A Gift of Land

When the treaty was signed between the French and English in 1763, it gave vast lands in America to the British.  The British, however, hadn't the vaguest notion of the extent, appearance or resources they had gained.  Even though place names in the upper Ohio become household names during the war, little was actually known about them.

Translations from French writers about the regions were amazing misrepresentations of the actual lands.  The western lands were thought to be of little value as Dr. Samuel Johnson wrote, "only barren parts of the continent, the refuse of earlier adventures which the French had taken only as better than nothing."  It was a common belief held by such people as Franklin and Washington, that it would take centuries for the land to be settled and civilized.  No one believed that within 75 years the population of "these barren lands" would equal that of Great Britain herself!

The first order of business, nevertheless, was to provide government, solve the land tenure and trade issues, and conciliate the Indians.  The English were not pleased with vast quantities of wilderness swarming with "savages" as they referred to it.  Some folks believed the Indians were entitled to protection from the invading whites into their hunting grounds. Originally the new territories were to be left as one huge Indian reserve with no white settlements.

The King desired to keep the western lands separate as much as possible from the colonies and wanted to regulate both settlement and trade.  One way to do this was to limit white settlers to the seaboard colonies. 

In 1763 four new provinces were set up in the ceded territories...Quebec, East Florida, West Florida and Grenada.  The rectangle formed was bounded by the Alleghenies, the Mississippi, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.  The Mississippi Valley was not included in this territory. 

Next time...problems with settlement
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On January 21, 1855, gun designer John Browning is born.  Often referred to as the father of modern arms, Browning was born in Utah on this date.  Many of the guns manufactured by companies with names like Winchester, Colt and Remington were actually based on Browning's designs. 

Early George Washington Against the French

In 1754 colonials were wending their way west through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachians.  Mostly traders, they were determined to challenge the French monopoly of the fur business. Other settlers were farmers who hoped to find in the western wilderness free land on which to start prosperous lives.  ALL were trespassing on territory that France claimed as its own.

In 1753, Virginia's governor, Robert Dinwiddie, with strong personal interest in the wilderness fur trading and land speculation, sent the young George Washington into the Ohio Valley to warn away the French.  Washington reported, "That it is their Absolute Design to take possession of the Ohio and by God, they would do it."

Dinwiddlie again sent Washington west, this second time in command of 150 militiamen to oust the French by force, if necessary.  The well-prepared French turned back Washington's troops. 

Again in 1755, on a far grander scale, an over confident General William Braddock, ignored
Washington's warnings and marched 1200 men directly into a French and Indian trap in a Pennsylvania forest clearing near Fort Duquesne (where Pittsburgh now stands). Washington was Braddock's aide and almost lost his life.  He recorded, "four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me."

The British learned a valuable lesson.  Never again would they march blindly into an ambush.  Two-thirds of the British lost their lives.  Braddock died from his wounds. 

Three years later a new British commander, General John Forbes cautiously led a force of 1700 British regulars plus 5000 colonials against Fort Duquesne.  With Washington at his side, going down what became known as Forbes Road, they repelled a French and Indian assault on October 12, 1758.  The French abandoned Fort Duquesne, and on November 25, it was renamed Fort Pitt by the British.

Next time...meanwhile back in Mohawk country
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Today in Pioneer History: On September 10, 1776, General George Washington asks for a volunteer for an extremely dangerous mission: to gather intelligence behind enemy lines before the coming Battle of Harlem Heights. Captain Nathan Hale of the 19th Regiment of the Continental Army stepped forward and subsequently become one of the first known American spy of the Revolutionary War.