonies set up along the Atlantic seaboard. France claimed the same territory as a result of the discovery of the interior riverways, claiming all lands watered by a river and that watered by all its tributaries.

1754

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1754-1763), the FOURTH and LAST INTER-COLONIAL WAR, broke out between the French and English.

A fort begun by the English, on the present site of Pittsburg, was taken by the French and named FORT DUQUESNE. A relief expedition, under Washington, was besieged in Fort Necessity and compelled to retire.

A COLONIAL CONGRESS MET AT ALBANY to organize a union of all the colonies for defense against the French and Indians.

   Franklin presented a plan of union which was rejected by the colonies, because the home government was given too much power. It was also rejected by the home government because the colonies were allowed too much independence.

1755

GENERAL BRADDOCK led an English army against the French in Ohio. They were ambushed and wholly defeated, Washington saving the remnant of the army.

A Massachusetts officer removed the Acadians because their French sympathies made them dangerous.

The Iroquois Indians, aided by the colonists, defeated a French and Indian army on Lake George.

1756

Montcalm captured several forts along the New York frontier.

1757

The Massachusetts Colonial Legislature quarreled with the Governor over the quartering of troops in the colonies.

   At the same time Pennsylvania quarreled with the Governor over the question of the Governor's right to veto tax bills. The whole period was marked by such quarrels, a greater number of which had to do with the Governor's salary.

1758

The French defeated an English army on Lake Champlain; but the English conquered the entire Ohio valley, and for the second time captured the great fortress of Louisburg.

1759

The English conquered the entire Lake Champlain region, and GENERAL WOLFE, SCALING THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM, CAPTURED QUEBEC. The opposing generals were both mortally wounded in the battle.

1760

MONTREAL SURRENDERED TO THE ENGLISH, AND THE CONQUEST OF CANADA WAS COMPLETED.

George III became the King of England.

   George III tried to rule both England and the colonies without any attention to the wishes of the people. His obstinacy and narrow-mindedness helped to drive the colonies into revolt, and secured for them the sympathy of many leading Whigs in England.

1761

The NAVIGATION LAWS of 1651 and 1660, which had been unenforced, WERE NOW REVIVED.

   Warships were placed along the coast to stop the trade which had grown up with France, Spain, and their West Indian colonies.

The "Writs of Assistance" were issued as a means of assistance in the enforcement of the navigation acts.

   They caused bitter dissatisfaction in New England, which had become the centre for smuggling. These Writs of Assistance were general search warrants given to customs officials in which they themselves could enter the name of any person suspected of concealing smuggled goods, which were not described, and they, therefore, could break into and search any house at any time.

James Otis, the leading lawyer of Massachusetts, made a celebrated speech in Boston denying the right of the English government to issue Writs of Assistance, or even to pass an act of trade which levied a tax on the colonies. Of this speech John Adams said: "It breathed into this nation the breath of life."

1763

THE TREATY OF PARIS ended the French and Indian War.

   France relinquished to England all her possessions on the mainland of North America east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans; Spain ceded Florida to England in exchange for Havana, captured during the war; and France ceded to Spain the territory west of the Mississippi.

The King by a proclamation reserved most of the land between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi for Indian tribes, thus limiting colonial expansion westward.

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